If I asked you to count how many cop movies you’ve seen in your lifetime it would be a difficult task. Policemen of all types have found their ways into countless movie storylines spanning a number of genres. Today I’m looking at some of cinema’s best police pairings. Now I’m not just looking at your standard buddy-cop stuff. I’m listing police partners that I found the most compelling for a variety of reasons. Obviously with so many to choose from I wouldn’t call this the definitive list. But I do firmly believe that these five movie police partners are certainly phenomenal.

#5 – Harris and Hoyt (“Training Day”)

Talk about a rough first day. Ethan Hawke plays Jake Hoyt, a rookie cop during his first day as a narcotics officer. He is paired with a seasoned street-savvy veteran Detective Alonzo Harris played by Denzel Washington. The movie takes place during Hoyt’s first 24 hours on the job. Harris quickly initiates him into the dark and violent narcotics scene mainly by exposing his own vile corruption. Hoyt wants to do the right thing. Harris is rotten to the core. That makes for one mesmerizing and intense partnership.

#4 – Mills and Summerset (“Se7en”)

David Fincher’s crime thriller “Se7en” is about as dark as it gets. With a serial killer who patterns his murders after the seven deadly sins on the loose, two detectives are put together to track him down. Brad Pitt plays the young and impulsive Mills while Morgan Freeman plays the cautious veteran. The story grabs you from the start but another reason the film works so well is the great chemistry between Pitt and Freeman. I really went for these two which makes the movie’s big ending all the stronger.

#3 – White and Exley (“LA Confidential”)

Yes I know there is technically a third police partner involved in “L.A. Confidential” but I really want to focus on the strained and sometimes violent partnership between Guy Pierce’s Exley and Russell Crowe’s Bud White. Frequent readers of this blog know that these are two of my favorite working actors and their ability to relay the friction of these two cops is brilliant. Along with Kevin Spacey’s Jack Vincennes, a group of very different policemen find themselves in a seedy noir world of corruption and Hollywood sleaze.

#2 – Tibbs and Gillespie (“In the Heat of the Night”)

They may not have been partners by choice but Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs and Sparta, Mississippi police chief Bill Gillespie had one of the most tense but compelling police partnerships in cinema history. This 1967 mystery/drama dealt with an assortment of issues but the anchor of the movie was the strained relationship between these two cops. Hampered by their own personal prejudices and a very unhappy local citizenry, Tibbs and Gillespie gave us one great scene after another.

#1 – Riggs and Murtaugh (“Lethal Weapon”)

I’m not sure if any two people define the ‘buddy cop’ subgenre better than Mel Gibson and Danny Glover did in their hugely popular “Lethal Weapon” series. There was such a great chemistry between these two guys. Riggs is the unhinged but good-hearted man with a ton of emotional baggage. Glover is the safe, by-the-books family man who is looking forward to retirement. The camaraderie that forms between these two polar opposites is what gives the films crazy humor and wild action its fantastic appeal.

So those are five choices of great movie police partners. What do you think of my list? Do you see some that I missed? Please take time to share your thoughts on this list and others that you would include.