A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle. They usually involve various extra-legal plots, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him. They can involve national or international political scenarios. Political corruption, terrorism, and warfare are common themes. With that being said I'm going to bring you my top 10 favorite political thrillers of all-time. So without further ado...
10. Patriot Games
Just a fair warning you going to see a lot of Jack Ryan films and we'll start with this one. Jack Ryan (played by Harrison Ford) foils an attempted assassination, thereby incurring the wrath of a maniacal Irish radical (played by Sean Bean). After seemingly neutralizing the villains, and deciding to celebrate the occasion with his wife (played by Anne Archer) and daughter (played by Thora Birch), everything appears to be back to normal; then all hell breaks loose. Patriot Games has a a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. The Sum of All Fears
Here is another Jack Ryan film this time staring Ben Affleck his third best role to date (Gone Girl and The Town). When the president of Russia suddenly dies and is succeeded by a man about whom little is known, tension increases as old fears ignite new paranoia. Director of Central Intelligence Bill Cabot (played by Morgan Freeman) recruits a young analyst from the Russia desk, Jack Ryan (played by Ben Affleck), to supply insight and advice. Then the unthinkable happens: the capital of Chechnya is leveled by a nuclear bomb. America is quick to blame the Russians, and mistrust escalates despite Ryan's certainty that other players are at work. He is right. Terrorists bent on provoking open war between the two nations are moving behind the scenes to manufacture and escalate a conflict. When they successfully detonate a second bomb outside Baltimore during the Super Bowl, the world is pushed inexorably towards war... unless Ryan can supply the needed proof to stem the tide of disaster in time. The Sum of All Fears has a rating of 59% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Clear and Present Danger
Another Jack Ryan film and this is by far Harrison Ford's best portrayal of the character.Jack Ryan (played by Harrison Ford) is assigned to a delicate anti-drug investigation after a close friend of the President (played by Donald Moffat) is murdered by a Colombian drug cartel. When Ryan discovers that the President's wealthy friend was in league with the cartel, the President's devious national security adviser (played by Harris Yulin) and an ambitious CIA deputy director (played by Henry Czerny) send a secret paramilitary force into Colombia to wipe out the drug lords. The force is captured and then abandoned by the President's lackeys. It falls to Ryan to enter Colombia and rescue them, aided only by a renegade operative named Clark (played by Willem Dafoe), with both his life and career on the line. Clear and Present Danger was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing and Sound Editing and it has a rating of 82% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Syriana
This is an amazing movie and it really gives an insight into backdoor politics. As a career CIA operative (played by George Clooney) begins to uncover the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to, an up-and-coming oil broker faces an unimaginable family tragedy and finds redemption in his partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince. A corporate lawyer (played by Jeffery Wright) faces a moral dilemma as he finesses the questionable merger of two powerful U.S. oil companies, while across the globe, a disenfranchised Pakistani teenager falls prey to the recruiting efforts of a charismatic cleric. Each plays their small part in the vast and complex system that powers the industry, unaware of the explosive impact their lives will have upon the world. Syriana was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay while winning the award for Best Supporting Actor and it has a rating of 72% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Enemy of the State
I love this film, as it kept me on the edge of my seat and Will Smith gives one of the better performances of his career. Robert Clayton Dean (played by Will Smith0, is a devoted father, husband, and attorney shopping for a sexy gift for his wife Carla (played by Regina King). What he doesn't know is that he was given a videotape from a friend (played by Jason Lee) regarding the recent murder of a U.S. senator led by corrupt National Security Agency official Thomas Reynolds (played by Jon Voight). Now Reynolds is after Dean to cover his tracks and frame Dean an ex-girlfriend (played by Lisa Bonet)'s murder. Since Dean isn't up on his high-tech gadgetry, he needs the aid of ex-intelligence operative Brill (played by Gene Hackman) and helps Dean realize that in the modern world, there is no such thing as total privacy. Enemy of the State has a rating of 71% on rottentomatoes.com
5.The Hunt for Red October
I absolutely loved the book and this film did the book justice eventhough is has the second best Jack Ryan. Marko Ramius (played by Sean Connery) sets the plot in motion when he murders his political adviser, burns his orders, and steers his sub Red October towards American waters, hoping to defect. The CIA, aware that the Red October was about to embark on an evasive mission to demonstrate its ability to avoid detection and fire its nuclear missiles upon U.S. installations, believes that Ramius is insane, and that he plans to start World War III. To cover their own behinds, the Russians back up the CIA's suspicion. Only Jack Ryan (played by Alec Baldwin) believes that Ramius' mission is not as apocalyptic as it seems -- and it is Ryan who is assigned to infiltrate the Red October to prove his theory. The Hunt for Red October was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Film Editing while winning the award for Best Sound Editing and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.
