50 Coolest Movie Cops

Red Heat (1988)

The Cool Cop: Captain Ivan Danko

Coolest Moment: Danko deals with an abusive, baseball-bat-wielding letch the only way he knows how – by giving him a well-placed, well-deserved right-hook to the jaw .

If He'd Been From Blighty: He’d still sound like he comes from Austria.

SWAT (2003)

The Cool Cop: Police Officer Third Grade Jim Street

Coolest Moment: Street earns himself a place on the new SWAT team when he shows just how good he is with a firearm. And, yes, he’s very good.

If He'd Been From Blighty: They’d make him wear one of those big, fluffy soldier hats in order to identify him as the team leader.

Maniac Cop (1988)

The Cool Cop: Matt Cordell aka Maniac Cop

Coolest Moment: The Maniac handcuffs a guy trying to get into his car late at night and then brings out a very sharp implement...

If He'd Been From Blighty: He’d carve St George’s dragon into the chest of every victim.

Witness (1985)

The Cool Cop: Captain John Book

Coolest Moment: “How do I look? I mean, do I look... Amish?” Book adjusts to life in the Amish community and attempts to make amends for the damage he's done.

If He'd Been From Blighty: He'd attempt to convert all members of the Amish community to Catholicism, just like when the British Empire ruled the world.

Out Of Sight (1998)

The Cool Cop: Karen Sisco

Coolest Moment: Karen gets to know bank robber Jack. Rather intimately .

If She'd Been From Blighty: She’d be a sassy Brit/Latino with a cockney accent and a penchant for Mayfairs.

Insomnia (1997)

The Cool Cop: Jonas Engström

Coolest Moment: Engström makes a right mess of his plan to lure the killer out when the fugitive opens fire on his colleagues. When Engström returns fire, he accidentally shoots a fellow officer. He’ll make up for it later, though...

If He'd Been From Blighty:
Nobody would be able to pronounce the name of his forefathers correctly.

Turner & Hooch (1989)

The Cool Cop: Detective Scott Turner

Coolest Moment: It may not be official police work, but Turner struggles to give his new doggy partner a bath – something he clearly desperately needs. Proving he’s a smart cookie, Turner resorts to a lead and a hose ...

If He'd Been From Blighty: He’d get lumbered with a stinky, horrible English bull terrier instead.

Demolition Man (1993)

The Cool Cop: Sergeant John Spartan

Coolest Moment: Spartan and nemesis Phoenix fight to the death in the future world, which includes jumping through the air in slow-mo while firing two guns at once. Awesome .

If He'd Been From Blighty: We’d still struggle to understand him.

Starsky & Hutch (2004)

The Cool Cops: David Starsky and Ken Hutchinson

Coolest Moment: Starsky gets mean during an interrogation session, throwing a chair, then bits of paper, and then rubbing a cigarette into oblivion – WITH HIS BARE HANDS.

If They’d Been From Blighty: Hutch would be wearing a big fluffy jumper with the Union Jack on it.

Leon (1994)

The Cool Cop: Norman Stansfield

Coolest Moment: Stan gets his comeuppance when Leon blows him to smithereens using grenades strapped to his chest. Don’t become a DEA agent and then do drugs, kids.

If He'd Been From Blighty:
He’d still be played by Gary Oldman.

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.