Highest-Rated Movies about 'Police Detective'

Goodfellas (1990), Se7en (1995), High and Low (1963), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Rear Window (1954), The Sting (1973), Vertigo (1958), L.A. Confidential (1997) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Police Detective movies.

#1. Goodfellas (1990)

Storyline: Henry Hill might be a small time gangster, who may have taken part in a robbery with Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito, two other gangsters who might have set their sights a bit higher. His two partners could kill off everyone else involved in the robbery, and slowly start to think about climbing up through the hierarchy of the Mob. Henry, however, might be badly affected by his partners' success, but will he consider stooping low enough to bring about the downfall of Jimmy and Tommy?

Plot Keywords: gangster, organized crime, based on true story, gang violence, rise and fall, mafia, sadistic psychopath ...

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#2. Se7en (1995)

Storyline: A film about two homicide detectives' (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt) desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" (Kevin Spacey) sermonizes to Detectives Somerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured but jaded Somerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but green and impulsive Detective Mills (Pitt) scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...

Plot Keywords: serial killer, detective, serial murder, human monster, psychological torture, police partner, severed head ...

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#3. High and Low (1963)

Storyline: A wealthy businessman is told his son has been kidnapped and he will have to pay a very large sum for him to be returned safely. It is then discovered that his son is safe at home: the kidnapper took his chauffeur's son by accident. The kidnapper says this makes no difference: pay up or the child dies. This leaves him with a moral dilemma, as he really needs the money to conclude a very important business deal.

Plot Keywords: child kidnapping, heroin, hospital, lawn mower, mistaken identity, murder, nightclub ...

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#4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Storyline: Despite his tarnished reputation after the events of The Dark Knight (2008), in which he took the rap for Dent's crimes, Batman feels compelled to intervene to assist the city and its Police force, which is struggling to cope with Bane's plans to destroy the city.

Plot Keywords: dc comics, female villain, terrorist plot, batman character, written by director, no title at beginning, based on comic book ...

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#5. Rear Window (1954)

Storyline: Professional photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies breaks his leg while getting an action shot at an auto race. Confined to his New York apartment, he spends his time looking out of the rear window observing the neighbors. He begins to suspect that a man across the courtyard may have murdered his wife. Jeff enlists the help of his high society fashion-consultant girlfriend Lisa Freemont and his visiting nurse Stella to investigate.

Plot Keywords: dog, amateur detective, broken leg, apartment, voyeur, wheelchair, neighbor ...

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#6. The Sting (1973)

Storyline: Johnny Hooker, a small time grifter, unknowingly steals from Doyle Lonnegan, a big time crime boss, when he pulls a standard street con. Lonnegan demands satisfaction for the insult. After his partner, Luther, is killed, Hooker flees, and seeks the help of Henry Gondorff, one of Luther's contacts, who is a master of the long con. Hooker wants to use Gondorff's expertise to take Lonnegan for an enormous sum of money to even the score, since he admits he "doesn't know enough about killing to kill him." They devise a complicated scheme and amass a talented group of other con artists who want their share of the reparations. The stakes are high in this game, and our heroes must not only deal with Lonnegan's murderous tendencies, but also other side players who want a piece of the action. To win, Hooker and Gondorff will need all their skills...and a fair amount of confidence.

Plot Keywords: con, con man, caper, waitress, stripper, premarital sex, burlesque ...

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#7. Vertigo (1958)

Storyline: John "Scottie" Ferguson is a retired San Francisco police detective who suffers from acrophobia, and Madeleine is the lady who leads him to high places. A wealthy shipbuilder who is an acquaintance from college days approaches Scottie and asks him to follow his beautiful wife, Madeleine. He fears she is going insane, maybe even contemplating suicide, as he believes she has been possessed by a dead ancestor who committed suicide. Scottie is skeptical, but agrees to the assignment after he sees the beautiful Madeleine.

Plot Keywords: vertigo, 1950s, acrophobia, mental breakdown, deception, actress playing multiple roles, fear of heights ...

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#8. L.A. Confidential (1997)

Storyline: 1950's Los Angeles is the seedy backdrop for this intricate noir-ish tale of police corruption and Hollywood sleaze. Three very different cops are all after the truth, each in their own style: Ed Exley, the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out; Bud White, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging violence under control; and Jack Vincennes, always looking for celebrity and a quick buck until his conscience drives him to join Exley and White down the one-way path to find the truth behind the dark world of L.A. crime.

Plot Keywords: corruption, murder, call girl, neo noir, based on novel, female nudity, police detective ...

