25 best spy movies ever

The Recruit (2003)

That staple of the spy movie genre – the double-cross – is tripled, squared and multiplied by 10 to the power of six in The Recruit.

Despite the knotty role-switching involved in the plot, a small core cast – led by Al Pacino, Colin Farrell and Briget Moynahan – means this action spy thriller’s not as hard on the grey matter as it sounds.