10 Movies About Bad Cops

10 Movies About Bad Cops

Seems to be a big issue these days, so I thought I'd put together a movie article - there were SO MANY movies about bad cops, corrupt cops, vicious cops, that it was almost a challenge to come up with a lesser number.  I think that IMDb did a great introduction to its list of "bad cop" movies, and here it is:

From IMDb (with some grammatical and spelling corrections by me):

The THIN LINE between COPS and CRIMINALS

Cops and criminals are very similar with each other. That has become a sort of clichee in cinema but it's one of the rare examples of a clichee that's actually true and perhaps unavoidable. Take poor and crime stricken neighbourhoods in every city of the world.  People from those places basically have two choices in life: to become cops or criminals.  Besides that cops share same characteristics with criminals: both have dangerous jobs, both have to deal with violence, both need to use aggression and force to get what they want. You can't imagine a wimpy, scruffy and skinny guy catching a serial killer or taking down a drug trafficking operation. "I want to help people" is the answer most cops tell when they're asked why did they become cops but the real answers are because they seek respect and power, because they can either use their aggression as a cop or as a criminal. The greatest criminals are those with sociopathic tendencies. So are cops. Not all characteristics of a sociopath are negative. Cops/criminals with sociopathic tendencies are confident, intelligent, fearless and are ready to get themselves involved in dangerous, life threatening situations. Recent statistics show that most sociopaths can be found in such jobs as criminals, cops, soldiers, doctors, lawyers and politicians.  All of these jobs seek traits like confidence, fearlessness and people who can handle danger and stress well.  I found that pretty disturbing,do you?

Here are ten examples of "bad cop" movies (in no particular order).  The descriptions and principals are copied from IMDb:

1.   Training Day  (2001)

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

2.   Internal Affairs  (1990)

An Internal Affairs agent becomes obsessed with bringing down a cop who has managed to maintain a spotless reputation despite being involved in a web of corruption.

Director:   Mike Figgis   |   Stars:   Richard Gere ,   Andy Garcia ,   Nancy Travis ,   Laurie Metcalf

3.   The Departed  (2006)

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

4.   L.A.Confidential  (1997)

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

5.   Leon: The Professional  (1994)

Mathilda, a 12-year-old girl, is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.

Director:   Luc Besson   |   Stars:   Jean Reno ,   Gary Oldman ,   Natalie Portman ,   Danny Aiello

6.   Serpico  (1972)

An honest New York cop named   Frank Serpico   blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Director:   Sidney Lumet   |   Stars:   Al Pacino ,   John Randolph ,   Jack Kehoe ,   Biff McGuire

7.   Pride and Glory  (2008)

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

8.   Q & A  (1990)

When dirty cop Mike shoots a man and plants a gun on him, rookie assistant DA Al gets the case. Something in the Q&A of Mike isn't right. Bodies pile up as Al tries to solve the case.

Director:   Sidney Lumet   |   Stars:   Nick Nolte ,   Timothy Hutton ,   Armand Assante ,   Patrick O'Neal

9.   Witness 

10.  Gang Related  (1997)

After murdering an undercover DEA agent, two corrupt cops scramble to cover up what they've done.

Director:   Jim Kouf   |   Stars:   Jim Belushi ,   Tupac Shakur ,   Lela Rochon ,   Dennis Quaid