The 15 Best Spy Films Similar to James Bond, Ranked

Carol Reed’s The Third Man is widely considered to be one of the greatest British films of all time—so naturally, if you like the kind of Bond where classically trained actors trade secrets amongst bombed out European buildings, or are a particular fan of The Living Daylights (a Bond movie that directly references The Third Man’s iconic scene in the Prater amusement park), you will absolutely love this one. 

Co-starring Orson Welles as the elusive Harry Lime, this post-World War II movie is kicked into motion when pulp novelist Holly Martins arrives in Vienna and begins to investigate the mysterious death of an old friend.

Released in 2001, Spy Game is an espionage movie with a more modern and gritty tone—a movie much closer in tone to Casino Royale and The Bourne Identity than anything from the Moore or Connery eras. Directed by Tony Scott, Spy Game is gripping thriller that also offers a chance to see one of the great stars of the 70s and 80s passing the baton on. 

Spy Game stars the late great Robert Redford as Nathan D. Muir, a CIA agent with one day left until retirement. Naturally, it doesn’t quite work out that way after his protege (played by Brad Pitt) is arrested in China and sentenced to death.

In 2004, director Jonathan Demme released The Manchurian Candidate, a great Denzel Washington-starring remake of John Frankenheimer’s 1962 movie of the same name—which itself was an adaptation of Richard Condon’s novel. The story is a classic example Cold War-era paranoia—think psychological conspiracy movies like Parallax View and Syriana and you’ll have an idea of the vibe. 

For his version, Demme relocates the narrative to after the Gulf War, focusing on the character of Major Ben Marco (Washington)—who suffers from terrifying nightmares and begins to question everything he remembers about his squad and fellow soldier, Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber).

In terms of pure, unadulterated action, the sixth movie in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, is widely considered to be the best recent movies in the action genre—and if you like the hands-on action sequences of recent Bond movies (like Skyfall and Spectre), you’ve gotta check this one out. 

The story follows Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt and his IMF team as they track down a case of weapons grade plutonium before it gets into the hands of an extremist named John Lark.

Redford appears for a second time on this list as CIA researcher Joe Turner, in Three Days of the Condor. This is another story rich with Cold War paranoia —so if you liked The Manchurian Candidate or All the President’s Men (another Redford classic), you’ll likely appreciated this one, too.

Story follows Turner as he goes on the run after finding his co-workers murdered in the office. In order to stay alive, he has to figure out who's behind the killings before it's too late.

Focusing on a group of former special operatives, Ronin is the kind of spy movie that prioritises cool heists, thrilling car chases, and heart-pumping action over politicking and paranoia—so if you like the more visceral instalments of the James Bond franchise (think GoldenEye or License to Kill) or more straight-up crime movies like Heat, you will probably be into this one, too.

Robert De Niro stars as Sam, a former intelligence officer who’s recruited to lead a team tasked with stealing a valuable briefcase. Jean Reno, Sean Bean and Stellan Skarsgård round out the formidable cast.

Another classic from the Cold War conspiracy sub-genre is The Conversation, a 1974 movie that was written, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola. The story follows a surveillance expert, Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), who is hired by an allusive client to follow a young couple. While listening in, Caul becomes obsessed after hearing something he thinks he shouldn’t have. 

The movie won the Palme d’Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival but lost Best Picture at the Oscars to The Godfather Part II, which was written, directed and produced by—checks notes—Francis Ford Coppola. So needless to say, if you appreciate the director's work, you have to check this one out. 

In La Femme Nikita, a beautiful woman serving time for the murder of a policeman is given a second chance when she cuts a deal with the government to work as an undercover political assassin.

This was the last narrative movie that Luc Besson made before making the move to Hollywood—so if you’re a fan of the stylish (if problematic) director’s later movies (like Léon and The Fifth Element), it’s well worth going back to give this one a try. 

Based on Tom Clancy’s best-selling debut novel, The Hunt for Red October is set at the end of the Cold War and follows a rogue Soviet naval captain’s attempts to defect to America with his officers and Soviet technology. 

In terms of 007 similarities, this one has the added bonus of starring none other than Sean Connery. So, if you like that era of Bond (think Dr. No and Goldfinger) you’ll definitely appreciate it—just don’t expect too much from the famously Scottish actor’s Russian accent. 

In The Day of the Jackal, an international assassin, known only as ‘Jackal’, is hired by a group of French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle. This is an interesting one for the spy genre, as it’s told from both the assassin’s perspective and the policeman trying to stop him.

Directed by Fred Zinnemann (High Noon), the movie is only the first adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel. The second, from 1997, is called The Jackal and stars Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. That one is probably best avoided, but I can highly recommend the Peacock series from last year, in which Eddie Redmayne plays the title role.