Rotten Tomatoes’ guide, updated June 10, 2025, ranks 89 Certified Fresh spy movies by Tomatometer. Its range runs from classic suspense and political dramas to franchise action, comedy, and science fiction. The ranking is a dated editorial snapshot, not a complete catalogue of espionage films.
What are the best spy movies on Rotten Tomatoes?
Here are the six films at the top of Rotten Tomatoes’ list as it appeared on June 10, 2025. The first percentage is the Tomatometer score used for the ranking; the second is the separate Popcornmeter audience score.
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| Rank | Film | Release year | Tomatometer | Popcornmeter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Age of Shadows | 2016 | 100% | 72% |
| 2 | 007: Goldfinger | 1964 | 99% | 89% |
| 3 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | 2018 | 98% | 89% |
| 4 | The Lady Vanishes | 1938 | 98% | 88% |
| 5 | North by Northwest | 1959 | 97% | 94% |
| 6 | Army of Shadows | 1969 | 97% | 93% |
These titles illustrate how wide the guide’s scope is. For tense classic suspense, consider The Lady Vanishes or North by Northwest; for political and resistance drama, try The Age of Shadows or Army of Shadows. Viewers looking for action can start with Goldfinger or Fallout. Those are viewing paths through the list, not separate genre scores assigned by Rotten Tomatoes.
How Rotten Tomatoes defines and ranks spy movies
Rotten Tomatoes defines a spy movie for this guide as one with spy characters and a political, international, and/or high-government setting. That broad definition lets the selection include films that mix espionage with other genres. The guide’s own explanation is: “Our definition is that the movie has to have spy characters and a political, international, and/or high-government dressing.”
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Eligibility is narrower than that definition alone: the guide includes Certified Fresh films. Rotten Tomatoes orders the selected titles by Tomatometer. The page also displays a Popcornmeter percentage, which is an audience score rather than the ranking measure. A difference of one percentage point should not be read as a meaningful quality gap: the guide does not give review counts or enough detail to interpret that degree of precision.
Why some classic spy movies are missing
The 89 entries are not an exhaustive list of the genre. Rotten Tomatoes says some older films do not meet its minimum review threshold for Certified Fresh status, so they are left out of the ranking. Its examples include The Ipcress File, The Quiller Memorandum, The Day of the Jackal, and The Falcon and the Snowman. Their absence reflects the guide’s eligibility criteria, not a claim that they are unworthy of consideration.
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How to choose a film from the list
- For classic suspense: Begin with The Lady Vanishes (1938) or North by Northwest (1959).
- For political or resistance drama: Try Army of Shadows (1969) or The Age of Shadows (2016).
- For franchise action: The guide includes Bond, Mission: Impossible, and Bourne films; Goldfinger and Fallout are among its top six.
- For a lighter or more unusual take: Its broader selection includes comedy such as Spy, Spy Kids, and Top Secret!, as well as science-fiction noir such as Alphaville.
If you want to collect a particular title, search for that film by name when looking for spy movies on Blu-ray or DVD; editions and availability vary. The Rotten Tomatoes guide does not establish current streaming availability, which can differ by title and territory.
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All ranks and percentages in this article refer to Rotten Tomatoes’ “89 Best Spy Movies (Spy), Ranked by Tomatometer,” which the publisher labels updated June 10, 2025. Scores and rankings can change; the figures above describe that dated version of the guide.
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