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#10
TRAINING DAY (2001)
Training Dat poster

Denzel Washington took home the Oscar for his turn as corrupt cop Alonzo Harris in Training Day. Ethan Hawke puts in an equally impressive performance as rookie narcotics detective Jake Hoyt, playing student to Alonzo’s rogue detective/mentor whose methods aren’t exactly by the book. The pair scour the streets of Los Angeles shaking down drug dealers, smoking crack, and participating in a shoot out or two. The moral divide between the two cops does not make them buddies for long. 


#9
SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)
Sherlock Holmes poster

What is Sherlock Holmes without his Watson? That is exactly the question asked by director Guy Ritchie in his up tempo update of the famous sleuth. Robert Downey Jr. lends his considerable, quirky talents to Holmes, while Jude Law plays the perfect counter as his sidekick. In between impressive physical stoushes and cracking cases, the pair bicker like an old married couple on the verge of a breakdown.

 

#8
BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop poster

Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) may be a lone wolf from Detroit sniffing out his prey in Los Angeles, yet he cannot get the job done without his L.A. detective buddies Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton) riding shotgun, ready and willing to save Axel from himself when the situation calls for it. Such a dynamic trinity has been created that Taggart’s absence from Beverly Hills Cop III made it an even sadder experience.  

 

#7
POINT BREAK (1991)
Point Break poster

Point Break is a tale of two friendships. The first is the classic rookie / veteran cop cliché made a-new in the wonderful dynamic between Keanu Reeves’ FBI hot shot Johnny Utah (great name) and Gary Busey’s always entertaining veteran Angelo Pappas. The second has Reeves falling head over surf board for new age, wave riding, kick ass guru Bodhi (Patrick Swayze). Both feature plenty of male bonding amongst director Kathryn Bigelow’s excellent display of action.

 

 

#6
LETHAL WEAPON (1987)
Lethal Weapon poster

The pairing of Mel Gibson & Danny Glover as detectives Gibbs and Murtargh is the thing that all buddy cop partnerships strive to be: funny, honest, heartfelt, filled with machismo, and above all clicking with chemistry. Their bond stayed strong with subsequent sequels, yet it is the first Lethal Weapon that packs the hardest punch, Shane Black’s whip smart script and Roger Donaldson’s solid direction making it a film worth re-watching.  

 

 

#5
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the Heat of the Night poster

One of the first and still amongst the best entries in the buddy cop cannon saw Sidney Poitier’s big city detective partner up with Rod Steiger’s redneck sheriff, for a case of murder in the segregated south. What makes In the Heat of the Night stand out is its powerful social commentary on race in America, and through Poitier came one of the first African American heroes in mainstream cinema. Call him “Mr. Tibbs”.

 

 

#4
NARC (2002)
Narc poster

Joe Carnahan’s unseen cop drama Narc is an inspired piece of 1970s-esque police procedural. Ever wanted to know what it would be like if Frank Serpico and Popeye Doyle ever teamed up? Then look no further, as Narcotic detectives Nic Telis (Jason Patric) and Henry Oaks (Ray Liotta) investigate the death of an undercover cop in the mean streets of Detroit.

 


#3
KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang poster

Writer/director Shane Black is an old hand at the buddy cop thing, having written the scripts for Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. Yet his finest moment would come with the criminally overlooked Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Here Black’s razor sharp dialogue is delivered by Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, in career turns as wannabe sleuth Harry Lockhart and homosexual private eye Gay Perry, respectively. In fact, the banter between the two is so infectious, that it is a damn near tragedy they have not teamed up again.  

 

 

#2
HOT FUZZ (2007)
Hot Fuzz poster

Hot Fuzz is that rarest of films that is both an excellent parody of, and stand out addition to the sub-genre it is spoofing. In its combination of best lads Simon Pegg and Nick Frost comedy gold is struck for a second time, with this their follow up to the zombie satire Shaun of the Dead. Yet not only is Hot Fuzz the better of the two, it also manages to best the films it gleefully pays tribute to/takes the piss out of.

 

 

#1
SE7EN (1995)
Se7en poster

As this grimiest of detective mysteries attests, the buddy cop movie does not need to have comedy, nor action to be effective. In the pairing of detectives Mills (Brad Pitt) and Sommerset (Morgan Freeman), the cliché of hot shot cop partnered with grizzled vet is met within the Se7en’s first minutes. Yet the journey they will take is unlike anything seen before, as a long winding path to Hell is tread in the pursuit of a mad man with a knack for the theatrical. In the end it can only lead in tragedy. Expect no sequels to this one.  

 

 

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