Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
70
(34 sources)
70
(34 sources)
-
90
The New Yorker
Trashy and opportunistic as some of it is, Training Day is the most vital police drama since "The French Connection" or "Serpico." Read Full Review » -
90
-
90
Variety
Ominously atmospheric study of police corruption dangles danger and sinister motives at every turn. Read Full Review » -
88
New York Post
Be warned: Though it's entirely justified by the story, there's a level of violence and brutality in Training Day -- that some terror-weary audience members may not care to cope with these days. Read Full Review » -
80
New York Magazine
On a purely visceral level, Training Day is easily the most exciting movie out there right now, but as a morality tale with anything large on its mind, it's a cop-out. Read Full Review » -
80
Wall Street Journal
Training Day can be simplistic, formulaic and absurdly melodramatic -- but Mr. Washington is flat-out great. Read Full Review » -
80
-
80
Time
As long as Training Day stays tightly focused on the struggle between the two cops, the movie is first rate. Read Full Review » -
80
Washington Post
A taut, high-velocity film that departs from the action flick template by having actual ideas. Read Full Review » -
80
Slate
If nothing else, Training Day is a gorgeous pedestal for Denzel Washington. Read Full Review » -
80
Village Voice
Antoine Fuqua's propulsive, elegantly written police thriller, offers the unsettling spectacle of Denzel Washington. Read Full Review » -
80
New Times (L.A.)
Washington creates an indelibly charming and terrifying character whose volatile blend of dedication and horrible expediency keeps us off balance. Read Full Review » -
78
Austin Chronicle
A razor-wire-taut (and extremely violent) exploration of what happens when good guys go bad, badder, baddest. Read Full Review » -
75
New York Daily News
The movie raises questions that are on plenty of minds right now, including whether and how much the rules should be bent to wage a war (in this case, on drugs) that cannot be won conventionally. Read Full Review » -
75
Chicago Sun-Times
So extreme is his mad dog behavior, indeed, that it shades over into humor: Washington seems to enjoy a performance that's over the top and down the other side. Read Full Review » -
75
USA Today
With its unflinching style, Training Day can be hard to sit through at times. But it's worth the discomfort for the adrenaline rush of the plot and Washington's compelling performance. Read Full Review » -
75
Chicago Tribune
This is a movie that rocks and socks you, and has a performance by Washington that's ruthless and scary. But in the end, it leaves you unmarked. Read Full Review » -
75
Boston Globe
Even when it falls back excessively on coincidence and contrived set pieces, even when it gushes irretrievably over the top in its final act, Washington makes Training Day sizzle. Read Full Review » -
75
San Francisco Chronicle
It is so propulsive so much of the time, it almost looks as if it's going to go the distance. If Washington & Co. don't quite manage to bring it home, the getting there sure is something. Read Full Review » -
75
Miami Herald
Even if the movie loses its nerve at the end, that doesn't take anything away from Washington's performance. Read Full Review » -
75
Charlotte Observer
He presides over the picture with such assurance that even longtime Denzel-watchers gape. Read Full Review » -
70
Los Angeles Times
Though Training Day doesn't resolve itself as well as it deserves and ends strictly cops-and-robbers style, it's given us some great acting and something to ponder. Not every cop show can lay claim to that. Read Full Review » -
70
Film Threat
Bit of melodramatic grandstanding that it is -- is made irrelevant by Washington's volcanic energy and fierce conviction. Read Full Review » -
70
The New York Times
Mr. Washington's dry-ice grandeur -- the predator's reflexes contrasting with a pensive mouth -- deserves regard, and his powerhouse virtuosity will almost guarantee him an Oscar nomination. Read Full Review » -
63
Philadelphia Inquirer
Training Day has the best performances and worst third act of any movie you're likely to see this year. Read Full Review » -
60
TV Guide
Even after it becomes clearer which side of law Harris is operating on, the film continues to work as a taut -- if violent -- police thriller. Read Full Review » -
60
Rolling Stone
But this is Washington's show, his Scarface, if you will, and his smiling, seductive monster is a thrilling creation that gives Training Day all the bite it needs. Read Full Review » -
50
Portland Oregonian
It's a little depressing to see such a thrilling talent deployed in such an ordinary and sordid movie. Training Day isn't awful, but it's absolutely nothing special. Read Full Review » -
50
Washington Post
As exhausting as it is exhilarating to watch, the film in the end is less than fully satisfying. Read Full Review » -
50
Baltimore Sun
Denzel Washington does a cocksure turn in Training Day -- That may be enough to transform a shallow picture with delusions of grandeur into a crowd-pleasing hit. Read Full Review » -
42
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The masochistic brutality it's selling still seems glaringly out of step with the current mood of the country. Read Full Review » -
42
Entertainment Weekly
There's no denying that Washington can play a rococo villain with flip ebullience, but I fervently wish he were doing it in a movie that paid more than lip service to the real world. Read Full Review » -
40
LA Weekly
One of those movie equivalents of a freeway pileup -- it's a mess, at once insistently watchable and a total dead end. Read Full Review » -
30
Chicago Reader
A blandly twisting plot with no meaningful revelations or substantial themes. Read Full Review »
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