The 411 Top 5 09.19.08: Week 131

Posted by Trevor Snyder on 09.19.2008

The Top 5 Bad Cops

Lakeview Terrace is released to theaters nationwide today, and while everything I've read and seen has me convinced it will be nothing more than an average thriller, I think it's a safe assumption that it will at least be a lot of fun to see Samuel L. Jackson chewing up the scenery as a psychotic police officer. But as great as Jackson is, will he be able to enter the ranks of the greatest crooked cops of all time? He certainly has some fierce competition, as we intend to show with this week's look at:

THE TOP 5 BAD COPS



Trevor Snyder

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Capt. Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) in L.A. Confidential - I have a friend who would probably never let me hear the end of it if I didn't at least mention this one, and that's fine. After all, how often do you get to see James Cromwell play a total prick?

Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) in The Shield - I've never been as into The Shield as many others have gotten, but even I realize that Mackey deserves some recognition here.

THE TOP 5

5. The T-1000 (Robert Patrick) in Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Alright, maybe I'm cheating a little here, as the T-1000 is technically not a real cop. But it sure does a hell of a good job imitating one. Plus, it's smart enough to know that posing as a cop gives you all kinds of privileges and power that you can abuse when searching for a young boy you've been tasked to kill. Although the movie suggests that the T-1000 only takes this form because his first victim is a cop, I think there's a good reason it stays in that form for the rest of the film. I think the T-1000 likes being a cop.

4. Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) in Unlawful Entry

If you ask me, Lakeview Terrace basically looks like an unnecessary retread of this somewhat underrated thriller, with over-actor Ray Liotta replaced with over-actor Samuel L. Jackson. It seems like this movie has been somewhat forgotten over the years, which is a shame, cause Liotta is at his slimy best as a patrol cop who falls for a woman (Madeleine Stowe…remember her?) when he responds to a break-in call at her house. Unfortunately, the woman also happens to be married to Kurt Russell, but that's only a minor obstacle for Liotta, who will stop at nothing (including killing his own partner) to get what he wants.

3. Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) in Training Day

Just how good is Denzel Washingston as dirty cop Alonzo Harris? So good that he managed to take a pretty by-the-numbers script and turn it into Oscar-bait. In fact, Washington won Best Actor for this one, and he damn sure deserved it, too. Hell, he was so good that Ethan Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, presumably because just sitting next to Washington in a car for most of the movie can make anyone look like an amazing actor. This film was released not too long after 9/11 (if I remember correctly, its release date was even slightly pushed back because of it), and a lot of people were wondering if audiences were ready to watch a movie about a bad cop. Hell yeah, they were – especially when it's Denzel Washington.

2. The Lieutenant (Harvey Keitel) in Bad Lieutenant

What is it about Harvey Keitel and bad cops? You could arguably also include his performance from Cop Land in this list, but let's face it – if we're talking bad cops, you cannot ignore the Lieutenant. This might be the most infamous bad cop movie of all time, and even today some of its sequences are still pretty shocking and can leave you wondering if the movie isn't going a little too far. But that's its power, really…and I strongly doubt the upcoming remake with Nicolas Cage will come anywhere near this modern classic. Hell, for one thing, I'm pretty sure the Harvey Keitel of today could kick Nicolas Cage's ass. And if you don't believe me, watch this movie, and see if you aren't just a little intimidated by Keitel from now on.

1. Stansfield (Gary Oldman) in Leon

Seriously, how freakin' scary is Oldman in this? In a movie full of mobsters and hit-men, Oldman's corrupt DEA cop is undoubtedly the guy you wouldn't want to be alone in a room with…and especially not if you were on his shit list. In my humble opinion, this is not only Oldman's best ever performance, it's one of the great screen villains of all time. And I'm totally willing to debate that with "EVERYONE!!"



Owain J. Brimfield

5. Harry Quinlan (Orson Welles) in Touch of Evil

Perhaps Welles' best role in my opinion, although that might have to do with the fact that his seedy Mexican border chief is up against the horribly do-gooding Chuck Heston, who I've never really liked. Quinlan is a terrifically lecherous and morally decrepit cop working to maintain his dominion over the locals in the bordellos and the crack houses of the Mexican border town in which he resides. The twist is that the decay of his moral fiber stems from the murder of his wife a long time ago, but rather than turn him into a sympathetic figure, that revelation somehow comes to deepen his downfall.

