Everybody loves a good detective movie, but it’s usually not because the hero so admirably plays it by the book. No, that just wouldn’t be very interesting. The best detective characters are often forced to go beyond the law to do what’s right – or, at least, what they think is right.

It’s not uncommon for movie detectives to have a moral compass of their own – a sort of unshakable belief in the powers of good and evil that often brings them into conflict with the strict, red tape-obsessed higher-ups they work for. These types of characters pop up in movies that run the gamut from thoughtful questioning of authority figures to romanticizing violent vigilante justice.

Either way, they all fit comfortably under the umbrella of the “Cowboy Cop” movie, with heroes (or anti-heroes) who, whether for philosophical or personal reasons, take the law into their own hands. It doesn’t mean we always agree with them, but it does make them a lot of fun to watch. In the list below, we’ve counted down 20 memorable movie moments in which hard-boiled detectives go beyond the law to stop the bad guy.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

One of Humphrey Bogart’s best movies, The Maltese Falcon is also one of the first noir films ever made. The movie is about a detective, Bogart’s Sam Spade, who becomes embroiled in a dangerous case involving a priceless statuette from ancient times. In classic Bogart fashion, Spade goes beyond the law to find out who snuffed out his partner.

Not only does he continue to work the case after being ordered to butt out of it, but he often opts to settle matters with a little vigilante-esque flair. A great example of this is when Spade decides to put the sneaky lackey Joel Cairo in his place, smacking him around and demanding: “When you’re slapped, you’ll take it and like it!” It’s a great line, but it does make it a little hard to call it self-defense.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Paramount Pictures

Beverly Hills Cop is a great ‘80s action-comedy about a nonconformist Detroit cop who travels to Beverly Hills, California to investigate the death of a friend. Working against his superiors’ orders under the guise of taking a vacation, Detective Axel Foley’s entire mission is technically unlawful. What’s more, Foley brings a reckless, devil-may-care style of policing to the streets of Southern California, performing all manner of destructive drug busts and car chases without any authorization at all.

Lethal Weapon (1987)
Warner Bros.

The action-packed Christmas classic Lethal Weapon is the ultimate buddy cop movie, featuring a duo of detectives that compliment each other with their opposite approaches to the job. While Danny Glover’s Roger Murtaugh plays it by the book, his partner, Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs, is a freewheeling loose cannon that violates protocol every chance he gets. In his suicidal, carefree mania, Riggs breaks law after law as he engages in bouts of unnecessary violence which very nearly jeopardize the mission.

A classic example of Riggs’ unhinged, law-breaking style is when we’re introduced to him; a simple drug bust at a Christmas tree farm turns into a bloody shoot-out when Riggs decides to “show them some crazy.”

Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989)
Cannon Films

Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects is a crime thriller about an unforgiving Los Angeles detective bent on shutting down the underage prostitution ring run by a sadistic pimp. The detective is played by vigilante justice genre mainstay Charles Bronson in an atypically boisterous and brutal role that stands in stark contrast to his typical Stoic persona. Regardless of the new approach, Bronson is in peak form, kicking ass and taking names he’s been told not to kick and take by his superiors.

As the Los Angeles Times described it in their review, “the disturbance you feel in watching “Kinjite” doesn’t just come because it has a sordid subject, some bad scenes or a heavy cargo of shock and sleaze, but because it leaves us, much of the time, with no moral anchor.” Indeed, Bronson’s character is a loose cannon like no other, operating without qualms or scruples of any kind, as evidenced by this line he delivers to a bad guy he’s questioning: “You give me a hard time, I’m gonna blow off your knee caps.” He blows up the guy’s car shortly thereafter.

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
MGM/UA Entertainment

To Live and Die in L.A. is a brilliant and highly underrated crime thriller about a foolhardy detective who sets out on the vengeance trail after his partner is murdered. The detective’s mission soon turns into a dangerous obsession, and it’s not long before he begins operating outside the bounds of the law he’s supposed to be upholding. One of the best examples of the hero’s recklessness comes in the form of the now-famous wrong-way car chase sequence, which sees the detective driving against Los Angeles traffic and causing an incredible amount of collateral damage and injury.

Heat (1995)
Warner Bros.

