The Buddie Cop movie is something of a sub genre and was at it's peak in the Eighties. Slick pairings, violence, slo-mo, bombast, humour, guns, car chases, grudging admiration, Police Captains shouting and banter characterised these movies.
The precursor to this type of movie was 1974's Freebie and the Bean, starring Alan Arkin and James Caan; this featured all the moments that would become staples of the genre.
freebie and the bean-"your'e not fit to guard the fish at the Aquarium"
The last of the great buddy cop movies was Bad Boys (and to a lesser extent Bad Boys II). Now these films are not gritty cop pairings like The French Cconnection or Harry Callaghan with his various partners.
Bad boys-"Just do what you do...only faster"
They do exactly what it says on the tin.
Perhaps the ultimate film of it's type is Lethal Weapon, the chemistry is evident and it has a finesse that stands up well. Under appreciated is Tony Scott's The Last boy scout, which is a great vehicle for Willis' laconic charm (although strictly speaking they are not both Cops).
Last Boy scout-"you touch me again I'll kill you"
The Genre attracted some of the most stylish and effective directors; John McTiernan, Walter Hill, Katherine Bigelow,Richard Donner and Tony Scott. It also allowed some top Hollywood stars to flex their action muscles; James Woods, Billy Crystal, Michael J Fox, Richard Dreyfus and Willem Defoe among others.
Lethal weapon-"what are you, crazy?"
Hot Fuzz pays tribute to these movies, which are easy to lampoon and have been to little comedic effect, but they were enjoyable examples of taking a concept and making variations that entertained.
Hot Fuzz-"have you ever fired two guns while jumping through the air?"
I would say that there were more enjoyable movies than bad ones amongst these buddy cop concoctions and those good ones were a lot of fun.
The Hard way -"it's my life"