Best police movies
by raivo-t | created - 17 Jan 2015 | updated - 18 Jun 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Gangster Squad (2013)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
It's 1949 Los Angeles, the city is run by gangsters and a malicious mobster, Mickey Cohen. Determined to end the corruption, John O'Mara assembles a team of cops, ready to take down the ruthless leader and restore peace to the city.
Director: Ruben Fleischer | Stars: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi
Votes: 222,684 | Gross: $46.00M
2. End of Watch (2012)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera
Votes: 268,901 | Gross: $41.00M
3. L.A. Confidential (1997)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
Votes: 617,476 | Gross: $64.62M
4. True Detective (2014– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch
Votes: 655,742
5. Cop Land (1997)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro
Votes: 106,300 | Gross: $44.89M
6. The Departed (2006)
R | 151 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg
Votes: 1,421,357 | Gross: $132.38M
7. Police Academy (1984)
R | 96 min | Comedy
The mayor declares that anyone can enroll in the police academy irrespective of their physical condition or education level, and many misfits descend on the academy, including a young troublemaker who's forced to apply or go to jail.
Director: Hugh Wilson | Stars: Steve Guttenberg, G.W. Bailey, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith
Votes: 137,317 | Gross: $81.20M
8. Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)
PG | 83 min | Comedy
The alumni of Commandant Lassard's Police Academy (1984) return to the school to train new recruits and prevent its closure.
Director: Jerry Paris | Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow
Votes: 48,612 | Gross: $43.58M
9. Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)
PG-13 | 87 min | Comedy
When a new gang moves into town it's up to the screwball police team to stop them.
Directors: Jerry Paris, James Signorelli | Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow
Votes: 59,175 | Gross: $55.60M
10. Training Day (2001)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger
Votes: 472,528 | Gross: $76.63M
11. Bad Boys II (2003)
R | 147 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two loose-cannon narcotics cops investigate the flow of Ecstasy into Florida from a Cuban drug cartel.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Gabrielle Union, Jordi Mollà
Votes: 266,951 | Gross: $138.61M
12. Bad Boys (1995)
R | 119 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Lisa Boyle, Michael Taliferro
Votes: 286,172 | Gross: $65.81M
13. We Own the Night (2007)
R | 117 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A New York City nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian Mafia hitmen.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Danny Hoch
Votes: 92,926 | Gross: $28.56M
14. Se7en (1995)
R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker
Votes: 1,797,696 | Gross: $100.13M
15. Lethal Weapon (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 276,219 | Gross: $65.21M
16. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Patsy Kensit
Votes: 188,707 | Gross: $147.25M
17. Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
R | 118 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue a former LAPD officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo
Votes: 178,429 | Gross: $144.73M
18. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
R | 127 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with deadly Chinese triads that are trying to free their former leaders out of prison and onto American soil.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo
Votes: 172,168 | Gross: $130.44M
19. American Gangster (2007)
R | 157 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin
Votes: 452,296 | Gross: $130.16M
20. Donnie Brasco (1997)
R | 127 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the Mafia life--at the expense of his regular one.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 332,030 | Gross: $41.91M
21. Face/Off (1997)
R | 138 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
To foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 400,682 | Gross: $112.23M
22. Rush Hour (1998)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A loyal and dedicated Hong Kong Inspector teams up with a reckless and loudmouthed L.A.P.D. detective to rescue the Chinese Consul's kidnapped daughter, while trying to arrest a dangerous crime lord along the way.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 294,444 | Gross: $141.15M
23. Rush Hour 2 (2001)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Carter and Lee head to Hong Kong for a vacation, but become embroiled in a counterfeit money scam.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 238,861 | Gross: $226.16M
24. U.S. Marshals (1998)
PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard and his team of Marshals are assigned to track down Sheridan, who has been accused of a double-murder.
Director: Stuart Baird | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Pantoliano
Votes: 113,343 | Gross: $57.17M
25. Speed (1994)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton
Votes: 391,623 | Gross: $121.25M
26. Edison (2005)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Upon discovering a den of corrupt policemen, a fresh-faced journalist makes shaky allies in a jaded reporter and investigator for a powerful district attorney.
Director: David J. Burke | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Justin Timberlake, LL Cool J
Votes: 16,257
27. Kindergarten Cop (1990)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A tough cop must pose as a kindergarten teacher in order to locate a dangerous criminal's ex-wife, who may hold the key to putting him behind bars.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt
Votes: 162,524 | Gross: $91.46M
28. Zodiac (2007)
R | 157 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards
Votes: 597,911 | Gross: $33.08M
29. The Bone Collector (1999)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A quadriplegic ex-homicide detective and his partner try to track down a serial killer who is terrorizing New York City.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker
Votes: 184,826 | Gross: $66.52M
30. Miami Vice (2006)
R | 132 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Based on the 1980s TV action/drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Gong Li, Naomie Harris
Votes: 123,684 | Gross: $63.45M
31. Pride and Glory (2008)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich, Jon Voight
Votes: 63,248 | Gross: $15.71M
32. Insomnia (2002)
R | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan
Votes: 318,952 | Gross: $67.36M
33. Street Kings (2008)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans
Votes: 120,752 | Gross: $26.42M
34. Exit Wounds (2001)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Orin Boyd, a tough cop in an inner-city precinct discovers a web of dirty cops and corruption.
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak | Stars: Steven Seagal, DMX, Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson
Votes: 36,914 | Gross: $51.76M
35. 15 Minutes (2001)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A homicide detective and a fire marshal must stop a pair of murderers who commit videotaped crimes to become media darlings.
Director: John Herzfeld | Stars: Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks
Votes: 51,929 | Gross: $24.40M
36. Starsky & Hutch (2004)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Crime
Two streetwise cops bust criminals in their red and white Ford Gran Torino, with the help of a police snitch called "Huggy Bear".
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughn
Votes: 154,480 | Gross: $88.24M
37. Shaft (2000)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
New York City police detective John Shaft (nephew of the original 1970s detective) goes on a personal mission to make sure the son of a real estate tycoon is brought to justice after a racially-motivated murder.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Christian Bale, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 80,773 | Gross: $70.33M
38. RoboCop (1987)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox
Votes: 282,907 | Gross: $53.42M
39. The Shield (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Drama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
Stars: Michael Chiklis, Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace
Votes: 88,023
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