4. The lieutenant (Harvey Keitel) in Bad Lieutenant

The title of the movie is a bit of an understatement, really. Our unnamed cop perpetuates a devil's miscellany of naughty antics, from abusing young girls to spanking himself in public, in Abel Ferrara's notorious film that's somehow managed to spawn a sequel of sorts, out next year, starring Nicolas Cage of all people. Say what you will about Cage's acting chops, but there's no way he can be considered in the same breath as Keitel, whose performance here is emotionally all on the line and completely unflinching. The scene with the lieutenant weeping in the nude is just great cinema.

3. Louis Renault (Claude Rains) in Casablanca

A left-field choice, perhaps, but there's no denying Renault is crooked - after all he essentially sums up the Bad Cop Manifesto in one succinct delivery: "I have no convictions... I blow with the wind". The guy pretty much makes it into this list for his actions at the end of the movie, rounding up the usual suspects to cover up Strasser's killing before heading out of Casablanca with Rick, possibly to begin a beautiful friendship.

2. Stansfield (Gary Oldman) in Leon

One of the most gloriously OTT performances of the past thirty years or so, Gary Oldman's blow-snorting, callous-murdering, Jean Reno-hunting corrupt cop is so heinous he could threaten turning into a caricature, but Oldman's genius is in allowing him to walk on the absolute finest line between madness and mischief. The scene where he confronts Mathilda in the bathroom is quietly terrifying, and his villainy is made all the worse by the fact that he stands in opposition to Reno's benevolent and appealing hitman.

1. Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) in Dirty Harry

Oh who else could it be? From the moment Harry's introduced to the world, striding into the midst of an armed bank robbery, pulling the biggest fucking gun you've ever seen and dumping corpses left right and centre, before delivering one of cinema's greatest bons mots (which I don't think needs to be repeated here), you know you're in the presence of a truly iconic character. Harry is the epitome of the maverick cop, throwing the rulebook completely out the window in his efforts to hunt down the creepy psycho Scorpio and bring him to justice. Even if justice is meted out Magnum stylee. The man is just legendary.



Bryan Kristopowitz

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Lt. Eckhardt (William Hootkins) in Batman (1989): He was a fat, disgusting scumbum slob of a cop, incredibly happy to take "sandwiches" of bribe money and had no problem admitting to senior henchman Jack Napier that he takes orders, direct orders, from Carl Grissom, the big boss of crime in Gotham City. What a scumbag. Eckhardt had no capacity to think for himself. He walked right into that Axis Chemicals chemical plant, under Grissom's order, to find and shoot Napier. He didn't think that things could go wrong? Well, Eckhardt was never given much of a chance to think about the future. Napier shot him. What a punk. Eckahrdt, not Napier.

Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson) in Lethal Weapon 3 (1992): Not exactly a cop per se at the time we meet him, throwing a guy into a pool of wet cement, Travis was notorious for being a corrupt, dirty, but still ass kicking peace officer. Travis disappeared for a few years, only to resurface as an illegal gun runner and pseudo real estate mogul. He got his guns (and sometimes drugs, but mostly guns) from the police evidence lock up. He used his skills as a cop, his knowledge of the system, to build up quite the deadly empire. If only Martin Riggs didn't annihilate him with an Uzi loaded with "cop killer" bullets. At least he was defiant in defeat. "Go to hell, Riggs." "You first." Indeed.

Sheriff Ed Galt (Bruce Dern) in Last Man Standing (1996): There's nothing worse in this world than an indifferent cop, indifferent to the crime and pain and suffering around him. Sheriff Galt, expertly played by Dern, was all about doing absolutely nothing about the raging criminal enterprises in his small Texas town. Galt was happy to let the "Irish" and the "Italians" run their booze up from Mexico and stay out of the way. Sure, he probably would have had his ass handed to him by both sides if he put up a fight, but, hey, isn't that what cops are supposed to do? And then when John Smith and his dueling .45's show up, shooting dang near everything in sight, what did Galt do? Get out of the way. Man, Galt wasn't even interested in taking on one man. One man! What a lame ass.

