A recent shot at rebooting the franchise in 2019 didn’t add up to much either. Moreover, their run at the international box office was shortlived. Sure, there were the Charlie’s Angels films, rehashed from the original TV show of the seventies, but technically speaking the Angels are investigators than secret agents. Yet, strange as it may sound, cinema never came up with that one iconic female spy franchise, in the way James Bond, Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt have been celebrated down the decades. Garbo apart, generations of actresses who have enthralled as the femme fatale on secret service include Ingrid Bergman, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Anne Parillaud, Geena Davis, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence and Julia Roberts, just to name a few. Some of the biggest stars in business have added sheen to the secret agent on screen with their signature styles. It is a role that makes heroism look cool because screen spies have the license to get away with defying societal norms as they go about saving country and world. Playing a spy is a sexy makeover for any star, female or male. The film turned out to be the greatest hit in Garbo’s legendary career and also set the ball rolling for the female spy thriller in mainstream Hollywood, establishing ground rules for the sub-genre that has evolved with time and emerged a viable commercial package for studios. With a stellar supporting cast that includes Melinda Clarke and Xander Berkeley, Nikita was far better than it needed to be and, if your a fan of the action spy genre, is definitely worth watching.The allure of the female spy on screen has grown manifolds since the days Greta Garbo sizzled in the title role of the 1931 box office smash, Mata Hari.

Of course, going undercover comes with its own emotional and ethical complications, and Alex may not know all that there is to know about her mentor Nikita, and Nikita’s role in Alex’s tragic past. Our story begins when Nikita plants her protege, Alex, within Division, with a plan to work together to take the agency down. Starring Maggie Q as the titular Nikita, the series began after the former spy has vowed to take down the secret agency that trained her, known as the Division.

Technically an adaptation of the 1997 La Femme Nikita TV series, which was in turn an adaptation of Luc Besson’s 1990 action film of the same name, Nikita quickly surpassed both originals to become one of the best female-led spy stories of all time. This highly underrated spy series ran for four action-packed seasons on The CW before totally sticking its landing in 2013.

Female spy agent