Standard Issue: Detectives
Image by Nick M.W.
The four best crime-fighting flicks.
1. Lethal Weapon
Written: Shane Black, Jeffrey Boam
Director: Richard Donner
The ultimate buddy-cop movie, Lethal Weapon is a legendary 1980’s film that every Millennial and Gen Z cinephile should watch. Mel Gibson stars as loose cannon Martin Riggs; a maverick cop with deadly skills and a suicidal disposition. Riggs’s lone ranger style of policing is put to an end when he is forced to partner with veteran detective Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover. The two detectives could not be more different. Riggs tackles situations head on while Murtaugh prefers to approach issues more methodically. Fate intervenes when they get handed a case involving the daughter of one of Murtaugh’s old Vietnam War buddies. The murder investigation sets off a chain reaction that draws Riggs back into contact with a mercenary group he crossed paths with back in Vietnam. After the war ended, this group continued to run heroin into the states from South East Asia; Murtaugh’s murder investigation appears to be drug related while tied into Rigg’s past.
The mercenary group is led by veteran actor Mitchell Ryan and, while his performance is good, the spotlight of mercenary’s lands on Mr. Joshua played by Gary Busey. Busey is another legendary actor whose acting puts a delightfully sinister spin on his character. Acting as the main villain, Busey and Gibson exchange gunfire and fists throughout the film; culminating with an epic brawl on Murtaugh’s front lawn.
The chemistry between Gibson and Glover is magical, as the two actors are at the height of their fame with enough films under their belt to demonstrate masterful acting chops. Glover steals a few scenes with his frustration towards Gibson’s Riggs, and Gibson shows the fiber of his acting soul during a scene where he attempts suicide while holding the picture of his deceased wife. Lethal Weapon is a rare gem of Hollywood’s top acting talent with a phenomenal screenplay by Shane Black that lights up the screen during every scene.
2. Seven
Written: Andrew Kevin Walker
Director: David Fincher
A serial killer chooses victims who have committed one of the seven deadly sins from Dante’s Inferno in this now legendary crime thriller. The detective duo of Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman is not exactly iconic. They do not have the dynamic that Danny Glover and Mel Gibson shared, but the tone of Seven is quite different from a buddy-cop action blockbuster. Seven plays out like a contemporary noir detective film from hell. The subject matter and murder scenes are grisly, and Brad Pitt’s character, Mills, is a good detective but not nearly as prepared as Morgan Freeman’s Somerset. Somerset is a grizzled detective who has seen it all during his career. As a result, Somerset is starkly contrasted against Lethal Weapon’s Murtaugh; where Murtaugh is ready and happy to retire, Somerset is stuck, caught by the dedication his job requires. Pitt’s character, Mills, is not the wild-eyed partner but one who is willing to learn and advance his career by solving their latest homicide that looks more like a ritualistic killing than any Somerset has seen before.
The impatience of Mills and the leather patience of Somerset lends itself to wonderful on-screen chemistry by the two actors and their encounter with Jon Doe, played by Kevin Spacey, has become a cinematic milestone. Detective partners do not have to like each other to grab the viewers’ attention, but they do have to be able to solve the case where others would fail. Mills’ determination to catch Jon Doe breaks a few rules of procedure, but Somerset’s dedication to profiling Jon Doe fills any gaps created by Mills’s hasty approach.
Seven is a dark and depressing crime thriller that culminates in a chaotic finish that makes more than one character’s head spin.
3. L.A. Confidential
Written: James Elroy, Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson
Director: Curtis Hanson
A modern noir classic, L.A. Confidential is one the best crime dramas of the last thirty years. An all-star cast and legendary writing team produced one of the most tightly polished crime dramas that cinema will ever see. The story kicks off with the arrest of notorious mob boss Mickey Cohen. The power vacuum caused by his absence draws in nefarious characters from all over the country to try and fill his shoes but none of them survive because the Captain of the LAPD, Dudley Smith, has taken over Cohen’s criminal empire. Smith’s audacious usurpation of Coehn’s criminal empire goes unnoticed until the Night Owl Murders draw in gifted homicide detective Edmond Exley. Played by Guy Pearce, Exley is the son of a legendary detective who was murdered years ago. Exley now lives in the shadow of his father, a chip on his shoulder that causes him to dig into the Night Owl Murders with a keen eye that uncovers a swirling web of corruption within the LAPD.
Exley discovers former LAPD detective Dick Stensland was fast friends with nefarious characters who have ties with the victims of the Night Owl Murders. This connection draws in Stensland’s former partner Bud White. Played masterfully by Russel Crowe, White is bullheaded and used to the corruption that weaves in and out of the LAPD, but he is not a direct part of it. His dedication to the job lies in his childhood when he watched his father kill his mother and get away with it. Ever since, his harsh treatment of women beaters has become a point of notoriety within the LAPD.
White and Exley start off hating each other, blaming the other for shifting the paradigm of police culture within the department, but that rivalry soon blossoms into mutual respect as one cannot solve the case without the other’s unique approach to interrogation. Exley has the eye for human weakness while White has the stomach to extract it. The pair go from hating each other to being the only LAPD detectives who can uncover the motives and culprits behind the Night Owl murders and a slew of Los Angeles assassinations that have occurred as a result. The electric performances from Pearce and Crowe transform a stellar movie into a spectacular cinematic experience that rips down the glitz and glamor of 1950’s Hollywood, and reveals the treacherous extent that money, fame, and fortune can form on either side of the law.
4. The Silence of the Lambs
Written: Thomas Harris, Ted Tally
Director: Jonathan Demme
The bond between detectives does not always exist between those in law enforcement. The Silence of the Lambs takes the detective duo and turns it on its head when FBI Investigator Trainee, Clarice Starling, pairs up with notorious serial murderer Hannibal Lecter to catch serial killer Buffalo Bill. The dynamic that is established between Starling and Lecter is nothing short of movie magic. The characters are absolute opposites when it comes to their roles in society, but they see in each other what others do not; opportunity. Starling sees solutions in Lecter that are unobtainable by anyone else in the FBI. Lecter respects Starling because she shows determination as a woman in the male dominated landscape of law enforcement. Lecter is surprised by her ability to face the fears that have crippled so many who have approached him before for help and Starling respects Lecter’s approach to methodically breaking down the evidence accumulated on Buffalo Bill.
The cat and mouse game that Buffalo Bill plays with law enforcement throughout the entire film is mirrored by the one that takes place between Starling and Lecter. The profile Lecter can conjure up on Buffalo Bill is invaluable to the FBI and Starling knows that securing it will guarantee her permanent placement within the ranks of the FBI; but at great cost. Starling must feign friendship with Lecter at first, to secure his trust; but this trust soon blooms into mutual respect. Before long, Starling is being psychoanalyzed by Lecter in exchange for more pieces of Lecter’s profile. Lecter loves to pierce the minds of others and with Clarice he learns why she became an FBI agent. At first this excites Lecter, but this excitement turns into admiration. He respects Starling’s reasons for being the way she is just as she respects Lecter’s ability to see what others have overlooked. Detectives do not need to be on the same side of the law for a larger crime to be solved. The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best crime thrillers of the last century, and it’s because of the relationship between two unlikely detectives that makes it such a stellar success.