4.Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
This movie is really intense and it showed just how good of an actor Gary Oldman is. George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a disgraced British spy, is rehired in secret by his government - which fears that the British Secret Intelligence Service, a.k.a. MI-6, has been compromised by a double agent working for the Soviets. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score and it has a rating of 83% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Munich
This film is one of the more beautiful yet heart-breaking film Steven Spielberg has ever done. An Israeli squad is assigned to track down and assassinate 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre -- and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who leads it. Munich was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Film Editing and it has a rating of 78% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. V for Vendetta
It you want a film that unites a nation to fight against the government and is led by a revolutionist, then this is the film is for you. In the near future Dystopian society, V (played by Hugo Weaving) is a bold, charismatic freedom fighter, attempting to ignite a revolution against the brutal fascist regime led by Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt) that has subjugated the United Kingdom. Evey Hammond (played by Natalie Portman), a working class girl that has accidentally been caught up in V's mission and Detective Eric Finch (played by Stephen Rea) that is on a desperate quest to stop V. I love this film and its message can resonate with our government and what it is slowly becoming. V for Vendetta has a rating of 73% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Ok so this may not be a political thriller, but the way the movie plays out you feel like you are watching one. After the cataclysmic events in New York with his fellow Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Capt. America (played by Chris Evans), lives in the nation's capital as he tries to adjust to modern times. An attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague throws Rogers into a web of intrigue that places the whole world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) and a new ally, the Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie), Rogers struggles to expose an ever-widening conspiracy, but he and his team soon come up against an unexpected enemy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier currently has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
10. Patriot Games
Just a fair warning you going to see a lot of Jack Ryan films and we'll start with this one. Jack Ryan (played by Harrison Ford) foils an attempted assassination, thereby incurring the wrath of a maniacal Irish radical (played by Sean Bean). After seemingly neutralizing the villains, and deciding to celebrate the occasion with his wife (played by Anne Archer) and daughter (played by Thora Birch), everything appears to be back to normal; then all hell breaks loose. Patriot Games has a a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. The Sum of All Fears
Here is another Jack Ryan film this time staring Ben Affleck his third best role to date (Gone Girl and The Town). When the president of Russia suddenly dies and is succeeded by a man about whom little is known, tension increases as old fears ignite new paranoia. Director of Central Intelligence Bill Cabot (played by Morgan Freeman) recruits a young analyst from the Russia desk, Jack Ryan (played by Ben Affleck), to supply insight and advice. Then the unthinkable happens: the capital of Chechnya is leveled by a nuclear bomb. America is quick to blame the Russians, and mistrust escalates despite Ryan's certainty that other players are at work. He is right. Terrorists bent on provoking open war between the two nations are moving behind the scenes to manufacture and escalate a conflict. When they successfully detonate a second bomb outside Baltimore during the Super Bowl, the world is pushed inexorably towards war... unless Ryan can supply the needed proof to stem the tide of disaster in time. The Sum of All Fears has a rating of 59% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Clear and Present Danger
Another Jack Ryan film and this is by far Harrison Ford's best portrayal of the character.Jack Ryan (played by Harrison Ford) is assigned to a delicate anti-drug investigation after a close friend of the President (played by Donald Moffat) is murdered by a Colombian drug cartel. When Ryan discovers that the President's wealthy friend was in league with the cartel, the President's devious national security adviser (played by Harris Yulin) and an ambitious CIA deputy director (played by Henry Czerny) send a secret paramilitary force into Colombia to wipe out the drug lords. The force is captured and then abandoned by the President's lackeys. It falls to Ryan to enter Colombia and rescue them, aided only by a renegade operative named Clark (played by Willem Dafoe), with both his life and career on the line. Clear and Present Danger was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing and Sound Editing and it has a rating of 82% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Syriana
