End of Watch

Cops make for very interesting protagonists . A protagonist need to be a hoagie , and a bull ’s chore is to be a Cuban sandwich , so it ’s a no - brainer . Sometimes , cops in movies and TV shows will run by the rules and follow their maitre d’hotel ’s orders and respect any red tape put up by the commissioner .

But we all know the most interesting ones are the one who bend the rules to get the job done , like Harry Callahan from Clint Eastwood ’s iconicDirty Harryseries of military action movie . So , here are 10 Tough - As - Nails Cop thriller To Watch If You LikeDirty Harry .

The “ establish footage ” format isusually reserve for horror filmslikeThe Blair Witch ProjectandParanormal Activity , but it has been applied to other genres , like drollery ( Project X ) and superhero moving-picture show ( Chronicle ) . WithEnd of Watch , David Ayer add the “ find footage ” flair to the bull thriller .

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Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña star as the lead pair of officers . You have to freeze your disbelief in the scenes where crew nobleman shoot home movies of their drug - hazed party with camcorders , butEnd of Watchis a compelling law thriller that blurs the descent between good cat and spoiled hombre .

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Bullitt

Complete withone of the most breathtaking car following sequence ever put on picture – with each undercut so on the button placed that it won Frank P. Keller an Academy Award – Bullittis one of the earliest classical action film . Steve McQueen stars as Lt . Frank Bullitt , one of the tough peace officer to deck the silver screen , who is assigned to protect a attestor .

When that viewer is murdered ,   Bullitt becomes set to play the culprit down , even though it means traversing the shadowy criminal underworld to track down the crime lord creditworthy . Bullittplays out like a western set in mod - daylight San Francisco .

Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino ’s indie directorial debut , Reservoir Dogs , is not necessarily a police moving-picture show . The story focuses on a jewelry store heist , but it ’s told from the perspective of the criminals – until one of them is revealed to be an surreptitious bull . Then , the tension is ratcheted up as the survive robbers turn against one another .

Most of them do n’t know each other , so they do n’t know who they can trust . Harvey Keitel , Tim Roth , Steve Buscemi , and Michael Madsen round down out a marvellous cast . The stamp ’s performances are what really sell this movie , as it ’s dialog - driven , with very little action .

Blitz

Jason Statham ’s most famous movies are bombastic action at law thriller , like theTransportermovies and theExpendablesmovies , but a few years ago , he starred in this more intellectual portmanteau word of police procedural , spunky criminal offence thriller , and societal issue drama , and it ’s easily one of his good films . A mask killer has been go around London , shooting police officer .

For Statham ’s cop character , this is a personal case . As the probe runs into dead ends and legal loopholes , keeping the killer out on the streets , Statham has to figure out how he ’s drop dead to bend the dominion to bring this hombre to justice .

Heat

Michael Mann finally come Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to share the screen in this slick L.A.-set law-breaking epic . Heatis a cat - and - shiner thriller in which Pacino plays a hard - as - nails cop and De Niro toy the master cant robber that he ’s after . The movie ’s intense conflict boil down to the iconic diner scene , which brought Pacino and De Niro together to match their acting talents .

The study of corruption and violence ravage the American metropolis that is prominent throughoutHeatprovided Christopher Nolan with the stirring he ask to directThe Dark Knightas a rounded visual modality of Gotham .

The Rookie

This picture show is so standardised that some fans even consider it to be a spiritual heir to theDirty Harryfranchise . Clint Eastwood directed himself in the movie , and his grizzled vet cop reference Nick Pulovski has been viewed as an previous version of Harry Callahan . The movie tells the fib of a misanthropical fuzz who is copulate up with a young , more affirmative partner who invigorate his notion in police work .

It ’s a motion picture we ’ve seen a thousand times before , but with Eastwood at the helm , there ’s a lot more pathos and humanity inThe Rookiethan in most hacky buddy cop moving picture using the same shopworn clichés .

Fargo

With a pitch - bleak signified of humor and a caboodle of characters being affected by outrageous situations , Fargojust might bethe quintessential Coen buddy film . William H. Macy plays an indemnity salesman who pay two criminals to snatch his married woman so as to bilk her rich father out of some Johnny Cash .

When the snatch go awry and attestant get into the mixture , a cop played by Frances McDormand is brought in to investigate . The parallel storylines of the salesman , the cop , and the abductor weave in and out of one another like rushing - hour dealings , gripping you from every view from beginning to terminate .

The French Connection

The exorciser ’s William Friedkin directed this crime thriller about some New York cops investigating the bigger diacetylmorphine - smuggling surgical operation in the world . Ernest Tidyman ’s screenplay was adapted from a non - fiction Holy Writ about a real - life investigation , although the names of those involved have been modify and composited from the source fabric .

Gene Hackman stars as “ Popeye ” Doyle , one of the most iconic cops to ever fight criminal offense on the self-aggrandizing concealment , while Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey appear in plunk for roles alongside him . At the end of this movie , Friedkin makes thought - provoking purpose of the ambiguous end , which is a make - or - disruption trope .

Training Day

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and scripted by David Ayer , Training Dayis one of the mealy , most gripping police thriller of the 21st century . Ethan Hawke play a uninstructed rookie cop just starting out , whilean Oscar - winning Denzel Washington trifle the veteran copper – who also turns out to be crook – who is assign to welcome him to the unit .

With its compelling and complex secret plan break more about the grapheme and their surround in each unfolding conniption , Training Dayis a pulse - cannonball along cinematic thrill - drive . The movie tackles crooked initiation , which makes it a sociological story , and also shows the cop as a product of their environs , which ca-ca it a psychological story .

Hard Boiled

John Woo pioneered “ gun - fu , ” whichhas gone on to eclipse action mechanism celluloid , so the genre owe Woo a keen debt . The pinnacle of Woo ’s abilities is arguably the movieHard Boiled , which asterisk the great Chow Yun - Fat as “ Tequila ” Yuen , and whose story was designed to trust on legal action set art object .

Instead of being a regular report that on occasion have breaks for an action at law scene , Hard Boiledwas construct entirely of action at law scenes , because that ’s what fans of the genre want . All the dependable action movies do this , prioritizing visual storytelling through action over expounding , which let ’s face it , is just lazy writing .

NEXT:10 Fast - Paced Action Thrillers To watch out If You Like The John Wick Franchise

Dirty Harry

Brian pointing a gun in End of Watch

Steve McQueen in the car chase in Bullitt

Reservoir Dogs car

Blitz

Hanna chases Neal through the streets a machine gun in Heat.

The Rookie

Frances McDormand holds a gun in Fargo

Gene Hackman and a bunch of cops/detectives with guns waiting for something in The French Connection

Training Day

Chow Yun Fat Hard Boiled action movie

Movies

End of Watch