If there’s one thing that spy movies always drive home, it’s that having kids always complicates the job. But, some of those movies also show you that bringing kids into the world of spies can also be pretty funny at times.
Take “Back in Action,” now streaming on Netflix, for example. The film centers on two CIA operatives who take an opportunity to fake their deaths once they learn they’re having a baby. Years later, they now have two kids, and because of those teenagers, their cover is accidentally blown.
What follows is a very complicated, but cool family adventure. And, after seeing it, you might be looking for more movies like it. Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are five family-friendly spy movies like “Back in Action” that you can watch next.
Spy Kids (2001)
There’s a moment in “Back in Action” where Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx’s on-screen children marvel at the fact that their parents were ever cool enough to be spies. In fact, the line is eerily reminiscent of one that Alexa PenaVega utters in the original “Spy Kids.”
In this movie, Carmen (PenaVega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) learn that their parents are actually long-retired secret agents when said parents get kidnapped. Together, the kids must pick up spycraft themselves and save mom and dad before it’s too late.
“Spy Kids” is now streaming on Max.
The Family Plan (2023)
“The Family Plan” also centers on a family whose life is disrupted by a life of espionage, when former elite government assassin Dan (Mark Wahlberg) is found by old enemies of his.
So, to flee them, he packs his wife, teenage kids and 10-month-old baby into their minivan, driving cross-country to Las Vegas. Naturally, he can’t keep the secret from them forever, and what follows is some unexpectedly cool family bonding techniques.
“The Family Plan” is now streaming on Apple TV+.
My Spy (2020)
“My Spy” stars “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Dave Bautista as a CIA operative who gets caught and subsequently blackmailed by a 9-year-old while on a surveillance mission.
In exchange for keeping his cover, he agrees to show the little girl how to become a spy, and how to fit in with the kids at her school. It’s a cute team-up, and it even got a sequel.
“My Spy” is now streaming on Prime Video.
Kids TV Is Dead, Long Live Kids TV
The Spy Next Door (2010)
In “The Spy Next Door,” Jackie Chan plays an undercover operative for the CIA who decides to give up his career and marry his girlfriend. It’s never that easy though.
When he attempts to win the approval of her kids by offering to babysit for a weekend, one of them mistakenly downloads a top-secret formula, drawing the attention of a Russian terrorist.
“The Spy Next Door” is available to rent or buy on Fandango at Home.
The Pacifier (2005)
It’s been 20 years since “The Pacifier” came out, but it remains a gem. In the film, Navy SEAL Shane Wolf (Vin Diesel) is assigned to protect a scientist from assassination, but sadly fails, taking a bullet in the process.
So, once he’s recovered, Shane is sent to protect that scientists five kids from their father’s enemies, turning himself into a nanny while still trying to find the secret program their father created.
This comedy isn’t as reliant on the spy element as others, but it’s still a delight.
“The Pacifier” is now streaming on Disney+.
