Every time I watch a Bond film, I have the same questions looming over me. Are all real-life spies this handsome and dapper? Are intelligent officers irresistibly charming and witty enough to talk their way out of a jam? Are they truly privy to futuristic gadgets and weapons that, at times, defy the laws of physics? Radioactive lint or rings that can shatter bulletproof glass, anyone? We may never find concrete answers. But the fascination with spy films will never wane (for those very same reasons).
The tribulations of the cloaked and armed render themselves to cinematic delight: brushes with death, sophisticated schemes, government secrets, brilliant disguises, and thrilling double crosses. In short, spy movies are the perfect form of escapism. Stories about espionage date back to the earliest days of cinema, notably with Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in the '30s, and show no signs of dying down anytime soon. Up ahead are some of the best espionage movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and more, which you can watch from the comfort of your couch.
Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
Director and co-writer Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger is a classic tale about falling in love with your enemy. The story illustrates the life of a RAW agent code-named ‘Tiger’ (essayed by Salman Khan). A relatively safe mission takes him to Dublin, Ireland, where he needs to keep a close eye on an Indian-origin nuclear scientist who is suspected of sharing his research findings with the Pakistan defence establishment. He then befriends the scientist’s assistant Zoya (played by Katrina Kaif), and falls in love with her. What follows is a tumultuous journey between the two.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Baby (2015)
After the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, a covert counter-espionage team named 'Baby' is formed, led by intelligent officer Ajay Singh (Akshay Kumar). In the lead up to a tip about an impending terrorist attack masterminded by a maniacal leader, the trail-basis unit traverses to Nepal, Turkey and the Middle East. If caught, the government will maintain plausible deniability about them. As the plot progresses, Baby faces escalating challenges with time ticking against them. Will they manage to stop the threat to India? Watch to find out.
Streaming on Netflix
Raazi (2018)
The Meghna Gulzar directorial sees Alia Bhatt turning in an on-the-money performance as the protagonist, with supporting roles by Vicky Kaushal and Jaideep Ahlawat, among other actors. The 2018 spy thriller is a dramatised adaptation of Harinder Sikka's 2008 novel ‘Calling Sehmat’. The story unfolds in the '70s, when a timid Kashmiri student is convinced by her ailing father to marry into a family of military officials in Pakistan to relay war-related information to India. After some sharp training as a spy, she tries to thwart the neighbouring country's plans with her guile and charm.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The 39 Steps (1935)
Aesthetically-pleasing and revolutionary in its time, Alfred Hitchcock’s second film is a masterpiece. The classic spy film elevated Hitchcock’s status as one of the leading directors in the genre and employed themes that became hallmarks of his movies. The cinematic page-turner concerns a Londoner, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) who tries to help a counterespionage agent. After the agent is killed, Richard stands accused. He goes on to clear his name and stop a corrupt cabal called The 39 Steps from trying to steal top secret information.
Streaming on Hungama.com
Spy Kids (2001)
In case you’re wondering why this family-friendly film is part of this list, you should know that Spy Kids has been much appreciated for its clever writing, and despite being a movie, for children, makes a compelling watch even for adults. The film's must-see sets and visual gimmickshelp bring to life the story of Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid (Carla Gugino), two spies from different intelligence agencies, who fall in love and start a family. Years later, post a spate of disappearances, the former spies fall into the list of MIA agents. Their children, 12-year-old Carmen and 9-year-old Juni, come together to save them from impending danger.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
It is the 1970s in London, in the bleak days of the Cold War. The head of a British secret service known as the Circus, Control (John Hurt), believes that there’s a Soviet agent among the agency’s elite. To find the mole, he secretly sends Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) to Hungary to retrieve information. But Jim, in an agonising botch-up, is shot, and Control and his right-hand man, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), are fired. At the behest of a government minister, Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney), George re-enters the game. The spy thriller’s final montage is as satisfyingly elegant as any cinematic conclusion you’ll see.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar winning rendition dramatises the nearly decade-long international manhunt for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks in New York. The American film is celebrated as one of the most intelligent spy thrillers of all time. The movie is presented from CIA agent Maya’s (Jessica Chastain) vantage point, whose meticulous investigation culminates in the military raid on Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. It brings to light the reality of torture, military base bombings and Al Qaeda to the public, dispensing with the glamour to prove that espionage is dirty work.
Streaming on Netflix
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
Mission: Impossible - Fallout can be called the best film from the M:I franchise. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), a spy for the Impossible Mission Force, must stop terrorists cobbling together nuclear bombs with stolen plutonium. Ethan, along with his team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) and some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) races against time to accomplish the mission. You can see Cruise partaking in some of the most staggering stunts himself, including flinging about on the Burj Khalifa in the much-talked-about HALO jump sequence. Fun fact: he actually jumped out of a plane 106 times to get those free fall shots.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
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