Underrated Spy Movies You Need To Watch

"The Saint" features Val Kilmer as the eponymous master thief, who finds himself caught up in the world of international espionage when he's hired to steal a scientific formula. The formula offers the answer to cold fusion, and it's the brainchild of Elisabeth Shue's Dr. Emma Russell. The Saint is the moniker for Simon Templar, whose true name is John Rossi. He adopts the names of Catholic saints throughout the film as he creates new disguises to lure people into his various schemes.

The film was commercially successful, but not to a level most studios would prefer. When it was made, the television series it was based upon had been off the air for decades. In fact, the character of Simon Templar first appeared in the 1920s via Leslie Charteris' book series. Kilmer's adaptation wasn't the first film centered around the character, as he'd been the subject of numerous films throughout the mid-20th century. There were also multiple television series (including one with future 007 Roger Moore) and a radio show starring none other than Vincent Price.

"The Saint" has not been universally beloved by critics despite the charisma of its star. Kilmer shifts through a dozen disguises in the movie, giving him the opportunity to play 12 different characters. Each is brilliantly portrayed, and while "The Saint" has its fans, it's an underrated movie that should have fared better with critics upon release. Interestingly, the franchise is on tap for a reboot, though it's been in the works for a long time (per The Hollywood Reporter).

Robert Redford directs and takes the lead in 2012's "The Company You Keep," which is centered around Nick Sloan, a former activist who helped found the Weather Underground. Sloan has been wanted by the FBI for more than 30 years, so he's been living as Jim Grant, a widower and father. Sloan's world is rocked when a reporter uncovers the truth of who he is, and he's forced to once again go into hiding. He finds some of his old pals in the Weather Underground and fights to keep Jim Grant alive as his past catches up to him.

"The Company You Keep" was released to little attention in 2012. Everything in the movie, from the characters and plot to the setting and direction by Redford, was exceptional, but few people saw it in theaters. It didn't earn much money, managing to pull in $20 million. While that would seem like a terrible total for most movies, it's a strong profit for one made on a budget of $2 million (per The Wrap). Still, it's a smaller audience than a Robert Redford movie deserves.

Initial reaction from critics at the Venice Film Festival was favorable, but after release, perspective shifted negatively. David Bax of Battleship Pretension wrote, "It ultimately settles, like many of its characters did, for pleasant mediocrity." Still, others had plenty of praise, including Debbie Lynn Elias of Behind the Lens, who offered a list of compliments: "Intelligent. Thoughtful. Reflective. Powerful. A 'Must See' film for the generations."

Ewan McGregor takes the lead in "Our Kind of Traitor" as Perry MacKendrick, a British citizen who finds himself embroiled in espionage while on vacation in Morocco with his wife. He's given a USB drive by a Russian Oligarch who pleads with him to take it to MI6. He's soon recruited into an operation that forces him into the world of international intrigue. The danger is ramped up to 11 as the stakes are raised, and MacKendrick becomes more involved in an operation that could see everything in his life destroyed.

"Our Kind of Traitor" continues the tradition of throwing someone outside the world of espionage into it in full force. It's not the only film on this list to rely on that trope, as it's a common way of instilling a sense of "that could be me" in the viewer. This film manages it brilliantly, which is largely due to the inimitable Ewen McGregor's incredible talent. Variety described McGregor as "the Jimmy Stewart-like everyman," and he's hardly the only high-profile actor in the movie, which also features outstanding performances by Stellan Skarsgård and many others.

The film has been both praised by critics and derided by audiences since its release. Stephen Romei of The Australian called it "an intriguing character study embedded in a spy thriller." But if box office results tell us anything, it's that "Our Kind of Traitor" wasn't beloved by audiences — according to BoxOfficeMojo, it earned only $10.7 million. 

"Anthropoid" is a spy thriller based on a true story, centered on the World War II operation of the same name. Operation Anthropoid was a mission launched to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the principal architect of the Final Solution and the third in command of Hitler's Nazi regime. The film begins in 1941 and focuses on two agents of the former Czechoslovak government-in-exile, Jozef Gabčík (Cillian Murphy), and Jan Kubiš (Jamie Dornan). What follows is a mission to kill Heydrich, followed by an attempted escape and a fierce battle.

Because it's based on historical accounts of the operation, much of "Anthropoid" is grounded in reality. Still, the filmmakers take artistic license in some areas, which doesn't detract from the overall story and historical account. Murphy and Dornan play their characters brilliantly, and the accompanying cast is exceptional. Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent called the movie "a grueling but well-made thriller," and that's an apt description of "Anthropoid" if there ever was one.

Despite the favorable critical response, "Anthropoid" is a film few people have seen. It was a financial flop at the box office, earning only $5.2 million on a $9 million budget. It's significantly underrated and easily one of the best movies on this list. 

Gina Carano plays black ops soldier Mallory Kane in her first leading role in "Haywire." Kane is betrayed by the people she works for and must run for her life after she's targeted for assassination, setting out to unravel a conspiracy, save her own life, and clear her name. Carano is joined by a lot of talent, including Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Fassbender, in one of Steven Soderbergh's most underrated films.

"Haywire" suffered from several issues throughout its production, which forced a delay after changing distributors (per Variety). Soderbergh fought with the studio over his desire to tell a thrilling espionage story interspersed with realistic fight scenes. Fortunately, Soderbergh was able to implement his vision for the film, delivering an exciting and well-crafted tale once the distribution rights were sorted. Critics like Rolling Stone's Peter Travers have praised the movie and Carano's leading turn.

"Haywire" failed to bring in a sizeable audience at the box office, making it a financial flop. Still, "Haywire" is an entertaining story featuring a powerful woman in a role typically given to male leads. It's an entertaining entry in the action-thriller spy genre and one any fan should take the time to watch.

