Always wanted to see a top cop solving a mystery and chasing the culprit. You landed in the right place. Buddy Cop movies are always a treat to watch. Here is the list of best cop movies which also includes best buddy cop movies in that list for you.
1. The French Connection
- Director: William Friedkin
- Writers: Ernest Tidyman, Robin Moore.
- Cast: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Bill Hickman, Ann Rebbot, Harold Gary, Arlene Farber, Eddie Egan, Sonny Grosso, Benny Marino.
- IMDb: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 98%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
This film is one of the best crime thriller to watch. It starts by showing that a new york city police officer whose name was Doyle came to know about the drug dealer who is based in France. He with his partner plans to catch him. Doyle is very dedicated to his job as a police officer and is also a very short-tempered guy. Will he be able to catch the dealer? Watch the French connection now on Amazon Prime Video.
2. Beverly Hills Cop
- Director: Martin Brest
- Writers: Daniel Petrie Jr., Danilo Bach.
- Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, Steven Berkoff, James Russo, Jonathan Banks, Art Kimbro, Joel Bailey, Paul Reiser, Michael Champion.
- IMDb: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 83%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best cop movies ever. This film starts with Axel Foley when he visits Detroit with his childhood buddy. Later on, his friend is murdered due to which he goes to Beverley hills. After reaching there, he starts believing that Victor Maitland has a hand behind this murder. Lieutenant Bogomil didn’t support him in this and thus always tried to interfere in his investigation. Will he able to catch the real culprit behind it despite the interference of Bogomil? Watch the movie now to know.
3. Rush Hour
- Director: Brett Ratner
- Writers: Ross La Manna, Jim Kouf.
- Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson, Tzi Ma, Robert Littman, Michael Chow, Julia Hsu, Chris Penn, Kai Lennox, Yang Lin, Roger Fan, George Cheung, Lucy Lin.
- IMDb: 7/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 61%
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Rush hour is directed by Brett Ratner and is one of the best buddy cop films. The movie starts in Los Angeles by showing the daughter of a Chinese diplomat getting kidnapped. The diplomat decided to call a detective cum cop whose name was Lee from Hongkong to Los Angeles. He asked him to work with the FBI, to get her daughter back. FBI disagreed to work with Lee and thus dumped him off. Lee later teamed up with James Carter and they decided to get the diplomat’s daughter back as soon as they can. Will her daughter be back safe? Watch the movie now on Netflix.
4. Lethal Weapon
- Director: Richard Donner
- Writers: Shane Black
- Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Damon Hines, Ebonie Smith, Lycia Naff, Don Gordon, Patrick Cameron.
- IMDb: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 81%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best cop films ever made. This movie starts by showing how Martin Riggs, a Los Angeles police officer becomes mad and thinks of suicide after his wife passes away. Later he was asked to work with Roger. They both investigated a drug case. Due to working together as a team on this project, their bond starts becoming stronger. Will they uncover police corruption? Will they be able to solve this case successfully together? Watch Lethal weapon now on Amazon Prime Video.
5. Stray Dog
- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- Writers: Ryuzo Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa.
- Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Sengoku, Noriko Honma, Yasushi Nagata, Isao Kimura, Teruko Kishi, Minoru Chiaki, Gen Shimizu.
- IMDb: 7.9/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 95%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best buddy cop movies is Stray dog is directed by Akira Kurosawa. The movie starts with Murakami, a Japanese young detective who was traveling on a bus. On the bus itself, his gun was stolen. He decided to find the criminal himself. He started to search for the criminal by firstly going to Tokyo’s slums. Later on, he decided to team up with an experienced detective whose name was Takashi to help him find the criminal. Watch the movie now on Amazon Prime Video.
6. Hot Fuzz
- Director: Edgar Wright
- Writers: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg
- Cast: Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Robert Popper, Joe Cornish, Chris Waitt, Eric Mason, Nick Frost, Bill Bailey, Rory Lowings, Troy Woollan, Julia Deakin, Billie Whitelaw
- IMDb: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 91%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best action-comedy movies on the list is Hot Fuzz. Something strange started happening in Somerset village. A man named Nicholas Angel who worked in the police department was the first to notice it. The strange thing that happened was that the members of a family started dying in accidents. He teamed up with his fellow to investigate it. What could be the possible reasons for their death? Watch the movie now on Amazon Prime Video to know.
7. The Bad Guys
- Director: Yong ho son
- Writers: Jung Hoon Han
- Cast: Ma dong Seok, Sang Jung Kim, Ah Jung Kim, Jang ki Yong, Ye-Won Kang, Eun Woo Bae, Jae ho Bang, Dong-Hyuk Cho, Jang Eui Don, Bong gu Go, Jung Hyun Han, Kim Hye Yoon.
- IMDb: 6/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 100%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best buddy cop films on the list is The Bad Guys. It is a must-watch film in the buddy cop genre. The movie starts with the transporting of criminals from prison. During their transportation only, they ran away. After this incident, a skilled team was assembled to get them back in the prison. Will the team be successful in getting them back or the prisoners are able to run away from them also? Watch the movie now to know.
