10 Best Buddy Cop Movies Of All Time

An unspeakable crime has been committed. Maybe a baby was kidnapped, maybe a bomb has been hidden somewhere in the city or quite possibly gang war has erupted. When the police can’t cope, there is only one thing left to rely on - the buddy cops.

Buddy cop movies have been taking cinema by storm for several decades, pairing one professional officer with an amazingly bad partner to solve incredibly difficult crimes.

With their unbreakable sibling-like bonds, disregard for the rules and rugged determination, the buddy cops can settle any conflict. Some movies - like the awful Cop Out which somehow signed Bruce Willis - should never be watched. Others - like Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg's 2 Guns - are far more worthy of your time.

Between endless doughnuts and coffees, squad cars with overly convenient trunks and dramatic car chases, there are some buddy cop movies that you should watch before any others.

Hot Fuzz has the best buddy cop duo around (helped by their actors also being tight buddies). Directed by Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz takes the overachieving Nicolas Angel - played by Simon Pegg - and forces him into the gentle and sedate country village of Sandford to be partnered up with lazy dimwit Frank Butterman - Nick Frost - who has an ironic love for buddy cop movies.

The second in the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’, Hot Fuzz is fanatically funny and more than a little silly. Instead of the usual buddy cop cliches - such as drug busts and teaching the new guy the ropes - everything is transformed to small-town mundane. Clicking a pen is as dramatic as racking a pistol, and stakeout pizza is swapped out for the inevitable Cornetto. Just remember though, this is all a film. British police are nowhere near as effective in real life.

Still, Hot Fuzz is one of the best buddy cop films through the strong buddy elements, but the less serious police work makes it more for comedy lovers than serious watchers.