The Best Police Movies
List Rules
Vote up your favorite movies about cops, detectives, SWAT teams, and investigators.
Here is a list of the best cop movies, but which one is the best police movie of all time? The police films listed below may be sorted by year of release, director, or actors. Check out more great movie lists that you can also watch on Netflix such as scary movies on Netflix, funny movies on Netflix and best action movies on Netflix.
This list of the best and most popular cop movies of all time includes recent action police dramas like End of Watch and cult comedy movies like Super Troopers. Whether they are old classics or new favorites, all the famous law enforcement movies can be found on this list. Many top police films, such as Training Day and the Lethal Weapon series, usually center on two cops throughout the movie.
All the police films can be reranked to make your own list of good cop/bad cop movies, list of police procedural films, sad cop movies, or list of buddy cop movies. What are the best cop films? These movies may give you a new perspective the next time you watch serial killer films.
These may not be all the cop movies out there, but they are the best.
Ranked by
- 1Anna Kendrick, Jake Gyllenhaal, America Ferrera
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: David Ayer
End of Watch is a 2012 American drama thriller film written and directed by David Ayer. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as Brian Taylor and Miguel Zavala, two Los Angeles Police Department ...more - 2Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: David Fincher
When retiring police Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) tackles a final case with the aid of newly transferred David Mills (Brad Pitt), they discover a number of elaborate and grizzly ...more - 3Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: John McTiernan
New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the ...more - 4Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant ...more - 5Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Richard Donner
Following the death of his wife, Los Angeles police detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) becomes reckless and suicidal. When he is reassigned and partnered with Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), Riggs ...more - 6Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Police drama about a veteran officer who escorts a rookie on his first day with the LAPD's tough inner-city narcotics unit. "Training Day" is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to ...more - 7Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Brian De Palma
After building an empire with bootleg alcohol, legendary crime boss Al Capone (Robert De Niro) rules Chicago with an iron fist. Though Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) attempts to take ...more - 8Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
South Boston cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster's trust, a career ...more - 9Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Michael Mann
Master criminal Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is trying to control the rogue actions of one of his men, while also planning one last big heist before retiring. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Hanna (Al ...more - 10Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Andrew Davis
Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him is a team of U.S. marshals led by ...more - 11Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
- Released: 1971
- Directed by: Don Siegel
Cop Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) attempts to track down a psychopathic rooftop killer before a kidnapped girl dies. When he is found Harry abuses the murderer's civil rights putting him back on ...more - 12Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
After a string of bizarre bank robberies in Southern California, with the crooks donning masks of various former presidents, a federal agent, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), infiltrates the suspected ...more - 13Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce
- Released: 1997
- Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Three policemen, each with his own motives and obsessions, tackle the corruption surrounding an unsolved murder at a downtown Los Angeles coffee shop in the early 1950s. Detective Lieutenant Exley ...more - 14Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Richard Donner
South African smugglers find themselves being hounded and harassed by Riggs and Murtaugh, two mismatched Los Angeles police officers. However, the South Africans are protected by diplomatic immunity, ...more - 15Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: Dennis Hopper
In this gritty police drama from director Dennis Hopper, street-wise cop Bob Hodges (Robert Duvall) and hotheaded rookie Danny McGavin (Sean Penn) grapple with their new partnership on the ...more - 16Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: Peter Yates
Senator Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross (Vic Tayback) with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny (Pat Renella), who is in ...more - 17Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton
- Released: 1984
- Directed by: Martin Brest
After his childhood buddy is murdered while visiting Detroit, rebellious cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) follows the leads to Beverly Hills, Calif., under the auspices of a vacation. He checks in with ...more - 18Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Téa Leoni
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Michael Bay
Miami-Dade detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) blow a fuse when $100 million worth of heroin they recently confiscated is heisted from station headquarters. ...more - 19Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates
- Released: 1967
- Directed by: Norman Jewison
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. ...more - 20Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: John McTiernan
Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is now divorced, alcoholic and jobless after getting fired for his reckless behavior and bad attitude. He is called back into action, however, when a cryptic ...more - 21Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Renny Harlin
A year after his heroics in L.A, detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is mixed up in another terrorist plot, this time at Washington Dulles International Airport, where he is waiting for his wife ...more - 22Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) is an idealistic New York City cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. His actions get Frank shunned by the other officers, and often placed in ...more - 23Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, David Soul
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Ted Post
Rogue San Francisco cop "Dirty Harry" Callahan (Clint Eastwood) doesn't believe in blind obedience to the rules, but when a vigilante group starts executing criminals who have escaped punishment on ...more - 24Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Jan de Bont
Los Angeles police officer Jack (Keanu Reeves) angers retired bomb squad member Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) by foiling his attempt at taking hostages. In revenge, Payne arms a bus with a bomb that ...more - 25Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Alexander Godunov
- Released: 1985
- Directed by: Peter Weir
After witnessing a brutal murder, young Amish boy Samuel (Lukas Haas) and his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis) seek protection from police officer John Book (Harrison Ford). When Book uncovers evidence ...more