8. Bad Boys For Life
- Director: Adil El Arabi, Bilall Fallah.
- Writers: Peter Craig, Joe Carnahan.
- Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Kate del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Jacob Scipio, DJ Khaled, Happy Anderson, Dennis Greene, Bianca Bethune.
- IMDb: 6.6/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 77%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Bad Boys for life is one of the best buddy cop action comedy movies. It is a must-watch for die-hard cop movie fans. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are seen as police officers in this film. The movie starts with a mother and a son who want to kill the people who were behind the trial of their man. In this incident, Mike got injured and thus teamed up with Marcus. Now they must need to plan how to battle against their enemies. Will they be able to neutralize their enemies who are a threat to their lives? Watch the movie now on Amazon Prime Video.
9. The Other Guys
- Director: Adam McKay
- Writers: Adam McKay, Chris Henchy.
- Cast: Will Ferrell, Derek Jeter, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Larnell Stovall, Roy T. Anderson, Ray Stevenson, Andrew Secunda, Sara Chase, Dwayne Johnson, David Gideon, Joshua Church.
- IMDb: 6.6/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 78%
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Another cop law enforcement movie on the list is The other Guys. It is a must-watch for die-hard cop movies fans. The film starts with Gamble and Hoitz who believe that their desk job is so boring and due to that they are not able to make their name in the city. Fortunately, a small case which later becomes huge news in the city was handed to these two. They both were very eager to investigate this case and thus make their name into the headlines by solving this case. Will these police officers are able to solve it? Watch the movie now on Netflix to know.
10. Cop Out
- Director: Kevin Smith
- Writers: Rob Cullen, Mark Cullen.
- Cast: Tracy Morgan, Cory Fernandez, Jason Hurt, Jeff Lima, Sean Cullen, Kevin Pollak, Adam Brody, Alberto Bonilla, Jeremy Dash, Mando Alvarado.
- IMDb: 5.6/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 19%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best buddy cop films, Cop Out is directed by Kevin Smith. The film starts by showing detective Jimmy in desperate need of money. He needed money to spend on her daughter’s wedding. So, he decided to sell his baseball card. Before he could have sold it, it was stolen. He decided to team up with his partner, Paul. Later they came to know about a man who was very sports obsessed. Will they be able to catch the real guy behind it? Watch the movie to know.
11. Die Hard
- Director: John McTiernan
- Writers: Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart.
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Paul Gleason, William Atherton, Hart Bochner, Alan Rickman, Bruno Doyon, Joey Plewa, Clarence Gilyard Jr., James Shigeta, Lorenzo Cacciaalanza, Alexander Godunov.
- IMDb: 8.2/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 94%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best cop movies in the list, Die Hard is directed by John McTiernan. This story is of a New York police officer whose name John McClane. He was going to enjoy Christmas eve with her daughter and her wife. They decided to meet at her wife’s Japanese office. Unfortunately, terrorists attacked the place. After some time, he came to know that he only will have to protect everybody there from the terrorist. Will he able to combat the terrorists.
12. Die Hard 2
- Director: Ren Harlin
- Writers: Walter Wager, Steven E. de Souza.
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Franco Nero, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz, Art Evans, Fred Thompson, Tom Bower, Don Harvey, Peter Nelson, Tony Ganios.
- IMDb: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 69%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Die Hard 2 is directed by Ren Harlin. The film starts with John going to the airport to receive her wife. Also that day South American drug peddler Ramon was all set to land at the same Washington airport. He was coming to US custody. In the meantime, an ex-colonel threatened to terrorize all the people in the airport as he took the control of the airport. He demanded Ramon in return. Will John be able to save everybody once again or they will have to give Ramon back. Watch the film now to know.
13. Die Hard 3
- Director: John McTiernan
- Writers: Jonathan Hensleigh, Roderick Thorp.
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Anthony Peck, Sam Phillips, Sharon Washington, Stephen Pearlman, Aldis Hodge, Kevin Chamberlin.
- IMDb: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 59%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
This film is one of the best cop movies in the list. Detective John is back in the movie but now he was an alcoholic, his wife left him, and was also fired from his job. Later he was called back to his job as a terrorist attacked New York and refused to chat with people other than John. Due to this John had to come back, this time he teamed up with Zeus Carver, an electrician. What will happen next? Will John once again save New York city or will he have to surrender this time? Watch the movie now on Amazon Prime Video.
14. Bullitt
- Director: Peter Yates
- Writers: Alan Trustman, Hary Kleiner.
- Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughan, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, Norman Fell, Justin Tarr, Carl Reindel, Vic Tayback, Robert Lipton, Ed Peck, Pat Renella.
- IMDb: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 97%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best cop movies ever in history. This movie also showcased one of the best car chases ever so if you love great action sequences watch this one. The movie starts with Walter who was in search of the boss of the mob whose name was Pete. He thus took help from Peter’s brother whose name was Johnny. Johnny was under custody in San Francisco. Police officer Frank of San Francisco had kept him under him. Later, the mob was also introduced in the film due to which a lot of complications arose. Bullitt is directed by Peter Yates and is written by Alan Trustman and Harry Kleiner. What will happen next? Watch the movie now on Amazon Prime Video.
