The Worst Buddy Cop Movies Of All Time

By Terry Cleveland

Buddy cop movies are almost always bad. We figured we'd list the very worst of the bunch.

#5-Lethal Weapon

While there are some arguably good moments in the series and a few notable catch phrases (“I’m too old for this shit”), these films are still terrible.  The straight laced family man and the renegade loose cannon pairing has been done before but not like Lethal Weapon, throw in a few useless sequels and some annoying supporting characters (Chris Rock, Joe Pesci) and you have a recipe for shitty movie written all over it. Honestly, everyone knows that were it not for Danny Glover these films would simply be a batshit crazy mullet wearing Mel Gibson running around town with a badge killing people indiscriminately and blowing things up.

#4- Turner and Hooch

A dog and a detective team up to stop the man who murdered the dog’s former owner. Yup, that’s right: the dog is the only witness to a murder case and the reluctant detective (Tom Hanks) decides to take him in. I could go on but I think that this is probably enough.

#3-Showtime

 Two cops; one a streetwise detective, the other a network cable TV star team up to star in a new reality show about the investigation of a drug ring. This action-comedy turd staring Eddie Murphy and Robert DeNiro and is easily one of the worst, awkward onscreen partnerships ever put on film. It may be a spoofy tongue in cheek film about reality TV ridiculousness and buddy cop films as a whole but that doesn’t mean that it’s any good…..at all. I’m not particularly surprised that an actor of Eddie Murphy’s caliber would decide to do this film but I can’t help but wonder if Robert De Niro wishes he could omit this one from his resume (I bet he wishes that about a lot of his more recent films though).

 #2- Bad Boys

These films, which take their name from the theme song of a show about real police officers, star two of my least favorite actors of all time: Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Admittedly that does leave me with a pretty hefty bias, but come on! It’s the guy from Blue Streak, and the Fresh Prince in a cop movie directed by Michael Bay. If I want to watch a buddy cop movie where shit blows up every few minutes with stupid catch phrases and lame plot lines I’ll watch Lethal Weapon.

 #1- Rush Hour

These films are the magnum opus of bad buddy cop movies. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker solving cases together in the worst team up in the history of the genre. Sure, Jackie Chan is one of the greatest stuntmen/martial artists of all time, but that doesn’t redeem Chris Tucker. Tucker isn’t as funny as Chris Rock and won’t ever shut the fuck up. Watching Jackie Chan do all of his channery and leap across the screen while Chris Tucker screams and runs around the room looking for something to do is not only painful, but awkward, and I can’t help but wonder if Jackie Chan would get more help from a dog who would at least bite people instead of chattering uselessly and acting like a douche bag.