The steadily-building cascade of the James Bond theme song puts the audience on notice: The alpha is about to enter the room, perhaps with a shaken-not-stirred martini in his hand. There is nothing like those 007 vibes, which start from the moment the gun-barrel sequence triumphantly emanates from the Dolby surround sound.
Yet, unrivaled as the greatest 007 films are, these are 15 movies that put forth a worthwhile imitation.
1- The Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
The Kingsman and its sequel (not so much the third) were a raunchier, sillier, modern ode to everything that makes a James Bond film fun. Dialogue sharper than James Bond's straight razor. Diabolical villains with a penchant for eccentricity. High-octane chases, hand-to-hand combat, and shootouts. And babes.
While purists will likely roll their eyes at The Kingsman, a film that's such an obvious (and, to many, beloved) nod to the original gentlemanly spy warrants recognition.
2- The Imitation Game (2014)
On its face, the story of how Alan Turing broke the Nazis' Enigma code from a windowless room is hardly similar to Sean Connery sweet-talking his way into a femme fatale's hotel room or Halle Berry emerging from the Caribbean in a neon orange bikini.
When you look closer, you see that both movies are high-stakes international thrillers in which the world's fate is at stake. The vibes match more closely than you might suspect.
3- Argo (2012)
Argo is a popular retelling of the Iranian hostage crisis, and it has all the tension you've come to expect when James Bond is jumping rooftop-to-rooftop or staring down a supervillain across the poker table.
4- Body of Lies (2008)
Leo DiCaprio plays a C.I.A. operative tracking down a terrorist in the Middle East. Russell Crowe serves as his handler in Virginia. Ridley Scott does his thing behind the camera. If James Bond did the War on Terror, it might look like Body of Lies.
5- The Bourne Identity (2002)
You can put any Matt Damon-era Bourne movie in this spot, so we'll go with the original. While Bourne films lack the panache and fun that most Bond films offer, the action, underlying spy narrative, and acting are generally top-notch. For what it's worth, fans of Robert Ludlum's source novels gave the first few Bourne movies mad props.
6- Spy Game (2001)
Any film involving the C.I.A. is essentially an American version of a Bond flick, as MI6 is the British equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency. So, the Brad Pitt and Robert Redford-led Spy Game, which tells the tale of a captured C.I.A. operative and his mentor's fight to free him, is a suitable substitute when you can't find a Bond movie to stream.
7- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
While James Bond movies are never short on action, the best Bond films are smart. That's exactly what Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has in common with a James Bond movie, as the movie is based on source material from legendary author John le Carre. The film is a whodunnit that takes place within the walls of Cold War-era MI6—what could be more Bond than that?
8- Jack Reacher (2012)
Jack Reacher is a movie based on an immensely popular novel series by Lee Child, which always produces high expectations. Reacher is a homicide detective called to action by a homicidal madman, and Tom Cruise plays Reacher.
9- Mission Impossible (1996)
Mission-ficianados endorse the first of the Ethan Hunt series as the most Bond-ian of the (neverending) Mission: Impossible series. You might have forgotten that the legendary Brian De Palma directed the first M:I flick, which alone makes it worth a rewatch.
Hunt-heads also endorse Missions Four, Five, Six, and Seven as movies that emanate Bond-like vibes.
10- Layer Cake (2004)
While Layer Cake revolves around the illicit drug trade (rather than the illicit spy trade), the film's slick direction, seamless blending of serious themes and biting humor, and top-tier action sequences make for a Venn Diagram where Bond-heads and Layer Cakers find themselves in the middle ring. Plus, Daniel Craig is the leading man in Layer Cake.
11- Baby Driver (2017)
Baby Driver lacks the espionage, tuxedos, and general spyfare you're guaranteed every time you watch a Bond flick. However, if any film burns as much rubber as James Bond behind the wheel of a silver Aston Martin, it's Baby Driver.
12- The Man from UNCLE (2015)
When fans of the original The Man from U.N.C.L.E. television series (which aired four seasons beginning in 1964) caught wind of a big-budget theatrical remake, they could have been forgiven for thinking the movie would be a thinly-veiled nostalgia play for an older audience.
Yet, with Guy Ritchie at the helm and a strong cast including Henry Cavill (of Superman fame) and Armie Hammer (of The Social Network and alleged cannibalism fame), the 2015 version of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. gave off James-Bond-Vacations-in-Berlin vibes.
13- Enemy of the State (1998)
One of Will Smith's best, Enemy of the State, paints the harrowing tale of a lawyer who gets on the wrong side of the wrong intelligence agency spooks and finds himself yearning for a time before electricity (and cameras) existed.
14- Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
Olympus Has Fallen could be aptly described as Olympus Will Not Be Nominated for the Film of the Year Oscar. It's a B-level action flick, but it's not lacking for pow-pows! or bang-bangs! and its lone-man-saves-the-day formula is a page torn straight from an Ian Fleming novel.
15- Drive (2011)
Mysterious leading man with looks that could kill (and hands that do kill)? Check. Cars with more horsepower than a Clydesdale-drawn sleigh? Check. Backstabbing, double-crossing, and revenge? You betcha. Elite soundtrack? Uh-huh.
The parallels between Drive and the any given James Bond film are too abundant to deny.
Source: (Reddit).
