As long as there have been movies, there have been cops in movies. Originally the 'good guys,' more modern films have shifted to display the continuously socially charged change around police work. A favorite topic of fans, movies displaying the police can be enthralling as they invoke action to stimulate, and the theme of loyalty to bond over.

RELATED: Gritty Crime Dramas You May Have Missed Recently

Achieving widespread popularity in the 1980s, the 'buddy cop' sub-genre of the police overhang grew to fame through films like 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop. Big commercial hits, these films usually fused action and comedy. However, there are a number of great movies that prove that movies about police duos can be serious, and just as riveting.

1 'Training Day' (2001)

Still of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in Training Day
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Training Day is a daze of a movie. It doesn't concern itself with plot or logic, only raucous action, infinitely over-the-top dialogue, and stellar performances. One of the best all-in-one-day films, the movie stars Denzel Washington as a magnetic narcotics officer who must train a junior policeman, played by Ethan Hawke, over the course of a day.

Washington is larger than life as Alonzo Harris, a role that allows him to spread his mighty wings. The film is not a comedy, but it is funny, mostly due to indelible responses like "I'm the Zig-Zag man. Who are you?" While these cops may not be the best of friends by the end of the film, Training Day remains a blast of a day in the life.

2 'The French Connection' (1971)

the_french_connection_hackman and scheider

Widely regarded as one of the defining films of the 1970s, many give The French Connection the distinction as one of the best American films ever made. Nominated for 8 Oscars, the movie appeared on AFI's list of the best American films ever in both 1998 and again in 2007. Directed by William Friedkin, the film follows a pair of cops who attempt to bust a French drug cartel in New York City.

The French Connection has served as an influence on some of the greatest filmmakers working today including David Fincher, Steven Spielberg and The Safdie Brothers. The film would give Gene Hackman his first Oscar win and is often credited as having one of cinema's greatest car chase scenes. Gritty and furiously paced, The French Connection is long considered a classic.

3 'Point Break' (1991)

point-break
Image via 20th Century Fox

Point Break is a good movie that was supposed to be a bad one. Its concept sounds like the excessive fantasy of a jejune film student, but with first-rate direction and camera work, the film is one of the more potent action films of the 1990s. A cult favorite, the movie surrounds an FBI agent who infiltrates a crew of surfers who are involved in a string of bank robberies.

RELATED: Kathryn Bigelow's Movies, Ranked

While much is made of the relationships between Keanu Reeves's Johnny Utah and the Patrick Swayze and Lori Petty characters, and rightfully so, the scenes between Reeves and Gary Busey are pure buddy cop material. Not branded as a comedy, at least intentionally, Point Break is lifted by Kathryn Bigelow's astute eye juxtaposing the often outlandish script.

4 'Colors' (1988)

Cops from Colors 1988 (1)

Dennis Hopper is one of the most fascinating actors of his time and an almost equally curious director. One of the faces of New Hollywood and late 60s counterculture, Hopper took numerous sabbaticals from filmmaking, including one of 8 years before directing Colors. The movie concerns an older cop and his younger partner who attempt to control gang violence in east LA.

A box office success, the film polarized critics, with some commending its realism and unflinching eye, while others criticized its formulaic format. A strong soundtrack that includes Ice-T and Herbie Hancock bolsters the film, but other parts feel muddled. Colors certainly has something to say about gang violence, even if it's not always the most eloquent.

5 'Se7en' (1995)

Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt holding flashlights in Se7en
Image via Warner Bros

Se7en sways about as far away from the genetic strands of its 'buddy cop' predecessors as you can get. However, the film is squarely in the genre as it follows a pair of mismatched detectives tracking down an elusive criminal. Famed for its visual style, flawless script, and legendary twist, the film was also one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

The film is shockingly talking on rewatch, and far more narrative-driven than one might expect from a film with such optical craftsmanship. Its characters could easily seem clichéd in other hands but somehow don't, a testament to the acting and direction. Se7en flips the 'buddy cop' genre on its head and then buries it six feet under.

6 'Miami Vice' (2006)

Jamie Foxx as Rico Tubbs and Colin Farrell as Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice the movie
Image via Universal Pictures

Like it's lead Colin Farrell, few remember Michael Mann's 2006 remake of his hit 80s TV show. However, although receiving tepid reception at the time, retrospective reviews have been more favorable to Miami Vice. Employing Mann's usual visual gifts, the film follows Crockett and Tubbs as they go undercover to bust a drug trafficking operation.

RELATED: Michael Mann Movies, Ranked from Worst to Best

Deemed by Mann as the film that got away, many were split on the film's shaky ending and lack of levity. However, younger directors have praised the film, with Harmony Korine calling it one of his favorites of Mann's. Ranked 95th on Time Out's best action movies of all time poll in 2014, perhaps Miami Vice is making a comeback.

7 'Hickey and Boggs' (1972)

Hickey and Boggs 1972 (1)

With 48 Hours, director Walter Hill would be one of the defining forces behind the 'buddy cop' genre. However, his first-ever script, Hickey and Boggs, didn't bring him the same amount of success. Directed by Robert Culp, and starring himself and his I Spy co-star Bill Cosby, the film is about two Los Angeles private eyes who get caught up in a scheme involving a missing woman.

The film went through a tumultuous production, with Culp heavily altering Hill's script. At the time, the script was criticized for its plot holes. Other critics commented on the film's lack of gaiety, a surprise considering the stars' experience on I Spy. More recent reviews have been more kind, with Culp calling it a cult film, and critic Glenn Erickson deeming the film too dark for its time.

8 'Lethal Weapon' (1987)

pjimage - 2022-03-02T114444.932

Written by Shane Black, who would go on to define the 'buddy cop' genre into the 21st century with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, Lethal Weapon would be one of the most significant films of the 1980s. Spawning 3 sequels and a TV series, the franchise covers a pair of inharmonious detectives who must work together as partners.

The movie is not solemn by any means as it upholds Black's trademark playfulness and buoyancy. However, it doesn't have the same comedic bones that 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop would possess. A modern classic, Lethal Weapon is exhibit number one on how to make a riveting, longstanding action franchise.

9 'Narc' (2002)

narc_liotta and patric

The film that would launch director Joe Carnahan's career, Narc is the darker, more unflinching black sheep of the 'buddy cop' family. A little more under the radar than other contemporaries, nominated for 3 Independent Spirit Awards, the film concerns two police detectives who search for the murderer of an undercover officer.

RELATED: The Most Underrated Crime Movies of the 2000s, According to Reddit

Ray Liotta and Jason Patric are phenomenal in a film completely rid of clichés. Evocative of bleaker 70s cop movies like Serpico, the film is not without blackly comic scenes, including one involving a bathtub and a shotgun. Narc is daunting and cruel, a nightmare that feels all too real with a bitter, ironic conclusion.

10 'End of Watch' (2012)

A police officer wielding a handgun
Image via Open Road Films

End of Watch is the culmination of David Ayer's career, as well as of 21st-century 'buddy cop' films. The film is a unique marvel, as perhaps no modern police procedural melds character-building and stirring action so seamlessly. Set in Los Angeles like most of Ayers' films, it follows the day-to-day work of two police officers, their lives, and their relationship.

The bond that forms between the audience and Ayers' protagonists is startling, something that usually takes multiple seasons of a TV show to create. The found footage style used by the film may be viewed as a distraction, but it still ultimately works. The performances are truly vivid, tangible, and unprosthetic, leading End of Watch to be one of the most human action movies in some time.

NEXT: The Best Buddy Cop Movies, Ranked