The 10 best detective movies to watch on Netflix, HBO, and more

Batman has been in wide release for over a week now, and by any measurable standard it’s a massive success. One of the big selling points for writer-director Matt Reeves’ take on the long-running comic book film franchise is that in this iteration, the audience finally gets to see why one of Batman’s many monikers is “The World’s Greatest Detective,” as the eternally popular DC character’s nearly superhuman powers of investigation and deduction are given much more of a focus than in previous films.

So if BatmanWe have an even bigger list of stories that will keep you captivated by the art of solving crime with other methods than brute force. Here are 10 amazing detective films that you can watch right from your own home. The list includes films from many countries. It features everything from morally questionable cops at the edge to military investigators and whiz children. Some share some DNA with the costumed policeman who inspired this list.

8mm

Columbia Pictures

Following his final run at Batman, Joel Schumacher lost favor among audiences. Batman & Robin. Since his wildly colorful and proudly cartoonish endeavor landed with such a thud, it’s hard to not see his follow-up to it, the restlessly grim thriller 8mmAs a huge overcorrection to adult fare. Nicolas Cage plays an investigator hired by the elderly widow of a powerful businessman to determine if a “snuff” film found among her late husband’s possessions is authentic or not, and just exactly what happened to the film’s innocent victim.

This leads Cage’s investigator into the late ’90s world of underground, black market pornography. It’s clear that if Schumacher had been asked to go “grim & gritty” with his Batman films, he could have definitely made a more seamless follow up to Tim Burton’s Bat-entries. 8mm’s oppressively grim tone may be too much for some but this is a visually impressive film that contains a great central performance from Cage as a man forced to stare too long into the darkness, who tries to rise above and do the right thing against all odds. Cage’s performance is in perfect sync with the many others on this list. If Cage raging isn’t your thing, the film also features a young Joaquin Phoenix as Cage’s porno book-selling sidekick plus some wonderful skeevy villain turns from Peter Stormare and the late, great James Gandolfini. My opinion: 8mm is an unfairly slept-on piece of late ’90s pulp that deserves reevaluation.

8mm It is possible to view it HuluOr for free with ads Tubi.

Blind Detective

Media Asia

The beauty of detective stories, other than their ability to be adapted into different styles of films without losing their core components that make them unique is what makes them so appealing. Chinese films are a good example. Blind Detective from Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To. This film is a romantic comedy that mixes all the best elements of this story with a humorous twist: it’s based on satire. It centers on Sammi Cheng (a hugely successful Asian singer) as a policewoman who teams up with Andy Lau (a blind private investigator using unusual methods to locate her missing childhood friend).

As the pair work together to find the missing person (and solve several other cases along the way), the film sets up that Cheng’s character has fallen for the comically-oblivious titular disabled investigator, and that leads to a lot of sweet, goofy comedy mixed in with the more traditional aspects of a detective thriller. If you like romance, laughter, and crime scene deconstructions then this film is for you. Blind DetectiveOne worth looking out is the one above. Warning: Hong Kong films are well-known for having extreme tonal shiftings. You may find yourself laughing at one scene and gripping your seat with tension the next.

Blind Detective It is possible to view it Netflix.

Chinatown

Image by Paramount Pictures

The 1974 movie starring Jack Nicholson perfectly exemplifies why detective movies are so popular. It has a deep but soundly constructed mystery that pays off every element it introduces while never once feeling like it’s holding the audience’s hand. The plot structure is simply amazing. ChinatownPerfect. It’s obvious why Robert Townes’ screenplay won an Academy Award and is considered by many filmmakers and critics to be the finest one ever written.

Nicholson’s world-weary investigator is hired to look into a possible extramarital affair and in turn, ends up discovering a much more vile and sinister crime. ChinatownNever rush to make these discoveries, nor do you want to take too much time to get to the point. Each character, scene and moment is significant. We as the audience observe them all as the main character does, gradually putting together the pieces with him, hoping that it all works out for the best in the end as we get more and more entangled in the film’s web of half-truths and secrets laid bare.

Chinatown It is possible to view it HBO MaxOr, you can get one for free with your library card KanopyAnd Hoopla.

Devil in a blue dress

Image: Sony Pictures

It is important to know who the lead role of a detective film is. This is because the character the audience spends most time with is their lead. They are the audience’s “in” to the world of the story. Sometimes the audience’s only view of what is going on is the one that the lead has. Casting is vital. Casting is clearly one the greatest assets. Devil in Blue Dress considering the lead role of Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is occupied by none other than two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.

Easy is a WWII vet looking for work after being laid off. The movie opens in 1948. Desperate for cash so he can keep his home, Easy agrees to take a job from a white P.I., to track down the missing fiancée of a mayoral candidate who has been known to frequent black nightclubs. Of course, it isn’t long before Easy is pulled into a larger mystery involving political scandal, perversion, racism, blackmail, and murder. This film takes a refreshingly new approach to these detective films by incorporating the racial tensions from the 1940s into a plot that wouldn’t otherwise be considered standard noir. This gives Easy more motivation and Washington is a charismatic actor that makes it easy for him to conquer the challenges of both the plot and the movie’s world. The film also features a young Don Cheadle, as Easy’s trigger-happy war buddy “Mouse,” in a performance that is so much fun he almost steals the entire film away from the much more established star. The story is based upon a series of long-running novels and there were plans to make sequels. The film did not do well at the box office and ended the possibility of Washington being featured in future films.

Devil in a blue dress It is possible to view it HuluAnd Paramount Plus.

