The Bourne Identity (PG-13)
Matt Damon wins the day with excellent, old-school spy stuff — lots of physical stunts (fewer gadgets), good acting, and heart-pounding car chases. And the amnesia angle is a real kick.
3 Days of the Condor (R)
Great fun, with a regular-guy analyst (Robert Redford) thrust into the dangerous world of covert operatives and having to sink or swim. Good chemistry between Faye Dunaway and Redford.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (PG-13)
Let me preface this by saying I’m not a Tom Cruise fan. Nevertheless, Ghost Protocol is a slick, satisfying, and surprisingly funny caper.
Sneakers (PG-13)
A sly and sneaky high-tech thriller, with lots of humor. Robert Redford at his wry best heads a sharp and talented cast, including Dan Aykroyd .
The Ipress File (PG)
Very British, very anti-Bond in its working-class sensibilities. Notable for Michael Caine’s insolent, oversexed, underappreciated Harry Palmer. The trippy brainwashing sequence seems hilariously dated, and the pace occasionally lags, but overall, it’s a fun flick.
Goldfinger (PG)
One of the best of the Connery-as-Bond movies. It’s got the introduction of the Austin Martin car, a woman with a ridiculous name (Pussy Galore), and some classic lines: “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”
Casino Royale (PG-13)
Here’s a Bond reboot that works. Daniel Craig stars as a diamond-in-the-rough Bond who doesn’t give a rip how his martini is served. Some great stunt work here — especially the parkour chase that opens the film — a healthy dose of humor, and lots of style.
Get Smart (TV series, not movie)
My favorite spy spoof of all times. Conceived by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart tweaks all the spy conventions in fine juvenile style. And Don Adams is hilariously clueless as Maxwell Smart.
Burn Notice
A slick, smart-alecky, burned-spy show set in Miami. Although the first seasons are stronger, nearly any episode is fun for its “spy instruction” interludes (“When you’re a spy, and you need to cause a diversion…”)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (PG-13)
Occasionally uneven, often hilarious spy spoof. The first movie is the best of the Austin Powers trilogy, when the enthusiasm and the jokes were both fresher.