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The pal cop subgenre of action cinema has been done to death . We all know the clichés : a hotshot young detective who likes to stoop the rules is paired with a by - the - leger ex-serviceman cop on the brink of retreat and , as they delve deeper into the case , they form an improbable bond in spite of their difference . When we go into these movies , we can almost see the whole plot of ground bet out in our heads . But it still remains an lovely musical genre because it ’s a prime opportunity for talented , well - equate actors to show off their chemistry . Here are The 10 Best Buddy Cop Movie Duos , Ranked .
Lee & Carter (Rush Hour)
The key to any smashing sidekick cop pairing is on - screen chemistry share by the two actors . While theRush Hourmovies are not spectacularly made , the alchemy shared by Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker — in their roles as Yan Naing Lee and James Carter , respectively — made all three films more than watchable .
Tucker has unmatched comedic vigor , while Chan is great as the straight human beings with deadpan pedigree delivery . We ’ll probably never get to see a fourthRush Hourmovie , but at least we have a comedic trilogy of Chan and Tucker barb each other to delight for years to come .
John McClane & Zeus Carver (Die Hard with a Vengeance)
It should come as no surprisal that at some point during its transition from a spec hand calledSimon Saysto the eventual movie , Die intemperately with a Vengeancewas being developed as aLethal Weaponmovie . John McClane had been a lone Hugo Wolf in the first twoDie Hardfilms , and in the third one , he suddenly had a chum to complain about his recklessness .
Thanks to Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson ’s hysteric back - and - forward — not to mentionWillis work McClane as only he can play himand Jackson bringing his own performative flourishes to the role of Zeus Carver — this couple stand up out , rather of feel like a rehash of Riggs and Murtaugh .
Jack Cates & Reggie Hammond (48 Hrs.)
BeforeLethal Weapon , beforeBad Boys , and beforeRush Hour , there was48 Hrs . , the movie that started it all . Nick Nolte plays Jack Cates , a grizzled cop , while Eddie Murphy play Reggie Hammond , the convict crook that he allow out of prison house for , you guessed it , 48 hours to help him with a case involving Reggie ’s former partner - in - crime .
48 Hrs.has all the image of the buddy pig genre , give its characters all of the classic difference — different races , dissimilar worldviews , unlike sides of the law etc . — to create the first sidekick cop twosome in Hollywood chronicle , which still stands as one of the best .
Agents J & K (Men in Black)
The gimmick of theMen in Blackfranchise is that the government agency the characters belong to keep Earth safe from alien intervention and then erases masses ’s memories of alien encounter . But that gimmick alone is n’t enough to endear audiences . Viewers came for the alien - infest sci - fi spectacle , but they stuck around for the loose chemical science shared by Will Smith as the with-it Pisces - out - of - urine Agent J and Tommy Lee Jones as the fusty , mature M.I.B. veteran Agent K.
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson shared great interpersonal chemistry in this year’sMen in Black : Internationalspin - off , too , but no pairing will ever top Smith and Jones .
Jackson Healy & Holland March (The Nice Guys)
Shane Black straight off won back the hearts of any moviegoer he may have alienated withIron Man 3(whichsuffered from studio meddling by Marvel ’s Ike Perlmutter ) with 2016’sThe Nice Guys . It ’s a curious blend of severely - edged activity , pulpy neo - noir , and absurdist comedy , with a dash of political irony cast in there for good step .
Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe uproariously play their private - centre fibre as icy opposites : Crowe ’s Jackson Healy is a no - nonsense ruffianly guy , whileGosling ’s Holland March is a bumbling buffoonwho ’s always just winging it . It ’s a real shame that we ’ll believably never a sequel .
Johnny Utah & Bodhi (Point Break)
Point Breakhas a fantastic premise for a buddy cop movie : an undercover FBI broker infiltrate a gang of bank robbers and becomes such good friends with their leader that he does n’t need to turn them in . ( Sound conversant ? trade out “ bank robber ” for “ street racers ” and it ’s the assumption forThe Fast and the Furious.)Keanu Reeves plays the FBI agent , Johnny Utah , while Patrick Swayze play the drawing card of the crowd , Bodhi .
There are delightfully ridiculous flourishes , like the bank robbers being down - to - ground surfers and Johnny Utah being an NFL maven who joined the FBI after an injury prevented him from continuing his football game career . It ’s Reeves and Swayze ’s palpable on - screen chemistry that makes it work , as Johnny Utah and Bodhi seem to really care about each other .
Jack Walsh & the Duke (Midnight Run)
Not all buddy cop motion picture actually have cops in the lead role . If it ’s an action comedy revolve about on a mismatch brace that demand the law in some way , it ’s a pal copper moving-picture show , even if neither of the buddies are cop . InMidnight Run , Charles Grodin plays Jonathan “ the Duke ” Mardukas , a gang accountant on the discharge from the feds , and Robert De Niro act Jack Walsh , the premium huntsman who desire to bring him in .
Midnight Runplays like an natural process - packedPlanes , Trains , and Automobiles , with the Duke constantly try out to escape and Jack try on to keep his mark off from the copper in guild to pull in his payoff . De Niro and Grodin ’s unparalleled interpersonal chemistry elevates the moving picture to a classic .
Axel Foley & Billy Rosewood (Beverly Hills Cop)
This is the second item on this list in which one of the part is play by Eddie Murphy . Murphy ’s round-the-clock comic energy and improvisational artistry makes him the perfect enhancer for a stuff - shirt character like48 Hrs . ’ Jack Cates or , in this case , Beverly Hills Cop ’s Billy Rosewood , played by Judge Reinhold .
Reinhold co - starred alongside John Ashton as a pair of L.A. cops on Axel Foley ’s trail when he conspicuously arrive in Beverly Hills and starts acting on his own office , having been put on sabbatical by his captain in Detroit following the slaying of his friend . Against all odds , Rosewood and Foley become good friends .
Nicholas Angel & Danny Butterman (Hot Fuzz)
In their follow - up to the similarly brilliantShaun of the Dead , Edgar Wright , Simon Pegg , and Nick Frost brought the figure of speech of the pal copper motion picture to a rural English village for one of the dandy drollery of the twenty-first century . InHot Fuzz , Pegg play Sgt . Nicholas Angel , London ’s tough bull , who is transferred up northerly to sleepy Sandford when his immaculate caterpillar track record book starts to make the rest of his section look bad .
In Sandford , Angel grows fishy of the unusually high accident charge per unit and teams up with bumbling PC Danny Butterman ( Frost ) to get to the bottom of it . Despite being an overt parody of a brother fuzz pairing , Nicholas and Danny are also one of the all - time best .
Riggs & Murtaugh (Lethal Weapon)
It ’s fair to say that no buddy cop pairing will ever top Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh from theLethal Weaponfranchise . Mel Gibson and Danny Glover nail the characters individually and also share incredible on - covert interpersonal chemistry thatonly felt up more and more existent as the sequel go onand the two actors became close friends .
When they met in the first flick , Riggs ’ anything - goes attitude was immediately at odds with Murtaugh ’s play - it - secure creed . Over the grade of fourLethal Weaponmovies , Riggs got a shortly - to - retire Murtaugh to lie with police work again , while Murtaugh got a suicidal Riggs to appreciate life again .
NEXT:5 Reasons We Need To See Lethal Weapon 5 ( & 5 Why We Do n’t )