This is an amazing movie and it really gives an insight into backdoor politics. As a career CIA operative (played by George Clooney) begins to uncover the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to, an up-and-coming oil broker faces an unimaginable family tragedy and finds redemption in his partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince. A corporate lawyer (played by Jeffery Wright) faces a moral dilemma as he finesses the questionable merger of two powerful U.S. oil companies, while across the globe, a disenfranchised Pakistani teenager falls prey to the recruiting efforts of a charismatic cleric. Each plays their small part in the vast and complex system that powers the industry, unaware of the explosive impact their lives will have upon the world. Syriana was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay while winning the award for Best Supporting Actor and it has a rating of 72% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Enemy of the State
I love this film, as it kept me on the edge of my seat and Will Smith gives one of the better performances of his career. Robert Clayton Dean (played by Will Smith0, is a devoted father, husband, and attorney shopping for a sexy gift for his wife Carla (played by Regina King). What he doesn't know is that he was given a videotape from a friend (played by Jason Lee) regarding the recent murder of a U.S. senator led by corrupt National Security Agency official Thomas Reynolds (played by Jon Voight). Now Reynolds is after Dean to cover his tracks and frame Dean an ex-girlfriend (played by Lisa Bonet)'s murder. Since Dean isn't up on his high-tech gadgetry, he needs the aid of ex-intelligence operative Brill (played by Gene Hackman) and helps Dean realize that in the modern world, there is no such thing as total privacy. Enemy of the State has a rating of 71% on rottentomatoes.com
5.The Hunt for Red October
I absolutely loved the book and this film did the book justice eventhough is has the second best Jack Ryan. Marko Ramius (played by Sean Connery) sets the plot in motion when he murders his political adviser, burns his orders, and steers his sub Red October towards American waters, hoping to defect. The CIA, aware that the Red October was about to embark on an evasive mission to demonstrate its ability to avoid detection and fire its nuclear missiles upon U.S. installations, believes that Ramius is insane, and that he plans to start World War III. To cover their own behinds, the Russians back up the CIA's suspicion. Only Jack Ryan (played by Alec Baldwin) believes that Ramius' mission is not as apocalyptic as it seems -- and it is Ryan who is assigned to infiltrate the Red October to prove his theory. The Hunt for Red October was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Film Editing while winning the award for Best Sound Editing and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.
4.Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
This movie is really intense and it showed just how good of an actor Gary Oldman is. George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a disgraced British spy, is rehired in secret by his government - which fears that the British Secret Intelligence Service, a.k.a. MI-6, has been compromised by a double agent working for the Soviets. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score and it has a rating of 83% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Munich
This film is one of the more beautiful yet heart-breaking film Steven Spielberg has ever done. An Israeli squad is assigned to track down and assassinate 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre -- and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who leads it. Munich was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Film Editing and it has a rating of 78% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. V for Vendetta
It you want a film that unites a nation to fight against the government and is led by a revolutionist, then this is the film is for you. In the near future Dystopian society, V (played by Hugo Weaving) is a bold, charismatic freedom fighter, attempting to ignite a revolution against the brutal fascist regime led by Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt) that has subjugated the United Kingdom. Evey Hammond (played by Natalie Portman), a working class girl that has accidentally been caught up in V's mission and Detective Eric Finch (played by Stephen Rea) that is on a desperate quest to stop V. I love this film and its message can resonate with our government and what it is slowly becoming. V for Vendetta has a rating of 73% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Ok so this may not be a political thriller, but the way the movie plays out you feel like you are watching one. After the cataclysmic events in New York with his fellow Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Capt. America (played by Chris Evans), lives in the nation's capital as he tries to adjust to modern times. An attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague throws Rogers into a web of intrigue that places the whole world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) and a new ally, the Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie), Rogers struggles to expose an ever-widening conspiracy, but he and his team soon come up against an unexpected enemy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier currently has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of of my list and what are some of your favorite political thrillers of all-time? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice heard.
Jonah Sparks
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