Movies like Dying of the Light (2014)
The best movies like Dying of the Light (2014) are Syriana (2005), The Operative (2019) and The Quiller Memorandum (1966). If Dying of the Light hooked you with its thriller and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSorcerer (1977)7.5/10 from 725 votes
- NewestThe Fix (2026)Released 2026
Syriana (2005)
The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman, a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Operative (2019)
A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like this3 Days to Kill (2014)
A dangerous international spy is determined to give up his high stakes life to finally build a closer relationship with his estranged wife and daughter. But first, he must complete one last mission - even if it means juggling the two toughest assignments yet: hunting down the world's most ruthless terrorist and looking after his teenage daughter for the first time in ten years, while his wife is out of town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeeking Justice (2011)
After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpy Game (2001)
On the day of his retirement, a veteran CIA agent learns that his former protégé has been arrested in China, is sentenced to die the next morning in Beijing, and that the CIA is considering letting that happen to avoid an international scandal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCanary Black (2024)
Top level CIA agent Avery Graves is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. Cut off from her team, she turns to her underworld contacts to survive and help locate the coveted intelligence that the kidnappers want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe November Man (2014)
An ex-CIA operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMalone (1987)
Erstwhile C.I.A. assassin Richard Malone hopes for a tranquil retirement in the placid Pacific Northwest, but what he gets is a rumble with a right-wing extremist plotting a secret revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gray Man (2022)
When a shadowy CIA agent uncovers damning agency secrets, he's hunted across the globe by a sociopathic rogue operative who's put a bounty on his head.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKandahar (2023)
After his mission is exposed, an undercover CIA operative stuck deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan must fight his way out, alongside his Afghan translator, to an extraction point in Kandahar, all whilst avoiding elite enemy forces and foreign spies tasked with hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fix (2026)
Disillusioned by the end of the war in Afghanistan, a group of disgraced, war-torn ex-CIA operatives set out to Tehran to take down a life-changing score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisAll the Old Knives (2022)
When the CIA discovers one of its agents leaked information that cost more than 100 people their lives, veteran operative Henry Pelham is assigned to root out the mole with his former lover and colleague Celia Harrison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisErased (2012)
A former agent of the CIA and his estranged daughter go on the run after his employers target them for assassination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSafe House (2012)
A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKill 'em All 2 (2024)
Phillip and Suzanne are retired from the spy game, living peacefully off the grid. That's until their whereabouts are discovered by Vlad, the vengeful brother of their target from the first film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalt (2010)
As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a Russian defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. She goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA. Her efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: "Who is Salt?"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Bomb (2006)
The Department of Homeland Security receives a threat that a bomb has been set to explode during a sports event in Washington, D.C.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Dirty War (2004)
After years of meticulous planning, a terrorist operation is reaching its final stages. The authorities have received no intelligence; they are in a race against time but don't yet know it. As the operation unfolds, we see the working lives of men and women directly affected by terrorism. Among them: a firemen worried about the increasingly dangerous conditions he and his men are expected to work under; the head of the anti-terrorist branch whose responsibility it is to protect London and a female Muslim detective brought into Scotland Yard to investigate another suspected terrorist cell. But it is too late to stop the attack.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Catcher Was a Spy (2018)
Former major league baseball player Moe Berg lives a double life working for the Office of Strategic Services in World War II Europe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Suspeita (2022)
Lúcia is a renowned police investigator. At age 50, has dedicated her entire life to her profession and is a respected name among her peers. Everything changes during an investigation, a writer that was writing the memoir of one of the drug trafficking lord, and had his phone tapped illegally by Lúcia, is assassinated and she is under investigation by her superiors. At the same time, she finds out she has Alzheimer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Incendiary (2008)
A woman's life is torn apart when her husband and infant son are killed in a suicide bombing at a soccer match.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisLand of the Blind (2006)
A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Know You Know (2009)
Jamie, an 11-year-old boy, is fascinated by his father Charlie’s espionage work until the world of spies becomes all too real. Charlie lives in his own reality—an undercover agent, always on an important mission, always on the move. Life for Charlie is highly charged and on the edge. He is unpredictable, explosive, yet kind hearted and fiercely protective of his Jamie who hero-worships his father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
The Thief (1952)
A chance accident causes a nuclear physicist, who's selling top secret material to the Russians, to fall under FBI scrutiny and go on the run.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sorcerer (1977)
Four men from different countries flee to an impoverished South American village, Povernir, to hide from their pasts. When an oil well explodes, chaos and barbarism roam the streets. Desperate to leave, they agree to risk their lives to transport several crates of nitroglycerin across treacherous jungle terrain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeyond the Tree (2014)
CIA Agent Walter Adams was kidnapped while he was undercover on a secret mission. He wakes up in the middle of nowhere tied to a tree, and tries to escape fighting to stay alive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dying of the Light?
The closest matches to Dying of the Light are Syriana (2005), The Operative (2019) and The Quiller Memorandum (1966). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dying of the Light?
Start with Syriana (2005), the closest match to Dying of the Light.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dying of the Light?
Sorcerer (1977), rated 7.5/10 by 725 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dying of the Light?
The Fix (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dying of the Light?
Yes: Syriana (2005), The Operative (2019) and The Quiller Memorandum (1966).
How are movies similar to Dying of the Light chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dying of the Light, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.