Since the inception of cinema, genres began to take shape and transform, eginning with the basics like drama, romance, and comedy. With an oversaturated market of film, the industry is constantly evolving and inventing new niche genres. As a subgenre of crime films, police films have gained a great deal of popularity over the years, with the buddy cop genre proving popular with films like 21 Jump Street and Ride Along, which left audiences laughing at the jokes and thrilled by the action at the same time. That being said, not all cop films are comedies.
The best art imitates life, and what better way to imitate life than to show every aspect of it. Not all police are law-abiding, and, more often than not, there is corruption within every police department. Dirty cop films make up a category all their own, focusing on the corruption within the police department and the attempt of the just to take down said corruption. Many films have explored this topic in a number of unique ways. Here are the best dirty cop movies, ranked.
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7 Cop Land
Miramax
Set in New York City, Cop Land revolves around the cover-up of a racially-motivated crime by city cop Ray Donlan’s nephew. When the plan goes south, Internal Affairs officers Moe Tilden and local Sheriff Freddy Heflin get involved, hoping to expose Donlan and his men for their corruption, and take them down in the process. Based on a true story, per Vulture, Cop Land marks the return of Sylvester Stallone to cinema after many years off-screen. Starring alongside big names like Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Harvey Keitel, Stallone’s performance reminded the audience of the star’s talent.
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6 Street Kings
3 Arts Entertainment
Starring Keanu Reeves, Chris Evans, and Forest Whitaker, Street Kings tells the story of Tom Ludlow, a member of the LAPD who has hit the bottle to mourn the loss of his wife. When Ludlow’s presence at the scene of a crime implicates him in the death of a fellow officer, he seeks to discover the truth behind the incident, uncovering a great deal of corruption and greed within the LAPD. While the response to Street Kings was somewhat average, this is a film that has fallen under the radar and has gone relatively unnoticed despite the powerful cast and the strong plot of the film.
5 Line of Duty
Saban Capital Group
Line of Duty is one of the more recent films on this list, starring Aaron Eckhart and Courtney Eaton. The film follows Frank Penny, a disgraced police officer who seeks to redeem himself by attempting to save the kidnapped daughter of the police chief. In order to find the little girl, he enlists the help of Ava Brooks, a live-streaming news broadcaster who is covering Frank’s actions. The film was met with mixed reviews, but despite the film’s flaws, the careful directing by Steven C. Miller overcame most of it. Similar to Street Kings, it would seem that Line of Duty has fallen to the wayside, not receiving the attention it deserves.
4 Gang Related
Orion Pictures
Also known under the alternative title Criminal Intent, Gang Related revolves around corrupt cops Divinci and Rodriguez, who frame a homeless man for a murder that they were responsible for. Marking Tupac Shakur’s final film, Gang Related finished shooting two weeks before his death and was released one year later (via LA Times). The film’s unique stance and how it makes the main characters into the villains makes Gang Related a truly unique cinematic experience, considering that the devious actions of the crooked cops make them almost impossible to like and even harder for the audience to root for.
3 American Gangster
Imagine Entertainment
Based on the real-life Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas, American Gangster tells the story of Lucas in 1970s New York as he rises to power, using the corruption within the city to his advantage and notoriously smuggling heroin into the United States in coffins for American soldiers killed in Vietnam. Lucas even manages to evade Richie Roberts, who will not rest until Lucas is brought to justice. Starring Denzel Washington, Ruby Dee, and Russell Crowe, American Gangster was subject to near-universal praise, and earned two Oscar nominations among several other accolades, including the Screen Actors’ Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress (for Dee).
2 The Departed
Plan B Entertainment
Directed by Martin Scorsese, The Departed, an English remake of the Hong Kong film Internal Affairs, follows Billy Costigan, a Boston cop who goes undercover to get close to the local gangland head Frank Costello. Once Billy has infiltrated, career criminal Colin infiltrates the police department and reports Billy’s activities. With a mole on both sides, Billy and Colin are faced with discovering each other’s identities or dealing with the cold hand of death. The film was both a critical and commercial success, winning several awards, including a total of four Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. The film has made numerous top ten lists, with many critics considering it to be one of the best films of 2006.
1 Training Day
Warner Bros. Pictures
Of course, topping our list is the iconic Training Day. When veteran cop Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) takes rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) under his wing on Hoyt’s first day in the LAPD narcotics unit, Hoyt soon finds out the realities of the streets as Alonzo’s ways teach him that justice is not always law-abiding. Considered one of the best cop films of all time, Training Day was both a commercial and a critical success, with special praise for Washington’s performance, earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Hawke received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film’s popularity has led to a number of attempts as reboots, and most recently, a prequel, Training Day: Day of the Riot, began production in February 2022.
