Rating: 
Summary: absolutley stupid!
Review: I have a hard time believing that people actually thought that this was a great movie. The story was terrible. I dont think that the acting was great. Finally the ending was completly stupid. Overall this movie is completly overrated. I am still mad i wasted 4 dollars on the rental of this dvd.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed reviews
Review: I watched this video and first thing I want to say is; The Academy passed up Denzel playing Malcolm X and Rueben "Hurricane"Carter for this?It just goes to show you how the powers that be in Hollywood think. Don't get me wrong, he played the role and all, but I didn't like the character. You got this cop who "trains" this rookie cop who don't know nothing about nothing and gets caught up in this we. When he was coerced to take the drugs, he should have walked and asked for a transfer. But when he gets a beat down from the Latinos,all bets was off then. Basically,this guy wanted to be a good cop, and hooked up with a seasoned cop handling his own personal business on company time and got more than he bargained for in the process. This is one gritty film folks.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally the Oscar he deserved!
Review: Denzel acts his a** off in this film. Against type and dead on target. I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen when I saw this in the theatre and bought it as soon as it hit the store shelves. Undeniably one of the BEST performances ever! He scared me in this role, that's how convincing he was. Not a bad script and great support by all around.
Rating:
Summary: Gut wrenching portrayal of a day in the life of a narcotics
Review: This film is full of surprises from beginning to end. It's one of those movies you can watch more than once and see more things each time. What's also a nice touch is the extras included on the DVD. Often, I find that some filmmakers come up short when it comes time to put out the DVD. I find this very disappointing, but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. The film was actually shot in the neighborhoods depicted, which lends it a sense of realism and credibility that would otherwise be absent. There are real people (gangmembers, kids, grandparents, etc.) that live there in the movie. The performances by the two lead characters are really something to behold. You must see it to believe it.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the best.
Review: Training day is a great movie... denzel Washington gives an excellent performance as a corrupted cop. The acting is so good because Denzel plays a completely different role than any of his other movie's. Ethan Hawke also acts very well is the movie. The movie is very well done, and i was happy to see SNooP DOGG andDr. Dre in the movie.I would definetly recomend training day to anyone looking for action / drama / crime.
Rating: 
Summary: So What Was His Second Day on the Job Like?
Review: ***1/2 Denzel Washington earned his Best Actor Oscar in "Training Day" portraying a veteran LAPD narcotics officer who has become every bit as hard, amoral and corrupt as the mean city streets he patrols. We've seen plenty of "bad apple" cops in movies before, but rarely one as chillingly complex as Alonzo Harris, a man who long ago abandoned any of the crime-fighting idealism that led him to the job in the first place. Harris has learned that to deal with bad people one has to become bad oneself, and he has no compunction against going outside the law if that is the only way to get what he wants. For while he may piously declare that he is only beating the criminals at their own game, the truth is that Harris has simply sold his soul to the same self-centered greed that motivates the criminals he is supposedly after.Writer David Ayer provides Harris with the perfect foil for him to go up against in the form of Jake Hoyt, a rookie cop who has been assigned to be the veteran's partner. Feeling that he is finally going to be able to fulfill his lifelong dream of helping to make the world a better place, Jake is in for a very rude awakening once he comes up against the hardboiled cynicism of this more-than-he-bargained-for partner. Filled with the understandable jitters and self-doubt that come with the first day on the job, Jake quickly comes to see that there is something not quite right with Harris, who spends much of the day breaking laws, flaunting procedures and even threatening Jake's life if he doesn't go along with the many nefarious plans and schemes he has up his sleeves. Of course, Harris attempts to seduce Jake over to his way of thinking by arguing that such "unconventional" actions are required to circumvent a legal system that hamstrings officers with its bureaucratic rules and obsession with civil rights violations. Or is this just a convenient excuse for Harris to justify his lawbreaking? The film is, in many ways, more interesting as a study of Jake's character than of Harris', as we wonder if Jake will come to accept Harris' seasoned viewpoint or somehow see through it and remain true to his ideals. "Training Day" is filled with scenes of great dramatic intensity, often times based on some legitimate moral dilemma that Jake finds himself confronting. The mercurial nature of