A Tom Hanks movie that is nearly 40 years old is launching onto a new streaming platform next month. Dragnet, the 1987 buddy cop comedy which Hanks stars in alongside Dan Aykroyd, Harry Morgan, and Alexandra Paul, will officially begin streaming on Netflix starting September 1. The film follows Streetbek (Hanks), an uptight, by-the-book detective who must work with Joe Friday (Aykroyd) to solve a mystery. Dragnet joins other movies such as the Jaws trilogy which are set to begin streaming on Netflix at the beginning of next month. In addition to Hanks, Aykroyd, Morgan, and Paul, the film also stars Christopher Plummer and Elizabeth Ashley, and currently boasts mediocre scores of 50% from critics and 41% from general audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.
Dragnet was written by Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel, and Tom Mankiewicz, and is based on the radio and television series by Jack Webb. Some of Aykroyd’s most famous writing work came from penning the script for the original Ghostbusters movie, which he is still credited for even in 2024 on the newest remake, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. He also wrote the screenplay for Spies Like Us, which he stars in alongside Chevy Chase. Zweibel was a writer on Saturday Night Live for more than 10 years, and most recently penned the script for Here Today, the Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish-led buddy comedy. Mankiewicz sadly passed away in 2010 at the age of 68, but he is credited for the screenplays of several movies, such as Hot Pursuit, Ladyhawke, and Superman 2.
What Are the Highest-Rated Tom Hanks Movies?
Tom Hanks won two Oscars in back to back years for his performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, and he has a plethora of high-rated movies. He voices one of the lead characters, Woody, in the Toy Story franchise, which is one of the highest-grossing animated movie franchises ever. He also has other movies like Big, Catch Me If You Can, and Apollo 13, which are all over 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. One of the more recent additions to his filmography that scores high is Captain Phillips, with other classics like That Thing You Do and Saving Private Ryan rounding out the rest of the list of the best Tom Hanks movies.
Dragnet stars Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd and was written by Akroyd and directed by Tom Mankiewicz. Stay tuned to Collider for future streaming updates and watch Dragnet on Netflix starting September 1.
