Training Day (2001)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I thought Training Day was a good movie. The storyline was good and good cast. I know that some movies don't require a sequel or some sequels don't do as well at the box office. However, I wish someone would come out with a sequel or TD 2. A good storyline would be to follow Ethans character and continue the story with the money and Russians. Overall a good movie to watch.

This movie was great. It was an excellent performance by Denzel Washington! When watching this movie it was interesting to see Denzel be the corrupted cop attempting to corrupt the other cop and partner. Ethan Hawke also did an amazing job just learning what it's like to be in the hood and adapting to gangster culture. We also can see Denzel's character clearly was a man that lost his mind. It was interesting to see Snoop Dogg and Eva Mendez in this movie as well for a moment. I did not like the fact that the bad cop was the black guy, but realistically speaking I guess even the black cops are corrupted. It was interesting to see Jay the whole time be the good cop actually fighting for justice and you see how all corrupted people give you no choice but to be corrupted as well. Also, Denzel's character was very good in using lies and reverse psychology to control Jay's integrity. I loved seeing Jay gain not only his integrity back but he also kept his courage with him. I loved Lonzo's final speech and yelling with King Kong ain't got nothing on me. It was so enjoyable to watch the movie.

'King Kong ain't got sh*t on me!' That's sure, right! 'Training Day' was an amazing movie! Directed by Antoine Fuqua, and written by David Ayer, this neo-noir crime thriller, tells the story of a young naive LAPD officer, Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) undergoing a nightmarish single day evaluation by corrupt, yet renowned and respected narcotics officer Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) who has big sinister plans for him. Without spoiling this movie, too much; while this good/bad cop film has amazing performances from both main & supporting actors like Ethan Hawke, Cliff Curtiss, Scott Glenn & others, much of the success of this movie has to go with how surprising good, Washington was as the villain. It's sad to think, that Denzel had to depart from his usual squeaky clean image, to win, an Oscar for best actor, but the performer really does shines in this type of roles. You can truly tell that, with his use of body language and tone. The way, Washington show, primeval street grit, with long, hard stern looks, loud boisterous charisma yelling, and disregard for the public safety, such as bumping into people as he walks, show how much of an utterly detestable character, Alonzo can be. No wonder, why most of the audience were so eagerly for his comeuppance, even if Denzel, personal, is so beloved. Yet, there was another part of the character, Washington was able to display, without the writer spending too much time on his character backstory, visually; which was showing empathy for Hoyt. You see this, whenever Jake does anything, valor and honest & Denzel having to react from that. Its shows the struggle of guilt, within Alonzo. It tells the tragic story of a mild-mannered, family man, slowly morphing into a ruthless criminal in a matter of a few words & stares. It's nearly perfect. Yet, there was a few flaws, with the character as a whole. Much of that, comes from the misuse of the source material, which 'Training Day' is loosely based on. While, Alonzo is somewhat based on real-life, corrupt Los Angeles, police officers, David Mack, Rafael Pérez & Kevin Gaines. Some of the actions, the character commits as a Narc Cop with Hoyt, throughout the film, just doesn't seem very plausible or realistic. They come across as too flashy, gimmicky and cartoonish, rather than smart street cops. One such example is the smoking, a confiscate drug scene. First off, it's a little hard to believe, that an officer like Hoyt that use to do patrols, would be that gullible and foolish, what it takes to become a narc. In most cases, police officers received an average of 41 hours up to 540 hours of instruction training before going into that field. There would be, no way, Hoyt would be that adequate. Secondary, it really doesn't make much sense that he would take the drug, knowing full well, that he was going to drug test in a few days & he wasn't dealing with any perps at that time. Third, it's highly bizarre, that Alonzo would plan out, for a whole week of stuff, on a specific one day plan that relies so much on the highly off-chance that Hoyt would take the drug, in order to blackmail him. Much of this movie could had be resolve in the first couple of minutes, with Hoyt, saying 'no'. Fourth, how in the hell was Alonzo's many crimes, overlook for so long!? I get that, he get stuff done in the department, but even if most of the department share the same corruption as the officer on the field; cops still have to write reports, submit a financial disclosure statement, undergo random drug testing, and pass recurring background investigations, yearly. There is no way, they can hide everything from the public & other government agencies. The corrupt cops would eventually get caught. Probably quicker than later, like what happen in real-life, with the Rampart scandal; which this movie is loosely based on. Also, none of the criminal sequences, throughout the day, felt anywhere near realistic. The idea that they easily find illegal drugs, as soon, as they pull a corner is far from truth. In real-life, Narc spend hours on end, on one, suspicious activity, with little to no pay-off, that a crime is being committed. Also, much of the crimes, portray in the film, felt more like step-up sequences, rather than isolate scenarios, which occurs more, likely. Regardless of that, I do have to fight against the claims from critics that this movie is nothing, but the continuous negative stereotype of minorities in film, by saying the movie does show that corruption happens in every level, regardless of class and race, such as the case in the restaurant scene & with Roger (Scott Glenn). As for the critics that says, Hoyt was nothing, but a ''white savior' cinematic trope whom job is it to rescue people of color from their downward plight. I also have to disagree with them, as the film shown in the end, Black & Hispanic communities, are willing to stand up against crime. Hoyt didn't make them, change. They did it on their own. Nevertheless, the film approach to women, could had been a little better. Most of the women in the film does nothing, but look and act like sleazy floozies. Sadly, actress, Eva Mendes is just there, for eye-candy and pointless nude scene. Still, that's a lot better than the jarring use of black musicians artists, like Macy Gray, Snoop Dog, and Dr. Dre, as criminals. That was awkward. Still, great use of their music in the soundtrack. Nevertheless, this strong Rated R movie, was an intense & compelling watch. While, this crime drama is not for everybody, due to rough language, graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references. It's still worth checking out, unlike the 2017's TV Series of the same name. Forget that show. Watch the movie, instead.

Glory was a breakthrough role for Denzel This is the 2nd best work he has done. I might mention that while I was studying theater at Lehman College, Denzel was still making his bones on Carbon Copy (with George Segal of Goldbergs fame) and St. Elsewhere. Unfortunately Denzel, I did not graduate from Fordham. Excellent work. 10 out of 10.Where is David Morse today? LOL Everywhere!!