Hollywood has license to thrill with '02 lineup

LOS ANGELES -- There's nothing covert about Hollywood's intrigue with secret agents this year. The industry has spies piled sky high in every imaginable genre, from straight espionage adventures to action comedies to spoofs.

At least a dozen cloak-and-dagger flicks are hitting theaters by January, offering pint-sized operatives, heroic paper-pushers, big-toothed agents and the king of spies, James Bond, returning for his 20th big-screen adventure.

The movies all were essentially finished before Sept. 11, but happen to come at a time of heightened scrutiny of real intelligence agencies.

Arriving last week were "The Sum of All Fears," starring Ben Affleck as Tom Clancy's CIA desk jockey Jack Ryan, and "Undercover Brother," a parody of '70s "blaxploitation" movies with Eddie Griffin as an Afro-headed agent for a clandestine outfit called the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.-H.O.O.D.

Next up is "Bad Company," a comic action tale featuring Anthony Hopkins as a CIA honcho and Chris Rock as a street hustler recruited to replace his slain twin brother, a master spy. Close on its heels is "The Bourne Identity," an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's best seller with Matt Damon as an amnesiac agent.

"I guess there's just something inherently fascinating about that world of deception. There's something more sexy about that world than our own lives," said Damon. "That grandeur of seeing your protagonist in a tuxedo in Switzerland, this world that none of us, we're never, ever going to see up close and that probably doesn't exist, anyway."

Durable Bond

"They're good entertainment. People are fascinated with spies," said Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of "Bad Company," whose previous espionage outings include "Enemy of the State." "There are people who really put their lives at risk for what they believe in, and audiences have always been interested in that."

The Bond films, based on Ian Fleming's books, have been the most durable of Hollywood's covert operations, the franchise surviving 40 years and periodic makeovers as new actors took on the role (after Sean Connery came George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and current 007 Pierce Brosnan, now in his fourth film).

Brosnan, who starred as an opportunistic, anti-Bond sort of spy in "The Tailor of Panama," returns this fall in "Die Another Day."

Among other upcoming spy tales include:

"Austin Powers in Goldmember": Hollywood's most successful spy spoof is back for its third installment. Mike Myers wears the bad dental work again as Austin and plays a new villain, Goldmember.

"XXX": Vin Diesel stars as an extreme-sports star recruited by a National Security Agency operative (Samuel L. Jackson) to take on a dangerous mission.

"Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams": The sister and brother junior agents take on rival child spies in the sequel to last year's surprise family hit.

"The Tuxedo": In his latest action comedy, Jackie Chan plays a chauffeur who is transformed into a super agent when he puts on his employer's magical formal wear.

"I Spy": Eddie Murphy is a cocky boxer teamed with a secret agent (Owen Wilson) hunting down an arms dealer in a big-screen adaptation of the 1960s TV show.