5. Popeye Doyle - The French Connection
Based on real life police officer Eddie Egan, Popeye Doyle as made famous by Gene Hackman, is the quintessential New Hollywood cop. He's a revelation, with an obsessive personality yet blurry moral code and he lays the foundations for the larger than life cops we've come accustomed to. The French Connection is the best pure cop movie and one of the few films worthy of its Academy Award win as William Friedkin's masterpiece is as loved now as it was in 1971. Doyle is a dominating presence and ferocious in his pursuits. Committed to the job without question, but many of his actions raise questions about his morality. Actions such as shooting an unarmed man sway perilously close to Dirty Harry territory, but everything is reigned in jast enough. Participating in one of cinema's finest chase scenes, Popeye Doyle will always have a place in the proverbial cinema hall of fame.