Spy: 166

The Lives of Others (2006) is a German drama film written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, marking his debut as a feature film director. Set in 1984 East Germany, the film follows Stasi agent Gerd Wiesler, also known as HGW XX/7, as he carries out the order from his superior Anton Grubitz to spy on playwright Georg Dreyman. Despite Dreyman’s reputation as a pro-communist figure with international recognition, there is no evidence of disloyalty or dissent in his past. Wiesler and his team bug Dreyman’s apartment and report their findings to Minister of Culture Bruno Hempf, who has targeted ...

Mission: Impossible III (2006) is an American action spy film directed by J. J. Abrams, produced by and starring Tom Cruise, from a screenplay written by Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. In the film, Hunt is restrained in a chair while a man holds a woman hostage across from him. The man demands the location of the ‘Rabbit’s Foot’. When it becomes clear that Hunt is not aware of its whereabouts, the ...

Casino Royale (2006) is the twenty-first film of the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. It is based on Ian Fleming’s novel of the same title and directed by Martin Campbell, with a screenplay written by Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis. The movie features Daniel Craig as Bond in his debut performance. In an effort to shake off the ...

Syriana (2005), an American political thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, is loosely based on Robert Baer’s 2003 memoir See No Evil. The movie was filmed in over 200 locations across five continents, including the Middle East, Washington D.C., and Africa. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Gaghan revealed that the film draws from his personal experiences meeting and interviewing powerful figures such as oil owners, media moguls, lobbyists, ...

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) is an American action comedy film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg, following the story of John and Jane Smith. The couple, who have been married for five or six years, attend marriage counseling to address their troubled relationship. Despite their initial claims of meeting in Bogotá, Colombia and falling in love, it is revealed that they are actually highly skilled field operatives working for separate contract-killing firms. They have successfully kept their true professions hidden from each other. The Smiths live in a ...

The epic historical drama film, Munich (2005), was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth. It is based on Vengeance, a 1984 book by George Jonas that details Mossad assassinations in the aftermath of the Munich massacre. The events take place during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where a terrorist attack by the Palestinian militant group Black September resulted in the deaths of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. To carry out this mission, Mossad agent Avner Kaufman, ...

The Bourne Supremacy (2004) is an action-thriller film featuring Robert Ludlum’s popular character, Jason Bourne. While the title is derived from the second novel in the series (1986), the film’s plot is completely unique. We find Bourne and his partner Marie Kreutz living peacefully in Goa, India where he continues to struggle with memory loss. To piece together his past as a CIA assassin, Bourne records flashbacks in a notebook. Across the globe in Berlin, CIA agent Pamela Landy authorizes $3 million to be paid to a Russian source for important documents known as the Neski files, detailing the theft of $20 ...

The film Johnny English (2003), directed by Peter Howitt and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and William Davies, follows the journey of a bumbling but well-meaning MI7 agent who longs to be the agency’s top spy. When Agent One and all other MI7 agents are killed at his funeral due to his inadvertent blunders, Johnny is left as the only agent capable of completing Agent One’s mission. His latest task is to stop a scheme to steal the newly returned Crown Jewels ...

Men in Black II (2002) is a comedic sci-fi film based on the popular Marvel Comics series. It follows Agent J, who has been with the MIB for five years and has risen to the top of his field. However, he has developed a tendency to neuralyze partners he believes are not equipped to handle the job emotionally. When a murder involving an alien named Ben occurs at a pizza place, waitress Laura Vasquez reveals that the culprits are Serleena, a shape-shifting Kylothian posing as a lingerie model, and her two-headed assistant Scrad and Charlie. According to Laura, they were after something known as the Light of Zartha. Despite MIB protocol, J becomes strongly infatuated with ...

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002) is an American spy action comedy film that was both co-produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Siblings Carmen and Juni Cortez are now full-time agents for the OSS’ recently established Spy Kids Division. Their main competition comes from Donnagon Giggles’ children, Gary and Gerti. During a mission to rescue the president’s daughter, Alexandra, the Giggles siblings outshine Carmen and Juni. While defending Gary, Carmen’s actions drive a wedge between her and Juni. At the OSS awards ceremony, Donnagon manipulates the president’s teleprompter and takes over as director of the agency instead of ...