THE TOP 5

5. Police Chief Clancy Wiggum (voice of Hank Azaria) in The Simpson's

Clancy Wiggum, chief of police for Springfield U.S.A., is the epitome of law enforcement incompetence. And laziness. And corruption. He isn't very bright, he just comes out and asks for and expects bribes, and is really the last person you want to call if you've got a problem. Just watch any episode where Chief Wiggum is in action, either in a major part or a minor one. Odds are you'll find him cooking eggs on the engine block of his cruiser. Or eating a pizza. Or sitting in his car behind a highway sign, asleep. It makes you wonder why Officers Lou and Eddie put up with him.

4. Nancy Stalk (Lee Garlington) in Cobra (1986)

So, there's a gang (well, an army) of killers rampaging through Los Angeles, eliminating people left and right because, well, that's what they do (they're part of the "New World," whatever the heck that is). Among them is Nancy Stalk, a cop. She ends up "helping" protect a witness of one of the New World's rampages, assigned to ride along with super cop Marion Cobretti, the "Cobra," as he takes the witness "upstate." Cobra has suspicions that Stalk isn't on the up and up, but he can't prove anything until he, his partner, and the witness are "in the shit." A cop hanging out with a band of thugs and killers? What a piece of garbage.

3. Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel) in Cop Land (1997)

Keitel is the defacto head of a contingent of NYPD cops who live across the Hudson River in the fictional small town of Garrison, New Jersey. Despite the fact that Sylvester Stallone's Sheriff Freddy Heflinis the, well, sheriff of Garrison, Keitel basically runs the town. And this is just a side thing, really. Donlan's real "nasty" business is in the city, where he can do pretty much anything he wants, along with his buddies, like Robert Patrick and John Spencer. He can kill a fellow cop without blinking an eye, he can fake a cop's death, he can easily frame someone without anyone causing a huff. And he's all very nonchalant about it. He knows he can do anything he wants. Who is going to stop him? That fat, deaf sheriff?

2. Ben Kehoe (Brion James) in Another 48 Hrs. (1990)

Yeah, I know I'm giving away the ending to the great Nick Nolte-Eddie Murphy buddy cop sequel Another 48 Hrs., but if you haven't seen the movie by now, you're probably never going to see it. So anyway, the big mystery of the flick, "Who is San Francisco's biggest drug dealer, who is the Iceman?" is revealed to be Nick Nolte's best cop buddy, Ben Kehoe. Shocking? Yeah, a little. Does it make any sense? Maybe (I've always been kind of shaky on that reveal). But Nolte's Inspector Jack Cates spent the better part of five years chasing the Iceman down, only to find out that it was his best buddy the whole time. That's gotta suck. And that's pretty freaking awful, too. Some no-name cop is the head of one of the biggest drug rings in California? How did that happen with no one noticing it?

1. The Magnum Force (Hal Holbrook, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Kip Niven, and Robert Urich) in Magnum Force (1973)

In a nutshell, Soul, Matheson, Niven, and Urich are the muscle, the doers, the "shooters," and Holbrook is the leader, the mastermind. Of what? A group of vigilante bike cops who see it as their job to be "evil for evil" for the city of San Francisco. They kill pimps, mobsters, naked fat guys who have Devils Three way sex parties, and the occasional fellow cop "not in the know." What happened to following the law, upholding the law, enforcing the law? They all claim that the law no longer works so they're going to ignore it. And they all thought that "Dirty" Harry Callahan would be hip to their scheme. But, as Harry told him, "A man's got to know his limitations," and while he agreed that the law of the land was often deficient, it would have to do until someone comes up with something better. So Harry wasn't interested. That only made the Magnums mad. It didn't do them much good, but they got mad.



Rick Tym

5. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) in The Departed

I'm sure some people look at this and say "eh, f%$& Matt Damon". I disagree. Sure, a lot of the reason this character works so well is because of Sullivan's interaction with Jack Nicholson's Frank Costello. But a lot more of its effectiveness is simply because Matt Damon is completely believable as a smart, up-and-coming, just a bit too self-confident Massachusetts State Trooper. He's a bad cop living the good life due to his mob ties, and it looks so subtly good to the viewer that it's hard not to like the guy. Until you realize that he really is a piece of you-know-what, destroying lives and getting good cops killed in the process, all to protect his surrogate mobster father. Even he knows this, which is made evident at the end of the file when confronted with Mark Wahlberg's Dignam, who extracts revenge for the murder of his captain. As a gun is pointed at his head by Dignam, he doesn't beg, he doesn't plead. He accepts his fate and punishment, saying simply, "Okay".

