Training Day (2001)

Training Day is awesome

I can say that the film has no flaws. Also Ethan Hawke's characters is not subdued, in fact, Hawke's character (Jake Hoyt) while being sensitive and moral, is at the same intense level as Denzel Washington's.

You can't write a review, without describing the plot.

The story is very real and vivid. It concerns a rookie cop named
Jake Hoyt (Hawke) who is assigned to a veteran narcotics cop named Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington).

During hia first few days on the job. Hoyr observes how Harris does his job of busting crooks and drug dealers. Alonzo is like a Dirty Harry movie, everyone in the city knows who he is and is scared to death of the gritty cop.

However, underneath, that great cop lies a crooked, corrupt policeman who is playing both sides of the law.... This is Denzel Washington best role ever, and he won the Oscar over Russell Crowe for best actor and it was well deserved.

Denzel through Alonzo creates another memorable corrupt villain
in film history.

Ethan Hawke is also great as Jake Hoyt. In fact both actors were nominated for their roles in the movie.

I just checked out the DVD, and it's absolutely fantastic!!!

The alternate ending is actually almost identical to the original ending, the making of features are great though along
with the candid commentary by Antoine Fuqua.

It was the movie of the year in 2001 and still holds up as corrupt law enforcement is still alive today. November 29, 2008

Training Day

This is a rough film that depicts some elements of the drug law enforcement culture and the streets, etc. Not for the light-heart type person, but well written, and strong acting roles, etc. October 24, 2008

It Was Okay, Maybe A Bit Better, Maybe A Bit Worse

I was torn about this movie for one fact - I really like Denzel Washington as an actor and if I see his name associated with a movie I will see it because I expect good things from him. And with the hype about this movie when it came out, I walked away from the theater a bit unsatisfied.

When he received an Oscar for this role (as oppossed to some other movies) I felt the same way the I did when Russell Crowe received one for Gladiator and not A Beautiful Mind. But that seems to happen at the Oscars.

Both Hawke and Washington turn in overall good performances (I think Hawke was better based on his role) about corruption in a police department, where Denzel is knee deep in it.

There were some very good scenes, but I did find that the movie dragged a bit. And when things became really heated during the second half of the movie, some of the scenes to me were a bit over the top/drawn out. I understand that there is a suspension of belief for these things, but it seemed to be just a bit too much.

Watching it again on DVD changed my mind a bit and I enjoyed it more than in the movies, but perhaps it is because my expectations had changed somewhat. It is probably somewhere between 3-1/2 to 4, and since I was probably a bit skewed in my initial impressions based on what I expected, and which may have carried over, it probably is a 4. October 7, 2008

What was the hype?

I finally sat down and watched this film and was left with a feeling of "ok?"

Denzel Washington does a great job in his role. He is fun to watch as he took Jake Hoyt(Hawke) through a day on the streets of LA to see if he will fit in his Narcotics unit. Washington does a good job playing an amoral character as he toys to with Jake to see how far he will go into the dark side and make amoral choices.

Times I was wondering if Alonzo is simply evil or a master of the mind screw as he seems to be testing Jake.

There are many tense scenes but overall the script is not that great as it seems to center on Alonzo posturing. Even in the end I did not finding myself disliking Alonzo which I think was the intent of the writer. Overall, the script was not tight. What of the amoral men of Alonzo's unit? Would they not go after Jake? The corrupt officials you see in one scene? Many questions are left unanswered.

Overall, it's not a bad film. I think it's overrated as even though Washington does a great job; I don't think script was tight enough to have you debating if Alonzo was evil or truly a master at testing how far a person will go.

There are extras and I only looked at a couple of things as the majority did not interest me. September 1, 2008

HIGHLY ENTERTAINING GRITTY POLICE DRAMA! 4 1/2 STARS!

'Training Day' is a dark and gritty crime drama that tells a different side of the men in blue. Denzel Washington takes a 180 and plays one vicious and dirty cop who shows a new recruit on his first day as a special teams narcotics officer how his brand of justice works! The film is slick, well paced, full of action and has a plausible storyline. It goes a little Hollywood towards the end, but it's still an very entertaining movie. The film has an early small role featuring Eva Mendes in her birthday suit, giving us the money shot! Nice huh? ;-b The DVD transfer is excellent and has some interesting extra material. August 29, 2008

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