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#9. Heat (1995)

Storyline: Hunters and their prey--Neil and his professional criminal crew hunt to score big money targets (banks, vaults, armored cars) and are, in turn, hunted by Lt. Vincent Hanna and his team of cops in the Robbery/Homicide police division. A botched job puts Hanna onto their trail while they regroup and try to put together one last big 'retirement' score. Neil and Vincent are similar in many ways, including their troubled personal lives. At a crucial moment in his life, Neil disobeys the dictum taught to him long ago by his criminal mentor--'Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in thirty seconds flat, if you spot the heat coming around the corner'--as he falls in love. Thus the stage is set for the suspenseful ending....

Plot Keywords: gun battle, honor, gunfight, armored car robbery, bank, organized crime, airplane ...

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#10. Chinatown (1974)

Storyline: In 1937 Los Angeles, private investigator Jake 'J.J.' Gittes specializes in cheating-spouse cases. His current target is Hollis Mulwray, high-profile chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, whose wife suspects him of infidelity. In following Mulwray, Gittes witnesses some usual business dealings, such as a public meeting for construction of a new dam to create additional water supply for Los Angeles, as fresh water is vital to the growing community during the chronic drought; Mulwray opposes the dam. Eventually Gittes sees Mulwray meeting with an unknown young woman who isn't his wife. Once news of the supposed tryst between Mulwray and this woman hits the media, additional information comes to light that makes Gittes believe that Mulwray is being framed for something and that he himself is being set up. In his investigation of the issue behind Mulwray's framing and his own setup, Gittes is assisted by Mulwray's wife Evelyn, but he thinks she isn't being ...

Plot Keywords: neo noir, female nudity, murder, surveillance, femme fatale, adultery, incestuous relationship ...

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#11. Batman Begins (2005)

Storyline: When his parents are killed, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne relocates to Asia, where he is mentored by Henri Ducard and Ra's Al Ghul in how to fight evil. When learning about the plan to wipe out evil in Gotham City by Ducard, Bruce prevents this plan from getting any further and heads back to his home. Back in his original surroundings, Bruce adopts the image of a bat to strike fear into the criminals and the corrupt as the icon known as "Batman". But it doesn't stay quiet for long.

Plot Keywords: social decay, dc comics, superhero, neo noir, dark past, origin of hero, based on comic book ...

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#12. Die Hard (1988)

Storyline: NYPD cop John McClane goes on a Christmas vacation to visit his wife Holly in Los Angeles where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation. While they are at the Nakatomi headquarters for a Christmas party, a group of robbers led by Hans Gruber take control of the building and hold everyone hostage, with the exception of John, while they plan to perform a lucrative heist. Unable to escape and with no immediate police response, John is forced to take matters into his own hands.

Plot Keywords: christmas, hostage, one against many, los angeles california, christmas eve, heist, terrorist ...

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#13. V for Vendetta (2005)

Storyline: Tells the story of Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) and her unlikely but instrumental part in bringing down the fascist government that has taken control of a futuristic Great Britain. Saved from a life-and-death situation by a man in a Guy Fawkes mask who calls himself "V" (Hugo Weaving), she learns a general summary of V's past and, after a time, decides to help him bring down those who committed the atrocities that led to Britain being in the shape that it is in.

Plot Keywords: dystopia, fascist, freedom, revolution, female in shower, female rear nudity, scantily clad female ...

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#14. Dial M for Murder (1954)

Storyline: In London, wealthy Margot Mary Wendice had a brief love affair with the American writer Mark Halliday while her husband and professional tennis player Tony Wendice was on a tennis tour. Tony quits playing to dedicate to his wife and finds a regular job. She decides to give him a second chance for their marriage. When Mark arrives from America to visit the couple, Margot tells him that she had destroyed all his letters but one that was stolen. Subsequently she was blackmailed, but she had never retrieved the stolen letter. Tony arrives home, claims that he needs to work and asks Margot to go with Mark to the theater. Meanwhile Tony calls Captain Lesgate (aka Charles Alexander Swann who studied with him at college) and blackmails him to murder his wife, so that he can inherit her fortune. But there is no perfect crime, and things do not work as planned.

Plot Keywords: blackmail, capital punishment, destroying evidence, false accusation of murder, wrongful conviction, unfaithful wife, key ...

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#15. Gone Girl (2014)

Storyline: On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

Plot Keywords: disappearance, missing person, murder suspect, husband wife relationship, based on novel, infidelity, missing wife ...

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