Heat is a star-studded action thriller from Michael Mann, the undisputed king of stylized crime movies. In the words of Screen Rant, “De Niro is a thief who runs a tight crew (Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, and Danny Trejo) of high-tech thieves. Meanwhile, Al Pacino is the dogged cop who has his own fearless crew (Wes Studi, Mykelti Williamson, and Ted Levine) who will stop at nothing to bring down De Niro.” While this film is loaded with law-breakers, the one that best fits this list is Al Pacino’s Lieutenant Hanna, whose obsession with the case at hand turns him into a direct reflection of the dangerous crook he’s trying to catch.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Miramax Films

Reservoir Dogs, the debut feature film from hot-shot director Quentin Tarantino, drops the viewer in with a band of criminals in the immediate aftermath of a botched heist. The law-breaking detective in this flick is Tim Roth’s Mr. Orange, who masquerades as a thief and gains the trust of the criminal crew. As a result of trying to blend in and gain the bad guys’ trust, Mr. Orange actually participates in the heist, and even shoots an innocent woman while attempting to commandeer her car.

Doberman Cop (1977)
Toei Company

Doberman Cop is a Japanese neo-noir crime film about a hardened detective from Okinawa who is sent to investigate a brutal homicide case in Tokyo. Played by the inimitable martial arts wizard Sonny Chiba, the detective (and his pet pig) solves the case with his particular brand of brutal butt-kicking, as well as a lot of country bumpkin charm. Demonized by the Tokyo police department, Chiba handles things according to his own moral compass, breaking laws left and right as he goes.

Miami Vice (2006)
Universal Pictures

Another film directed by Michael Mann, Miami Vice is the Heat director’s 2006 update and reboot of the classic ‘80s TV show of the same name. Taking on a darker tone than the TV show, Miami Vice pits its iconic duo of vice detectives – Crockett and Tubbs – against a dangerous weapons trafficker. Crockett and Tubbs break the law many times in their efforts to nab the bad guy, including instances of questionable coercion tactics and occasional brutality, as well as one of the two becoming involved in a romantic fling with the bad guy’s wife.

Violent Cop (1989)
Shochiku

Violent Cop is a powerful neo-noir thriller film and the directorial debut of influential Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. It’s about a detective who’s fired from the force due to his gambling problem and violent tendencies, but continues the pursuit of a crook who kidnaped his sister without the help (and restraints) of the law. As the title implies, the titular cop’s methods are extremely violent, and he breaks nearly every rule in the book in his bloody quest. Unauthorized beatings, bouts of gambling and excessive drinking, and illegal money deals ensue, as the violent cop goes above and far beyond the law to get what he wants.

Related: The 25 Most Influential Japanese Movie Directors of All Time

Magnum Force (1973)
Warner Bros.

Magnum Force is the second entry into the Dirty Harry series of films, and one of the best renegade cop movies in cinematic history. In this sequel, Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry defies the orders of his superiors to investigate a series of murders that he suspects may have been committed by a fellow member of the San Francisco Police Department. Although he’s told to quit the search, Harry continues to pry, and is forced to unlawfully pull his pistol again and again. Working against deeply rooted corruption in his own workplace, Harry breaks just about every law he’s supposed to be upholding to get to the bottom of the mysterious case.

Mad Max (1979)
Roadshow Entertainment

The original Mad Max might seem like an odd choice for this list, but keep in mind that, in the first movie, there are still a few final vestiges of law and order being held up in George Miller’s dystopian future Australia. With his trusty shotgun and speedy V8 Interceptor, Max is one of those last upholders, and he’s committed to doing it by the book until a savage biker gang pushes him too far.

After the dangerous Toecutter and his gang kill his wife and child, Max acts against orders and goes full-on vigilante to have his bloody revenge. The iconic ending may be the most obvious use of excessive force seen on this list: Max handcuffs the final baddie to an overturned vehicle that’s rigged to explode, hands him a hacksaw, and says: “The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It’d take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you’re lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes.”

Related: 11 Things You Didn’t Know About the Mad Max Franchise

Bullitt (1968)
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

Bullitt is a classic cop movie starring the great Steve McQueen as the titular Frank Bullitt, a tough-as-nails detective tasked with “babysitting” a mob boss’s brother in protective custody. Famed for its iconic car chase scene, the movie packs in tons of high-octane thrills from start to finish. Suspecting corruption within his own police department, Bullitt takes matters into his own hands in this thrilling movie, engaging in unauthorized shootouts and chases in order to get his guy.