Joint Security Area

Arrow Media

At the DMZ that separates North and South Korea, a murder took place. According to reports, two North Korean soldiers were killed by a South Korean soldier. Something doesn’t add up, though, so both nations have mutually agreed upon an impartial investigation by the Swiss/Swedish governing body that oversees the shared zone. An officer from Korea, born in Switzerland, has been assigned to investigate the incident and determine who is responsible. This is the deceptively simple setup for director Park Chan-Wook’s Joint Security Area.

It is unusually a mystery film that led to the popularity of South Korean entertainment throughout the west. It has many of the things you would expect in this type of story — clues being gathered that cast suspicion on the accepted narrative, tense interrogations, and surprising third act reveals. But it’s also one where the answer to the “whys” and “hows” of the mystery and even the investigator themselves take a back seat to the people and the emotions directly involved in the conflict. Joint Security AreaIt is an emotional and heartbreaking film that shows just how much bureaucracy can do to innocent people. This film is wrapped in the windows of an excellent, more traditional investigative thriller.

Joint Security Area You can watch it for free, with no ads Tubi.

Mystery Team

Image: Derrick Comedy via film-grab.com

This list contains some very heavy topics. If you just want to be able to smile and take a step back from all the stress, this list is for you. That’s where Mystery Team This is it. The hilarious sketch comedy comedy of Donald Glover (then-mostly unknown) and his colleagues in the troupe, Sketch Comedy Troupe (Derrick Comedy) that gave him his start, is about a trio of “kid detectives” who were once the darlings of their sleepy, little town … when they were seven years old and solving cute crimes for other children. Now though, it’s 10 years later and they just won’t give up on their dreams of being suburban Sherlocks, no matter how ridiculous the rest of the community thinks they are. They set out to prove that they are the true detectives they had always wanted to be when they get a murder case from someone they trust. The show is full of hilarious asides and great comedic performances by Aubrey Plaza and Ellie Kemper. Mystery Team is a perfect film when you want some hilarity with your “whodunnit.”

Mystery Team You can watch it for free, with no ads Tubi Pluto TVYou can also get a free library card. Hoopla.

Narc

Lionsgate Films Image via film-grab.com

Detective stories, at their heart, are about finding the truth. That simple idea is perfectly personified by writer/director Joe Carnahan’s gritty 2002 police drama Narc. Jason Patric plays Jason Patric as a former undercover detective who returns to service in order to solve the mystery of the murder of an additional officer. He’s joined in his efforts by a bullish senior detective, played by Ray Liotta, who would just as soon smash a billiard ball in the face of a suspect as he would interrogate them. They travel through an urban hell filled with drug dealers, informants, criminals, and others looking for the truth about the incident and those responsible. They come closer and closer to uncovering the truth. Carnahan’s films are bigger than his work as a director.It Grey) and certainly more outlandish ones (CopshopHowever, this is his most important work.

Narc It is possible to view it HuluAnd Paramount Plus.

The Nice Guys

Warner Bros.

Shane Black’s wonderfully twisty thriller features Ryan Gosling, a private investigator who is infiltrated into an arson case, the murder of an actress in adult films, and possibly a government conspiracy that involves Kim Basinger, a politician. Gosling’s only help in this situation, where he is clearly outmatched and in over his head, is a local bruiser-for-hire, played by Russell Crowe (in what is his most fun on-screen performance in years). They laugh together as they argue, bumble and argue to find the right connections while barely getting away from angry hitmen. You only need to know Shane Black through his work. Iron Man 3,You owe to yourself the obligation to visit. The Nice GuysYou’ll see why he is a favorite of noir fans.

The Nice Guys It is possible to view it Hulu.

Prisoners

Alcon Entertainment via Blu-screens.net

Denis Villeneuve was Denis Villeneuve’s director before he attempted the impossible feat of adapting the sci-fi classic to faithfulness. DuneThe French Canadian filmmaker presented this multi-layered mystery on the big screen about an abduction of a child and its impact on many lives. In the middle of it all is Prisoners’ labyrinth tale is one of the great screen sleuths of the last 10 years, Detective Loki, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. He portrays the character with strong logic and determination, but never loses sight of the hopeful, damaged heart beneath. Gyllenhaal is a tough detective film character, but he brings a gentle melancholy to the gray and wintery setting. Prisoners.

The film is eerie and absorbing, with excellent performances by Hugh Jackman, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano (the new Riddler). Yet, even with all the impressive acting talent on display, Gyllenhaal’s millennial-take on the classic, hardboiled police detective archetype — with his post-punk slicked-backed tight hairstyle, cryptic tattoos, and intentionally vague backstory — easily stands out as the most intriguing character in the film. In a world where seemingly everything is considered a potential franchise, it feels like a missed opportunity that Gyllenhaal hasn’t returned to the character for another case.

Prisoners It is possible to view it Hulu.

Thupparivaalan

Vishal Film factory via Cinema Chaat

Thupparivaalan, This entry, despite being less well-known to Western audiences, is very similar to Sherlock Holmes. This South Indian Tamil film features a brilliant but eccentric detective who refuses to take on cases from wealthy clients. Instead, he allows a boy to acquire his services in order to solve the crime of his pet dog. This shocks and befuddles Watson-like Watson, his sidekick. However, the seemingly easy case soon becomes complicated by a plot to blackmail and hire assassins. It will put the brain and body of this gifted criminal solver through its paces.

Thupparivaalan, which translates to “Detective” in English, makes for a great entry point into the world of Indian cinema. The film features no Bollywood-style music breaks, but there are many very exciting and well-done action scenes. It is possible to download the film from YouTube. Batman left you craving some quality fight scenes to go along with the sleuthing and you’re feeling adventurous, Thupparivaalan We have you covered.

Thupparivaalan It is possible to view it Amazon Prime Video.