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Average User Score: 8 (86 sources)

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raluka87

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"Training Day" is the best of the bad cop dramas that I have seen. Both Denzel Washington as the psychopathic bad cop, Alonzo, and Ethan Hawke as the idealistic rookie, Jake, were amaizing. Denzel Washington won the Best Actor Oscar for...
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"Training Day" is the best of the bad cop dramas that I have seen. Both Denzel Washington as the psychopathic bad cop, Alonzo, and Ethan Hawke as the idealistic rookie, Jake, were amaizing. Denzel Washington won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, and Ethan Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The direction by Antoine Fuqua was superb. Before seeing this movie, my impression of Denzel Washington as an actor wasn't especially high. Not to say that he isn't talented, just that ever since Crimson Tide he appeared to be slotted neatly into every stern hero in every serious political thriller to be trotted off the studio assembly line for years. But then came Training Day and his role as Alonzo Harris and all that changed. Shrugging off the overly serious good guy image once and for all, Washington here is a revelation; a barking, ranting maelstrom of police brutality who believes that maintaining order on the crime ridden streets of LA means being even more ruthless than the drug dealers he faces on a day to day basis. His performance elevates the film from standard thriller fare into an exemplary story that has quite rightly become one of my favourite films of all time.

Set over the course of twenty four hours, the film whisks Ethan Hawke's naive young police officer onto an introductory day of Narcotics work under Alonzo's tutelage. As the hours go by, Hawke is subjected to more and more violence as the heat and paranoia of suburban Los Angeles combined with his loose cannon superior officer play a heavy toll on his nerves. Consequently, the film is very much a two man story with Hawke and Washington playing off against each other expertly as polar opposites. One young, inexperienced and a firm believer in the rule book, the other older, more cynical and twisted by all his years on the streets into a bull-headed monster.

The story itself is fraught with tension. Alonzo forcing his young protégé to smoke PCP at gunpoint is just the start and from there on the pulse pounding never stops. The execution scene where Hawke realises just how far gone his partner is for example is one of nail-biting pressure and shortly after, his encounter with a trio of Mexican gang members is jaw dropping, working as the exact moment you realise how much hot water he has found himself in.

The end result is nothing less than a brilliant thriller. Hawke and Washington make for a phenomenal double act and the pace only occasionally lets up to allow the characters time to breathe and establish the depth that makes you care for them more. Highly, highly recommended so long as you're prepared to be abso lutely terrified of Denzel Washington for years to come.

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Posted aug 23, 2008 7:00 pm pt

ps3thabest

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best denzel movie

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Posted jul 12, 2008 8:36 am pt

BoredMark

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One of the best movies I've ever seen. Some films try to pull some huge twist and come off as just cheese.

I thought this was on a par with 'The Usual Suspects.'

I didn't expect much from this film and ended up amazed....
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One of the best movies I've ever seen. Some films try to pull some huge twist and come off as just cheese.

I thought this was on a par with 'The Usual Suspects.'

I didn't expect much from this film and ended up amazed. The same thing is going on throughout the entire movie but its slowly revealed as it all plays out. Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington both had great roles to play with and probably acted them out as best as could've been done by anyone. - One of my favorites.

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Posted apr 21, 2008 3:08 am pt

faCt24

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It was a good movie. Don't see why it got the awards it did. I think it was overrated but don't get me wrong its a good movie especially if you like movies with twists (backstabbing), or action.

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Posted jul 31, 2007 1:40 am pt

amauriel

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Denzel Washington finally lands an Oscar for his leading role in "Training Day." Unfortunately, I saw the movie after it was way over-hyped and didn't really give it the credit that it may have deserved. The story was compelling, but it...
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Denzel Washington finally lands an Oscar for his leading role in "Training Day." Unfortunately, I saw the movie after it was way over-hyped and didn't really give it the credit that it may have deserved. The story was compelling, but it was jus a little flat.

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Posted mar 16, 2007 10:43 pm pt

gruffi40

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Good movie. A bit overrated. I found it funny Denzel Washington won best actor for this when he's had much better performances. Worth seeing.

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Posted mar 11, 2007 7:09 pm pt

• [+] The New Yorker
  
  90
  Trashy and opportunistic as some of it is, Training Day is the most vital police drama since "The French Connection" or "Serpico."

  by David Denby | Read Full Review »
• [+] Salon.com
  
  90
  One of the finest cops-and-robbers thrillers of recent years.

  by Andrew O'Hehir | Read Full Review »
• [+] Variety
  
  90
  Ominously atmospheric study of police corruption dangles danger and sinister motives at every turn.

  by Todd McCarthy | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Post
  
  88
  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.

  by Lou Lumenick | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Magazine
  
  80
  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.

  by Peter Rainer | Read Full Review »
• [+] Wall Street Journal
  
  80
  Training Day can be simplistic, formulaic and absurdly melodramatic -- but Mr. Washington is flat-out great.

  by Joe Morgenstern | Read Full Review »
• [+] Mr. Showbiz
  
  80
  Mesmerizing entertainment, but it's also a cop-out.

  by Kevin Maynard | Read Full Review »
• [+] Time
  
  80
  As long as Training Day stays tightly focused on the struggle between the two cops, the movie is first rate.

  by Richard Schickel | Read Full Review »
• [+] Washington Post
  
  80
  A taut, high-velocity film that departs from the action flick template by having actual ideas.

  by Megan Rosenfeld | Read Full Review »
• [+] Slate
  
  80
  If nothing else, Training Day is a gorgeous pedestal for Denzel Washington.

  by David Edelstein | Read Full Review »
• [+] Village Voice
  
  80
  Antoine Fuqua's propulsive, elegantly written police thriller, offers the unsettling spectacle of Denzel Washington.

  by Amy Taubin | Read Full Review »
• [+] New Times (L.A.)
  
  80
  Washington creates an indelibly charming and terrifying character whose volatile blend of dedication and horrible expediency keeps us off balance.

  by Andy Klein | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  78
  A razor-wire-taut (and extremely violent) exploration of what happens when good guys go bad, badder, baddest.

  by Marc Savlov | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Daily News
  
  75
  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.

  by Jami Bernard | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Sun-Times
  
  75
  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.

  by Roger Ebert | Read Full Review »