Hard Boiled (1992)
Golden Princess FIlm Production

One of John Woo’s finest films, Hard Boiled is an action-packed “gun-fu” classic about a cop – nicknamed Inspector “Tequila” – who repeatedly goes against orders from the higher-ups to kill the men responsible for his longtime partner’s demise. Fueled by his desire for vengeance, Tequila shoots a number of men in cold blood throughout the movie, and partakes in dubious dealings with criminals to get closer to the guy he’s after. Played by the awesome Chow Yun-fat, Tequila is an archetypal anti-hero badass, and a detective who doesn’t let the regulations get in his way.

The Departed (2006)
Warner Bros.

One of the best neo-noir movies of the 21st Century, The Departed is Martin Scorsese’s remake of the 2002 Hong Kong actioner Infernal Affairs. In the classical style of both Scorsese and Hong Kong action movies, the film is populated with anti-heroes, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s undercover cop Billy Costigan. Over the course of the movie, Costigan begins to embrace the criminal lifestyle that he has infiltrated, and participates in a number of shady activities in order to finish his dangerous assignment. On the other end of the spectrum, the movie also follows police officer Colin Sulivan, played by Matt Damon, who is actually a spy for the Irish Mob.

Police Story (1985)
Golden Harvest

One of the best detective movies of the ‘80s, Police Story is Jackie Chan’s crazy, stunt-filled action extravaganza about a Hong Kong cop running afoul of a vicious Triad boss. According to Collider, “By balancing stunt sequences with meaningful storytelling, Police Story spins a web of sociopolitical and character-driven intrigue, commenting on the corruption of the police force through the narrative of Chan’s Buster Keaton-esque protagonist.” Indeed, the movie is filled with crooked cops who break their own rules, and even Chan’s honest detective protagonist causes heaps upon heaps of collateral damage in his liberal use of excessive force.

Related: Best Martial Arts Movies From the 80s, Ranked

The French Connection (1971)
20th Century Fox

The French Connection is a fantastic crime thriller about a hard-nosed New York City detective on the hunt for a dangerous French drug lord. Determining that the drug lord must be stopped whatever the cost, the hero of this movie exercises all manner of brutality and destructiveness to get his guy; Raiding homes and businesses without warrants, slapping potential suspects around, and hijacking a random person’s car to engage in an epic car chase are just a few of the many violations of code that Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle performs.

Related: Best Films Set in New York, Ranked

I Saw the Devil (2010)
Magnet Releasing

I Saw the Devil is a brilliant South Korean revenge movie about a dogged detective becoming dangerously obsessed with tracking down a serial killer. Taking things very personally, the detective eventually stoops to the same level of brutality that the serial killer employs, savagely beating him within an inch of his life (and without any kind of authorization to do so), and doing everything he can to make his target’s life a living nightmare. The movie subverts expectations by making the once-sympathetic hero of the story out to be just as reprehensible as its villain.

Related: Here’s Why I Saw the Devil Is One of the Best Revenge Movies of All Time

Shaft (1971)
MGM

Shaft is an iconic blaxploitation classic about a suave detective tasked with taking down a conspiracy of both black and white-run mobs in Harlem. Never one to let red tape get in his way, John Shaft goes against the law many times to finish his job, refusing to identify himself as a police officer, making deals with criminals, exercising extreme force in a number of fights, and allowing a mobster to fall out of a window “by accident.”

Dirty Harry (1971)
Warner Bros.

Dirty Harry, the first and best of the Dirty Harry series, is the ultimate rogue cop movie. Throughout the movie, Harry is reprimanded by his superiors for unnecessarily running up the body count, getting his partners killed, causing expensive property damage, and for using tactics not befitting of a police officer. The movie follows Harry on the hunt for a psychopathic killer (based loosely on the real life Zodiac killer) who is tearing up the streets of San Francisco.

Asked to turn in his badge for all the damage he’s caused, Harry eventually turns into a vengeful vigilante, taking out his target in cold blood. Although it is a common theme in many of the movies on this list, no movie detective goes to the extremes of blurring the line between cop and criminal quite like detective Harry Callahan.