The American biographical spy film, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), follows the fictional life of Chuck Barris, who aspired to be a famous television personality. Initially rejected by the women he desires, he moves from Manhattan to become an NBC page, but is ultimately let go. He then becomes Dick Clark’s personal assistant on American Bandstand in 1961, where he writes the hit song ‘Palisades Park’ and becomes involved with Penny Pacino. Eventually, Chuck pitches his idea for The Dating Game at ABC and receives $7,500 to create a pilot. However, ABC ultimately chooses to produce Hootenanny instead. After being ousted from a bar for ...

The Sum of All Fears (2002) is a gripping American spy thriller helmed by Phil Alden Robinson. Based on Tom Clancy’s novel of the same name, the film follows a complex plot involving a lost nuclear bomb and international political tensions. It all begins with an Israeli warplane being shot down during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Decades later, a Syrian scrap collector comes across the unexploded bomb buried in the Golan Heights. He sells it to a South African arms trafficker, who recognizes its significance and passes it on to neo-nazi group leader Richard Dressler. ...

The American spy comedy film, Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), also referred to as Austin Powers 3 or just Goldmember, was directed by Jay Roach. From his hideout behind the Hollywood Sign that same year, Dr. Evil reveals his plot for world domination to Number 2, Mini-Me, Frau Farbissina, and Scott Evil: traveling back in time to 1975 and teaming up with the Dutch gold-enthusiast Johann van der Smut, known as ‘Goldmember’ after losing his genitalia in a smelting accident. Goldmember has created a tractor beam powered by a special device and plans to use it to bring a meteor crashing ...

Directed by Doug Liman and written by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron, The Bourne Identity (2002) is an action-thriller film based on Robert Ludlum’s 1980 novel of the same name. When Italian fishermen rescue a man with two gunshot wounds in the Mediterranean Sea, they discover that he has no memory of his identity but possesses advanced combat skills and fluency in multiple languages. Upon finding a laser projector embedded under his skin, displaying a safe ...

Die Another Day (2002), a spy film and the twentieth in the James Bond series from Eon Productions, was directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The film also marked the final appearance of Pierce Brosnan as the iconic MI6 agent, with John Cleese making his debut as Q. In the movie, Bond goes undercover to infiltrate a North Korean military base where Colonel Tan-Sun Moon is dealing weapons ...

Spy Kids (2001), an American spy action comedy film, was a collaborative effort between Robert Rodriguez who co-produced, wrote, edited, co-composed and directed the movie. Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez lead a double life as spies while protecting their two children, Carmen and Juni. Their work at the Organization of Super Spies (OSS) usually involves desk jobs but they are called back to active duty when agents go missing. Their prime suspect is Fegan Floop, a children’s TV host who has allegedly turned his victims into ‘Fooglies’, creatures featured on his show that Juni is an avid fan of. In their absence, the children are entrusted to their uncle ...

The Tailor of Panama (2001) is a spy thriller film directed by John Boorman, co-written by John le Carré and Andrew Davies. It is based on le Carré’s 1996 novel of the same name. The story follows Andy Osnard, an MI6 spy who has been sent to Panama after an affair with the foreign minister’s mistress in Madrid. Despite his superior’s warning about the corruption in Panama, Osnard sees it as an opportunity. He consults a list of British citizens living in ...

The film Spy Game (2001), directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, follows the United States and China as they negotiate a major trade deal. As the President prepares to visit China to finalize the agreement, the CIA becomes aware of their operative, Tom Bishop’s, arrest in Suzhou. With only 24 hours until his execution, Bishop’s actions could jeopardize the deal. To avoid getting involved, a group of CIA executives turn to Nathan Muir, Bishop’s mentor and a retiring veteran agent. ...

24 (2001–2010), an American action drama TV show created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran for Fox, follows the life of US counter-terrorist federal agent Jack Bauer. Each season unfolds in real time, covering 24 hours in Bauer’s life. The episodes feature multiple interconnected storylines, often involving Bauer’s associates facing extreme challenges. The series first aired on November 6, 2001, with a total of 204 episodes across nine seasons. A television movie titled 24: Redemption was broadcast on November 23, 2008, between the sixth and seventh ...

Alias (2001–2006), a popular American action thriller and science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, aired on ABC for five seasons from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006. It received praise from critics and was listed in the American Film Institute’s top ten television programs of 2003. The show also garnered numerous awards and nominations, including recognition for its strong female characters. Along with other shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Xena: Warrior Princess, La Femme Nikita, and Dark Angel, Alias is considered to be part ...