10 CIA and FBI Movies That Got It Right

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the films that are the most faithful to the workings of U.S. secret intelligence agencies - even with some dramatic liberties taken. Warning: There’ll be some major spoilers.

#10: “Sicario” (2015)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, this thriller follows FBI agents and their mission to bring down the Sonora Cartel. They hope to apprehend cartel leader Manuel Díaz, venturing into Ciudad Juárez. The film is by and large faithful to the real-life violence involved in FBI raids, as well as at the U.S.-Mexican border with its hundreds of tunnels. The Mexican substance trafficking depicted is also true to life, with Ciudad Juárez being one of the most violent. That said, the film did inspire controversy, with the mayor of Ciudad Juárez calling for a boycott. Even so, he claims the film is accurate only until about 2010, before measures to keep the peace came into play. Talk about redeeming it with faint criticism.

#9: “Three Days of the Condor” (1975)

CIA analyst Joe Turner’s lunch break turns into the fight for his very life as his colleagues are killed by armed men. Desperate, Turner finds out the truth in a very dark twist. Ironically, Turner’s job involves looking through media to examine depictions of CIA operations for accuracy and potential leaks. Would this thriller be one of those accurate depictions? The CIA turning on its own agents may be a little out there. However, the film was released in the wake of massive scandals, especially the agency’s role in the economic destabilization of South America. Director Sydney Pollack also invited former CIA head Richard Helms for a day of shooting, who approved of the project. Turner would probably mark this film as a leak.

#8: “North by Northwest” (1959)

A cinematic classic by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock, this film also has the advantage of historical accuracy. The film follows Roger Thornhill’s perilous journey as he is mistaken by spies for a fictional CIA agent. While the plot and characters are fictitious, the central premise came from Hitchcock’s conversation with journalist Otis L. Guernsey during a cocktail party. Guernsey told him a true story of British operatives in World War II inventing the name of a fictitious spy in the Middle East. Called Operation Mincemeat, the agents planted misleading papers of the fake spy to be discovered by the Germans as a disinformation scheme. Life imitates fiction imitates life.

#7: “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012)

The manhunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, had finally borne fruit in this critically-acclaimed action thriller. But how accurate is it? It turns out “Zero Dark Thirty” has been embroiled in controversy in all aspects. The film does an excellent job in distilling a decades-long manhunt into two hours while still being largely faithful. There were still significant changes, such as overexaggerating the use and efficacy of torture and the focus on Jessica Chastain’s character. The filmmakers, however, defended themselves against the allegations, claiming the film questioned the use of torture in investigation. Any film that garners this much controversy must have pressed some very true buttons.

#6: “Spy Game” (2001)

This is another thriller starring Robert Redford that is known for its accuracy. While this film was only a mid-level hit, it has become a favorite of actual secret agents due to it being basically factual. When CIA new guy Tom Bishop gets arrested in China, it’s up to his veteran mentor Nathan Muir to rescue him. Former CIA agent Mark Davidson praises the film’s realistic depiction of the spy life, as well as the camaraderie between Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. All in all, the film is a good balance between real-life details of espionage and cinematic chills and thrills.

#5: “The Hunt for Red October” (1990)

This critically-acclaimed Cold War spy film follows another hunt, this time for a submarine, the titular “Red October.” It’s based on the bestselling Tom Clancy novel, which some believe was inspired by a true story about a Soviet Navy officer who defected from the Soviet Union. In real life, the officer had planned for another communist revolution, one purer than the corrupted Soviet regime. But like in the movie, the officer’s mutiny led to a frantic search and recovery. Another source of inspiration is likely the 1968 disappearance of the Soviet submarine K-129. Either way, both Clancy’s novel and the film show a fidelity to how intelligence agencies respond in such situations.

#4: “Red Sparrow” (2018)

This twisty tale of a ballerina turned Russian spy is more faithful to the spy life than you’d think. Based on the book by the same name, author Jason Matthews was, in fact, an ex-CIA station chief. The film follows the book faithfully, capturing the real-life techniques of sexpionage. Young women seducing diplomats into revealing sensitive information was indeed a technique used by the Soviets for blackmail purposes. While Soviet spy schools were not common, there was at least one Russian spy academy operating in the ‘60s and ‘70s, now closed. This is one movie that is actually less strange than real life.

#3: “The Good Shepherd” (2006)

Loosely based on the life of CIA chief James Jesus Angleton, this spy film also doubles as a dramatization of the then-fledgling CIA after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Angleton eventually grew paranoid that enemy spies had infiltrated the CIA and was forced to resign. The movie is rich in period detail, depicting actual equipment and technology used at the time, as well as the CIA's original headquarters on E Street. But many question its accuracy on other points. There are still composite characters, for example, and time compression and jumping. Still, this spy thriller sheds crucial light on a notoriously shadowy career.

#2: “Bridge of Spies” (2015)

One of Steven Spielberg’s more ambitious historical dramas, “Bridge of Spies” tells the tale of a lawyer who must negotiate the release of a CIA pilot, Francis Gary Powers. In exchange, the CIA would hand over convicted Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. Powers’ son, Gary, was involved in the making of the film and helped keep the pilot storyline accurate. The scene where CIA agents confront Abel is also very true to life. Other details, such as the use of a fake nickel in relaying messages, were also accurate. Although not everything in “Bridge of Spies”’is 100% accurate, its basic fidelity gives it an authentic ring, and it went on to be nominated for six Academy Awards.

#1: “Argo” (2012)

Winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, this Ben Affleck-directed thriller is among the most historically accurate dramas out there. The film follows a CIA plot to rescue Americans stranded in Iran by pretending to be filmmakers location-scouting for a bogus sci-fi film, titled “Argo.” Even how they came up with the name of the flick is accurate, after an explicit knock-knock joke. There are some artistic liberties, such as the climactic chase—although it was still pretty tense in real life. In 2023, declassified documents showed two agents who were not in the movie. Dramatic license has to be taken to make a film, but overall “Argo” is faithful to events.



Which other CIA or FBI film do you feel is eerily true to life? Let us know in the comments down below!