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Movies and TvShows featuring "police-vigilantism" theme.

Serpico
Movie

Serpico(1973)

7.7
tomato93%
R
130Minutes

An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him. Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) covered in blood and slumped in the backseat of a police car as it races to a hospital with lights and sirens blaring. He has just been shot in the face. The rest of the movie tells the story of Serpico's career up to this moment, starting with him becoming a police officer in 1960. He is very idealistic and believes in non-brutal methods to catch criminals. Serpico also refuses to join in on police corruption, specifically that which involves shaking down and taking payoffs from gambling and drug dealing organizations. His refusal to take bribes earns him the suspicion of his fellow officers throughout the majority of the precincts to which he is assigned. Additionally, Serpico finds trouble fitting in due to his embrace of the counterculture of the 1960s: He moves to Greenwich Village, grows his hair and beard long to the point where he must maintain a plainclothes appearance, and associates with a more left-wing crowd that is distrusting of the NYPD. At first Serpico tries appealing to his bosses about the corruption, but gets nowhere. He enlists a highly-connected fellow officer, Bob Blair (Tony Roberts) in his fight against corruption, but not even he can crack the city administration's general indifference. His campaign and the resulting complications and harassment within the department take a toll on his mental health and his relationship with fiancee Laurie (Barbara Eda-Young), who ultimately leaves him. After meeting a sympathetic police inspector who agrees to assist him with both disrupting the gambling rackets and later calling attention to the problem by going to the New York Times, he is transferred to narcotics, as he has always wanted. However, he finds himself in an even more corrupt and hostile atmosphere than before, where he has mostly enemies and almost no allies due to the reputation he has garnered. As a result, he is shot in the face during a raid on a heroin lab due to his fellow officers' reluctance to come to his aid. After being left for dead and eventually discovered by two uniformed officers, the story takes over from the beginning and shows a recuperating Serpico being tended to by his family and few remaining friends as well as being anonymously harassed with hate mail. At the end of the film, Serpico testifies to the Knapp Commission on police corruption. The film ends with him waiting to board a ship; despite being promoted to detective (a lifelong ambition of his) and being decorated by the department for "conspicuous bravery in action" (along with the two officers who abandoned him during the drug raid) he resigns from the NYPD and emigrates to Switzerland.

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Magnum Force
Movie

Magnum Force(1973)

7.2
tomato69%
R
124Minutes

Magnum Force is a 1973 action crime drama movie where a police detective named Harry Callahan investigates a series of murders carried out by a vigilante group targeting criminals. As he gets deeper into the investigation, he uncovers a web of corruption within the police force. With the lines between right and wrong blurred, Callahan must decide where his loyalties lie and how far he is willing to go to uphold justice.

Cop Land
Movie

Cop Land(1997)

7
tomato75%
R
104Minutes

The Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption. In the fictional town of Garrison, New Jersey, a number of residents are NYPD officers. The local sheriff Freddy Heflin is secretly in love with Liz Randone, whose life he once saved after a car accident. One night, Murray Babitch, nephew of Lt. Ray Donlan, is involved in an accident that leads to him faking his suicide to avoid exposing the corruption of the other officers. Internal Affairs investigator Lt. Moe Tilden asks Heflin to provide information on the corrupt cops in his town, but Heflin is intimidated and reluctant to betray them. Despite the initial success of the cover-up, the corrupt cops eventually decide that Babitch must be killed. Heflin realizes his mistake and steals the case files on the corrupt cops, discovering the extent of their corruption. He brings Babitch to New York City to turn him over to Internal Affairs, but is ambushed and disabled. He manages to follow the corrupt officers to Donlan's house, where a shootout occurs. Heflin kills two of the corrupt officers and is shot in the shoulder by Leo Crasky, but is saved by the arrival of Figgsy. In the end, Figgsy and Heflin personally take Babitch to Internal Affairs, and after the scandal is investigated, Heflin goes back to work.

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The Guilty
Movie

The Guilty(2018)

7.5
tomato98%
R
86Minutes

When a police officer receives a distressed phone call from a woman who has been kidnapped, he must navigate a race against time to save her while battling his own personal demons and guilt. Set in a single location, the officer must rely on his desk work and emergency telephone calls to uncover clues and track down the kidnapper. As the tension rises, the plot takes unexpected twists and revelations, all within a one-day timespan.

The Cops
Tv Show

The Cops (2023)

7.4

Alon Shenhav, an outstanding detective officer who grow up in Nahariya and moved to Tel Aviv-Yafo, is asked to return to his hometown and serve as a detective officer for a year. Upon his return, he discovers that Maor Ezra runs a local crime organization that is terrorising in the city. Alon understands that in order to take Ezra down, he must first restore the public status of the police in the city.

Line of Duty
Movie

Line of Duty(2019)

5.3
tomato53%
R
98Minutes

Line of Duty follows the story of a female reporter and a vlogger who find themselves entangled in a dangerous web of police action, suspense, and media coverage. As they chase down a police chief involved in corruption, they must navigate through a culture clash and deal with the consequences of their actions. With wisecrack humor and intense chase sequences, this movie is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

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ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards
Movie

ACAB : All Cops Are Bastards(2012)

6.6
105Minutes

police vigilantism

Explore a curated collection of movies and TV series that revolve around the theme of police vigilantism. Witness thrilling stories of law enforcement officers who bend the rules to serve their own brand of justice. Discover gripping narratives and complex characters in this genre-defining category of entertainment.

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