Joel and Ethan Coen have given the world a plethora of stylistic films crossing a wide range of genres throughout their careers. "Burn After Reading" is one of their masterpieces, and it's as strange and unusual as most of their films. At the center of the movie is a cache of intelligence documents lost by a recently fired CIA analyst (John Malkovich). Those documents are worthless — simply a draft of a memoir — but that hardly matters when they're found by a pair of gym employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) who are convinced they've stumbled upon a matter of national security. They undergo a series of misadventures as they embark on a moneymaking scheme that casts them into a complex yet completely pointless web of intrigue.

Like most of the Coens' filmography, "Burn After Reading" has been lauded by critics and nominated for dozens of awards, winning several. The film is overtly ridiculous in its portrayal of U.S. Intelligence operatives as they're cast beside the idiocy of the main characters. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pitt explained, "I said to [the Coens], 'I don't know how to play this; I mean, he's such an idiot.'" While his concerns were valid (his character is indeed a moron), Pitt manages it perfectly in one of his funniest performances to date.

"Burn After Reading" is one of those movies that did very well upon release, and it enjoyed a sizable audience. Despite this, it seems like it's been largely forgotten by the masses in the years since. Still, GQ called it prophetic, and it's more worth checking out than ever. 

George Clooney made his directorial debut with "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." The film is centered around a fictional portrayal of real-life game show host and producer Chuck Barris. The movie is based on Barris' book of the same name, subtitled an "unauthorized autobiography." It portrays Barris as a CIA assassin who used his job as the host of "The Dating Game" to travel around the globe and kill people.

Barris' life has several ups and downs, including the incredible success he gained with "The Gong Show." Still, it's his private life that proves difficult. "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" is easily one of the strangest espionage films ever made, and that has a lot to do with the source material. There's no actual evidence Barris was a CIA assassin, and while the organization denies his involvement, that's what it would do whether he was or wasn't (via Time). Regardless, the film is elevated by Sam Rockwell's portrayal of Barris. 

Rockwell somehow makes the whole thing seem believable despite the extraordinary events of the plot. He consistently outperforms himself, and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" is only one of many brilliant roles the actor has mastered over the years. The film was a critical success, but like many on this list, it's been largely forgotten.

2004's "The Manchurian Candidate" stars Denzel Washington as Bennett Marco, a Major in the U.S. Army who became famous following his command during a Gulf War raid in 1991. Liev Schreiber plays Sergeant First Class Raymond Shaw, a soldier awarded the Medal of Honor for his role in the mission who enters the world of politics after the war. The two are thrust back into one another's lives as Bennett's memories of the mission become unclear. He investigates what happened and learns that a powerful company called Manchurian Global is responsible for a widespread conspiracy that transforms soldiers into unwitting assassins.

If the film's plot seems familiar, that's because it's a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. The new "Manchurian Candidate" was updated to better fit with modern times, as Roger Ebert reflected in his review. Still, the overall plot and mechanics of the conspiracy remain pretty much the same. The 2004 film features an all-star cast (like its predecessor), including Meryl Streep, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright, and many others. It's easily one of Washington's best thrillers. Still, despite the critical acclaim it has received, it doesn't get the attention it deserves.

The main reason "The Manchurian Candidate" is underrated is its predecessor. The original film is widely considered to be one of the best political thrillers ever made, and it has the award nominations to back that up. It easily outshines the more recent adaptation of Richard Condon's 1959 novel, and that's unlikely to change anytime soon. Ultimately, it's an entertaining film people should see without comparing it to its predecessor.

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is the second adaptation of John le Carré's 1974 novel of the same name. The first was a BBC production starring Alex Guinness, released in 1979. This updated version doesn't throw the story into a new modern setting, as it depicts the events of the book set in the 1970s. The film is centered around Gary Oldman's George Smiley, a recently retired member of British Intelligence. He's brought back to uncover a mole at the top of the organization, and the film delves into the complexity of the situation splendidly.

The film features an incredibly prestigious cast, including Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, and many more. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is an excellent example of complex storytelling that remains relevant and engrossing to a broad audience, and the critics lauded it upon release. It didn't do badly at awards season either, having earned three Academy Award nominations and dozens of others, many of which it won.

Arguably, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" isn't underrated; rather, it's simply unknown to many. The film did well at the box office, earning nearly three times its budget. Unfortunately, that amounts to a little more than $24 million in the U.S. and $57 million overseas. Despite the film's masterful handling of the subject matter, it didn't pull in audiences in a year dominated by "Harry Potter," "Transformers," "Twilight," and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tom Hanks takes the lead in Steven Spielberg's 2015 Cold War spy film "Bridge of Spies." The movie tells the real-life story of James B. Donovan, an attorney hired to defend an accused Soviet spy in court (per History vs. Hollywood). 

The spy in question, Rudolf Abel, was arrested in 1957, and Donovan does his best to prove his client's innocence but fails. He argues that the death penalty should be avoided in favor of a future prisoner exchange, and that's precisely what happens after Gary Powers' U-2 is shot down over the USSR in 1960. Donovan then works with the CIA, the organization he rebuffed during the trial, to ensure the exchange takes place on Glienicke Bridge. The film gets its name from the bridge which connects Potsdam with Berlin, a preferred spot for prisoner swaps during the Cold War. 

Like "Munich," "Bridge of Spies" is another brilliant thriller from Spielberg. It was recognized by the Academy with six Oscar nominations, so calling it "underrated" might seem odd. Still, it's an example of an exceptional movie that hasn't achieved the level of success it deserves. Whether it was due to a general disinterest in the subject matter or something else entirely, the audience that found "Bridge of Spies" was small compared to Spielberg's other films — it did well financially, but a $72 million domestic box office pull is pretty small by his standards.