Though the proto-neo-noir detective story in Bullitt is pretty uninteresting, its rather humdrum depiction is strangely it's most alluring aspect; it arguably opened the doors for the unpolished and unromanticised action seen in Friedkin's The French Connection and other gritty '70s crime films. McQueen's inimitable presence makes for a memorable anti-hero and the vaunted archetypal car chase doesn't disappoint.