4. The Lieutenant (Harvey Keitel) in Bad Lieutenant

How could the Bad Lieutenant be forgotten? The man saw Jesus and called him a "rat fucker", for God's sake! Of course, he was very likely high at the time of the Savior's appearance. (Actually, it's not just likely. He completely and totally was.) This guy was one of the worst of the worst, shaking his wee-wee at young girls in a car, wanting to see their asses while pleasuring himself. Chasing crack dealers only to buy from them once he chased them far enough out of the street to make the deal private. It's no wonder that when he is trying to find a group of criminals who raped a nun, he doesn't understand why the nun has an attitude of forgiveness towards them. This guy can't ever forgive himself, so great is his self-hatred. How could it not be? His only small slice of redemption comes at the end of the film when he puts the rapists on a bus instead of shooting them, although it seems he really wants to. I honestly have no idea why this movie even exists except to showcase a crazy, drugged up, sometimes naked Harvey Keitel. I like Harvey as much as the next guy, but even this is too much "bad". Ultimately, I have to conclude that this movie exists solely for inclusion in columns such as this.

3. Stansfield (Gary Oldman) in Leon: The Professional

Gary Oldman as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Batman movies is one of my favorite casting choices of all time. Oldman as Gordon embodies all that is good and incorruptible in those that truly believe that the law can make a difference.

This character is completely different.

As Stansfield, Oldman play a very possibly completely certifiably-insane DEA agent with an obsession with Beethoven. He also is a big fan of violence. He has killed one of his drug runners and his entire family, except for little Mathilda, who is in Leon the assassin's care after her family has been dispatched. Once Stansfield realizes she is still around and may be able to finger him, he leads his gang of badge-wearing thugs mercilessly, standing calmly amidst hails of gunfire and exploding apartments while waiting for the chance to capture his prey. Oldman is completely over the top and never better (except for the afore-mentioned Jim Gordon character) than when he snorts an upper and goes to work, classical music blazing in the background. My personal favorite line of his is when he tells one of his lackeys "Get me everyone" while trying to figure out how to wrangle Leon in. When the lackey responds, "What do you mean, ‘everyone'?" Stansfield answers, with a scream, "EVERYYYYONEEEE!!!" He doesn't have time for that Mickey Mouse bullshit. Indeed.

2. Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) in Training Day

BOOM! I have unabashed love for Denzel, make no mistake. I will watch anything the man does. And while I do think that Training Day devolves into a more formulaic action movie by its third act, Denzel Washington as Alonzo simply mesmerizes onscreen. Part of it is because he plays completely against type as a really, really bad dude, but mostly is because the character is just so damned good. Alonzo knows the streets, knows his team, and knows how to cash in on one of his old friends when the Russian mob wants to erase him after a bad weekend in Vegas. Alonzo is one of the most dangerous on this list because of his knowledge, and the fact that he seems to be able to strong-arm anyone to get anything he needs using his smarts, strengths and sheer chilling brutality. Only when he meets someone completely incorruptible does he fall. The journey is absolutely worth taking and the character warrants more observation than I can provide in this space, but safe to say that Denzel deserved his Oscar for this one. If not for the entirety of his performance, then just for the opportunity to see him on screen exclaiming "Motha fucker! You shot me in the ass!" Brilliance.

1. Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) in The Shield

For me, at least, there simply is no better bad cop than Vic Mackey. From the first episode I was riveted, watching a group of cops trying to do good while doing bad themselves, led by this powerhouse of moral contradictions. He loves his family but cheats—and presumably fathers a child in said cheating relationship. He hates crime and tries to eradicate it from the fictional LA suburb of Farmington, but doesn't hesitate to plant evidence and skim money and drugs from seizures to line his own (and his Strike Team's) pockets. He'll do anything for the members of his team to ensure their safety and financial prosperity—unless he thinks one of them is an informant for the Feds, in which case he puts a bullet in their head during a raid, eliminating the suspected rat conveniently (and almost completely convincingly) by using the raid suspect's gun to do it. And this is all in the first episode of the now seven-season long run of the show. Not since Tony Soprano has there been such an anti-hero. You know he's bad, although he wants to be good, and if you're like me watching the final season airing on FX right now, you know he should get his comeuppance, but you're really hoping he gets away with it all.



