This summer has produced a ton of action thrillers, and it's not over yet. The next release is the spy movie Hitman: Agent 47, a German/American collaboration by Aleksander Bach and Skip Woods. Rupert Friend stars as the titular Agent 47, an employee of the top-secret organization the International Contract Agency. The ICA works with governmental agencies like the FBI and CIA to arrange for the assassination of high-profile targets. It's a pretty scary concept for an NGO, but is the International Contract Agency real?
No worries; it's not an actual organization, and neither it nor the movie's plotline are based on true events. Hitman: Agent 47 is actually based off the 2007 movie Hitman, which itself was based on a video game series from Danish company IO interactive. The video game is therefore the origin of the International Contract Agency, which would provide missions for players portraying Agent 47. Although the ICA toes the line between good and evil, it is similar to many other espionage organizations in action films — including some recent ones. The agency might remind you of these other top-secret organizations whose acronyms represent a network of highly-skilled agents who will never turn down a dangerous missions.
Impossible Missions Force
The IMF is, unsurprisingly, the agency in the Mission: Impossible series. The operatives of the IMF are given the missions that nobody else is willing to take on because of their difficulty and inherent risks. Tom Cruise most recently demonstrated the fearlessness of IMF agent Ethan Hunt by hanging off a plane in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Point proven.
United Network Command For Law And Enforcement
Do the letters look familiar? They spell out UNCLE, as in the intelligence agency in this summer's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Arnie Hammer and Henry Cavill portray secret agents of U.N.C.L.E, which employs operatives of all nationalities to help maintain international peace. It's like the badass cousin of the UN — the kind that shows up to Thanksgiving dinner on a motorcycle. I'm okay with it.
Kingsman
This secret intelligence agency is featured in Kingsman: Secret Service, released earlier this year. Taron Egerton portrays Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, who is recruited for the agency despite being poor and having the dumbest name ever. Colin Firth also makes an appearance as a senior intelligence agent in this comedy-thriller, which received impressive reviews and grossed over $400 million.
Rescue Aid Society
Arguably the most adorable (and probably the only) international mouse organization of all time, the RAS is the UN-equivalent featured in The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under. Their mission is to help those in need, which coincidentally always happens to mean cute children who aren't at all freaked out by talking mice.
Although the International Contract Agency may not be the most benevolent fictional agency, its concept is the perfect setup for some death-defying endeavors in Hitman: Agent 47. And I can't help but love Rupert Friend as a sexy secret agent, even if he does, you know, kill people and stuff. Look past these minor details, and catch Hitman: Agent 47 in theaters now.
Images: Giphy; 20th Century Fox