15. Speed
- Director: Jan de Bont
- Writers: Graham Yost
- Cast: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels, Alan Ruck, Glenn Plummer, Beth Grant, Carlos Carrasco, David Kriegel, Simone Gad.
- IMDb: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 94%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
This film starts by showing Jack as an officer from Los Angeles. He was very irritated and frustrated with Payne, who was a former member of the bomb squad. Due to this reason, Payne wanted to take revenge from him and so he planted a bomb on a bus. So to save the bomb from exploding, he decided to take the initiative by teaming up with bus passenger Annie and his partner Harris was also ready to help them out. Will they be able to stop the bomb from exploding? What will happen to Payne? Watch the movie now to know.
16. Ride Along
- Director: Tim Story
- Writers: Greg Coolidge, Jason Mantzoukas.
- Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Bruce McGill, Tika Sumpter, Bryan Callen, Dragos Bucur, Gary Owen, Jay Pharoah, Greg Rementer, Eric Benson, Anna House.
- IMDb: 6.2/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 18%
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Ride Along is one of the best comedy cop movies in the list. The film starts by showing two characters. James was a cop whereas Ben was a security guard. Ben liked James’s sister and thus wanted to prove to him that he is a perfect match for his sister. Later, Ben also join the police academy. James decided to test him, that is he a perfect guy for his sister? So, he invited bento for a shift. But the shift which was primarily organized to frighten the trainee turned out to be dangerous for both of them. What will happen next? Watch the movie now to know.
17. Ride Along 2
- Director: Tim Story
- Writers: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi.
- Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Bruce McGill, Tika Sumpter, Bryan Callen, Dragos Bucur, Gary Owen, Jay Pharoah, Greg Rementer, Eric Benson, Anna House, Ken Jeong, Eric Goins.
- IMDb: 5.9/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 13%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
This is one of the best comedy buddy cop movies on the silver screen. After, Ben became a police officer, he wanted to become like his future brother in law, James. So James decided to take him to Miami, as they got some hidden news about drug dealers residing there. Later, they met with a detective there, who told them that a businessman is also included in this drug case. Now, it’s James and ben’s task to let people know that, the businessman is evil deep inside. Will they be able to do so? Watch this film now on Amazon Prime Video.
18. Bright
- Director: David Ayer
- Writers: Max Landis
- Cast: Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Veronica Ngo, Alex Meraz, Happy Anderson, Dawn Oliveri, Matt Gerald.
- IMDb: 6.3/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 27%
- Where to Watch: Netflix
The movie starts with showing two cops, one of them was human and the other one was an orc. It is one of the best movies on the list. They were doing their routine patrolling one night. They were a lot different from each other as one was human and the other one was an orc so you can see they might have issues with each other. But, they both will have to work together in order to fight against their enemy. Also, they have to protect a female elf. Will they be successful in their plans? Watch the film now on Netflix.
19. Shaft
- Director: Tim Story
- Writers: Ernest Tidyman, Kenya Barris.
- Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessi T. Usher, Richard Roundtree, Regina Hall, Matt Lauria, Method Man, Avan Jogia, Robbie Jones, Ian Casselberry, Almeera Jiwa.
- IMDb: 6.4/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 34%
- Where to Watch: Netflix
One of the best movies with fantastic action sequences, Shaft is directed by Tim Story. The story is of a man named John Shaft Jr., who is an FBI cybersecurity expert. His close friend died. His death was an untimely one. So, to investigate in this case, he needs his father’s expertise. His father agreed to help his son. But, even John Shaft has some old enemies in personal and professional life with whom he has to settle. What will happen next? Watch now on Netflix.
20. Miami Vice
- Director: Michael Mann
- Writers: Michael Mann, Anthony Yerkovich.
- Cast: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Li gong, Justin Theroux, Luis Tosar, John Ortiz, Eddie Marsan, John Hawkes, Tom Towles, Naomie Harris, Barry Shabaka Henley, Isaach de Bankole.
- IMDb: 6/10
- Rotten Tomato Score: 47%
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
One of the best cop action movies in the list is Miami Vice. This film is directed by Michael Mann and written by Michael Mann and Anthony Yerkovich. This film shows two characters as protagonists, one was Sonny Crockett and the other was Ricardo Tubbs. They both got a task to investigate a drug-related matter in Florida. After reaching there, Sonny got in love with the Chinese wife of one of the drug traffickers. Whereas, Ricardo was still focused on killing those drug dealers. Will these lead to a break in those officer’s relationships? Will they be successful in solving the case? Watch the film on Amazon Prime Video now to know.
Notable Mentions
- End of Watch
- Training Day
Add these movies to your watch list. Hollywood’s buddy cop movies are the most viewed movies in the world. Buddy Cop movies are mind-boggling and thus forces us to aspire to become one of the cops. Here is a collection of the best thought-provoking movies for you. You can watch the majority of the films above on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Now you can binge-watch all these movies on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. This festive season, try binge-watching these mind-blowing movies with your loved ones and friends. Hope you spend a good time watching these movies.