Steve Gustafson

HONORABLE MENTIONS

T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles) in S.W.A.T. AND as Detective Fowler (Josh Charles) in Four Brothers

Talk about niche acting! Mr. Charles has the "bad cop" role down. Smug, greedy, and too much pride in his own abilities. Plus, when things get too hot he shows his true colors.

Detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) in American Gangster

It wasn't a huge role but I really enjoyed Brolin in that movie. Plus, he had the best 'stache of 2007! Easily! He played the bully "bad" cop and I wish they had given him more screen time but understand the story wasn't built around him.

THE TOP 5

5. Colin (Matt Damon) in The Departed

"All right, all right. Frank, Frank, Frank, I'm sorry, Frank. If you could, please. What I need are SS numbers, DOBs, just all the pedigree information so I can run it on my end and we can ID the prick. If you can just get me that information, what I can do is I can just - I - I - we're gonna handle it. I - I - I can handle it."

I thought he played the part just right. He was bad to be sure, but he had his own motives, outside of being a pawn for Costello. He was loyal because of what Costello did for him, He played the middle until he crashed into a Wahlberg. Instead of being the cliche rogue bad cop, he played it with heart.

4. The Lieutenant (Harvey Keitel) in Bad Lieutenant

"I'm sorry, Lord. I've done so many bad things. "

Everyone talks about this movie but I wonder how many have actually SEEN this movie. Yeah, bad cop but the story of redemption brings a nice hook to it. Keitel carries this movie along and as much as you dislike the character you wonder what price he's paid for the decisions he's made.

3. Alonzo (Denzel Washington) in Training Day

"Why is he my friend, because he knows my first name? Roger sold dope to kids. The world is a better place without him. This man was the biggest major violator in Los Angeles. This is the game. I'm playing his ass. That's my job. That's your job. I watched that cocksucker operate with impunity for over 10 years, and now I got him. The shit's chess, it ain't checkers."

For some reason this movie is getting some backlash and I don't understand why. Denzel runs this movie and injects like into Alonzo and fear into the audience. I was about to throw Man on Fire on here with all the dirty cops in there, but I couldn't keep all their names straight. Anyways, give me a prequel with Alonzo and I'd be a happy man.

2. Officer Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) in Unlawful Entry

"Arrest you? I could kill you. "

FYI, this is my TRUE numero uno. Liotta cements his position as intense crazy actor. I first saw this movie on cable a while back and had to hunt it down because I was so blown by his portrayal of an out of control officer. Great story that grounds itself in reality and what could happen if you rebuff an already unhinged individual.

1. Lt. Thaddeus Harris (G.W. Bailey) in Police Academy

"My name is Lieutenant Harris! In case you missed it. This is Sergeant Callahan! In case you missed it. We are the meanest instructors here. We've got you because you are the worst people here. You are "D" Squad; "D" for "dirtbags." When I say: "Hey, dirtbags!" that means you. You people are going to hate my guts for the rest of your lives. I am going to make you sorry that you ever came here."

AH! You thought I was going with Serpico, right? SWERVE! This guy is the dirtiest of the dirty! He cares for no one. Children fear him, mothers close the blinds when he walks the streets, even convicts think he's out of control! While most of the others on the list spread their wicked ways all over one film this guy had 4...count em...4 movies. Alright, I'm kidding but I wanted to show some love to Lt. Thaddeus Harris for all this adventures doing the tango at the Blue Oyster Bar. You know what I'm talking about!



Jeremy Thomas

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), The Departed (2006) - While all the acting attention came to Mark Wahlberg (and deservedly so) for his foul-mouthed, in-your-face Sergeant Dignam, it was hard to ignore how well Damon nailed Colin Sullivan. Sullivan was a character destined to be a bad cop from childhood, indoctrinated by Frank Costello as a father figure and loyal to him all the way until the end. Sullivan is a bad cop, no doubt about it, and he's good at it, too.

Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman), Leon: The Professional (1994) - Delightfully nuts and indelibly evil, Oldman's performance as Stansfield in Leon is easily one of his best in a career of amazing performances. I challenge anyone to watch this and not be mesmerized, amused and repulsed by the sheer personality that Oldman gives the epitome of corrupt DEA agents in this film. It's brilliance.

Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), The Usual Suspects (1995) - By the time this Brian Singer classic begins, Dean Keaton is not a cop. But he was one, and a very corrupt one, too, and that's what allows this story to unfold as it does. Byrne gives a great performance, refined when he's acting like an upstanding citizen and exuding a subtle menace when he needs to as the ex-cop turned criminal.

THE TOP 5

5. Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) - Street Kings (2008)

A lot of people didn't think all that much of Street Kings when it came out this year, and I can't particularly disagree with them; the movie certainly had its flaws. Keanu Reeves, though, wasn't really one of them. His Tom Ludlow was a racist, alcoholic cop who routinely breaks the law in order to do what needs to be done. As he progresses through the movie, he comes head-to-head with almost everyone, from an Internal Affairs Officer to his own unit and mentor. Poor Tom comes to realize he's being used by everyone for something, and he has to choose who he wants to be used by and what for. It's easily Reeves's best performance he's ever given, and while the movie may not be the best, Tom is certainly one of the best bad cops.

4. Bud White (Russell Crowe) - L.A. Confidential (1997)

Wendell "Bud" White isn't a BAD cop, but he's certainly a corrupt one. One of the most feared men in the LAPD within the context of the Curtis Hanson adaptation of the Ellroy novel, he's a violent brute of a man with an uncrontrollable temper who is used by Captain Dudley Smith as a thug to force criminals to stay out so (unbeknownst to Bud) they can control the drug market. On the flip side though, that temper mostly seems to come out with perpetrators of rape or domestic violence, and he's incredibly sensitive to the victims. This was one of Crowe's first truly great performances, for American audiences at least, and he epitomizes the cop that walks within those shades of gray.

3. Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) - Training Day (2001)

"King Kong ain't got shit on me!" It's very, very hard to argue that Denzel didn't deserve his Oscar for this, one of the most wildly out of control corrupt cops in cinematic history. Acting as a mentor to Ethan Hawke's rookie detective Jake Hoyt, Denzel does his best to spin Jake into a corrupt world. He gets Jake to smoke a joing laced with PCP, tortures hoods, steals money from criminals, takes time out of the day for a nooner with his mistress, and Jake is just along for the ride. When he finally sets Jake up to be killed because he knows the rookie can't be corrupted, he seems almost disappointed. Alonzo's dedication to his own twisted ideals, believing that his messed-up ways are just the way it has to work, is what makes him so great and such an iconic bad cop.

2. Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) - Dexter (2006 - Current)

I really, REALLY wanted to put Dexter on the top of my list. He's easily my favorite character on the list, and one of my favorite of all-time. Played to complete perfection by Michael C. Hall, Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter forensic specialist with the Miami Metro Police Department who also happens to be a serial killer. He kills people who have escape justice, having been trained to do from an early age by his adoptive cop father who recognized his darkness and instills a code in him. Dexter is a great portrayal of a sociopath, maintaining a disguise of normalcy that very few people can see through. Two seasons so far and he's already one of the all-time great serial killer characters.

1. Bad Lieutenant (Harvey Keitel) - Bad Lieutenant (1992)

As much as I wanted to make Dexter number one, the self-titled main character of Bad Lieutenant takes the cake. Portrayed with brilliance by Harvey Keitel, the character is morally the worst of the bad cops of cinema, between his soliciting sexual favors from underage girls in exchange for freedom, using cocaine and drinking like a fish, stealing from criminals, and everything else bad you can imagine. While he has a chance to find his redemption later in the film, Keitel plays him so starkly corrupt that you can't help but be amazed by the performance. It was bold and powerful, a painfully honest performance that you simply can't help but appreciate. The lieutenant makes no bones about his corrupt nature and knows how bad he is, and his honesty in that gives the character a power that's undeniable. Let's not even talk about the upcoming remake...this, right here, is your bad lieutenant and the quintessential bad cop in cinema.

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