Harris' behavior keeps us as bewildered and off guard as it does Jake, for like him, we really don't know what exactly Harris wants or where he is coming from. Such moral ambiguity is a sign of powerful storytelling and Ayer deserves a great deal of credit for bringing some depth to an overworked genre. However, at times the film feels a bit forced and strains credibility just when we most need to believe in its truthfulness. This is particularly the case in a scene in which Jake is about to be blown away in a bathtub and receives a last minute reprieve in the form of a coincidence too preposterous to be even slightly believable. Moreover, some of Harris' actions - though valid for the point that the film is trying to make perhaps - seem highly unlikely in the real world. The overall effect of them is to throw the audience out of the movie just when we are most eager to go where we feel it is taking us. However, these are minor quibbles about a film that works so well for so much of the time. As this is the film that won Washington his Academy Award, we must not fail to mention the superb performances delivered by both him and Ethan Hawke as Jake. Washington, generally relegated to "good guy" roles, proves himself a deft villain in this case, displaying the many intricate coils of his seething, cobra-like character. In many ways, though, Hawke does the more impressive job, partly because he has been given the less flamboyant role of passive observer. Washington gets to hit all the dramatic heights, yet, it is through Jake's eyes that the audience gets to observe this lethal individual and Hawke provides the understated richness that brings this everyman character to life. As Jake gets more and more intricately ensnared and embroiled in Harris' immoral actions, we can't help but identify with the ethical plight being thrust on this man who just wants to do what he knows - or thinks he knows - is right. These two fine actors provide the explosive, symbiotic partnership that brings the screenplay to vivid life. Director Antoine Fuqua makes each moment count dramatically, whether it be a tense confrontation between Harris and Jake over an issue of great moral consequence or a subtle moment of quiet reflection as Jake contemplates his next move. Despite the fact that the film seems to strain a bit at the edges (one wonders what Jake's SECOND day on the job will be like), "Training Day" provides more food for thought than your average cop buddy movie - and much, much finer acting.
Rating:
Summary: I'M NOT SAYING DENZEL DIDN'T DESERVE THE OSCAR, BUT...
Review: ETHAN HAWK'S ROLE IN THIS MOVIE SEEMED TO BE THE MORE AMAZING ACTING JOB. WASHINGTON IS GREAT TOO, AND PERHAPS HIS PLAYING AN UNSYMPATHETIC CHARACTER HELPED HIM GARNISH VOTES FOR THE ACADEMY AWARD. SNOOP DOGG ALSO DID SOME PRETTY FINE ACTING AS A CRIPPLED CRACK DEALER. DR. DRE SHOULD STICK TO MAKING RECORDS HOWEVER. GREAT MOVIE THOUGH, I ENJOYED IT.
Rating:
Summary: Bad Guy
Review: If you are looking for the ultimate bad guy, you found it right here in this movie. Denzel Washington definately knows how to play a bad guy and this movie is proof.
Rating:
Summary: so bad!
Review: i would just write bad 1000 times, but frankly it's not worth it. denzel washington is an amazing actor, here he is showboating to no end, and does a poor job at it. ethan hawke at least doesn't embaress himself, although he was in this muck.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed feelings on this one...
Review: Having survived all the promo-hype and waited to see this on DVD, I was expecting to see the outstanding performances of Washington and Hawke. Well, I thought it was entertaining and thought provoking, but certainly not Oscar-worthy. It was nice to see Washington in a dark role, but I wish he'd had the chance to go even further in exploring the evil that can overcome those in positions of power, but who face unimaginable odds against them. Instead, his character came off simply as greedy and sadistic, rather than as driven to eliminate greater evil by "any means necessary." Too bad, because I think Washington would have been more than up to the task, and it would've made for a much more interesting story. Hawke's character was, frankly, quite uninspired and boring. I found myself rooting against him (even if not for Washington's character), just because I found the goody-goody, Boy-Scout-esque, one-dimensional morality extremely boring and poorly acted. He seemed to play a character not motiviated by an inner knowledge that what he was seeing and experiencing was evil, so much as a character who was hopelessly naive and fearful. Even though it's only a movie, what cop could truly enter the L.A. narcotics squad not having any inkling that some cops go bad, and some are simply gangsters with badges and legal guns? Poor character development plus mediocre acting made this, in my opinion, a forgettable and throw-away character. I think the story could've gotten along just fine without him, focusing solely on the Washington character and his relationships with his "neighbors" and associates. That said, it was fairly entertaining, and had a gritty realism that was engaging -- sort of like watching an auto accident even though you know it's gruesome.
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