Training Day

Rating:
Summary: A few things.
Review: I've had many conversations with my friends about this movie. Conversations turned into debates. Debates turned into arguments. And there are many, many things to argue about concerning this particular movie, which I guess is part of its allure, at least for me. Whether it was realistic or not. Whether Denzel's performance, while indisputably good, was Oscar-worthy or not. Whether it was too violent, or simply a portrayal of the violence that goes on every day in a big city.

One at a time.

I believe this movie is realistic in all aspects dealing with the situations on the street. There are vicious people who's kill you just as soon as look at you. People who are out to get your money and your livelihood. People out to take your heart, sometimes literally. I believe that there are no clear-cut right or wrong answers out on the street. You just have to stick to some basic code of conduct and hope everything works itself out. I believe that not all cops are the knights-in-shining-armor people would like them to be in this post-September 11th world. That's probably not the most fashionable thing to say right now, but that's what I believe. I believe that mostly good and decent men can be corrupted by that sense of power and authority. And since my father was a cop in West Philly for 20 years, I have a pretty fair basis for my beliefs.

Whether Denzel's performance was Oscar-worthy or not... I don't put much stock in the Academy Awards myself. Usually, the Academy's criteria and mine differ a great deal. But they are supposed to reward people for excellence in film, and on that basis, Denzel certainly did deserve it. You could see the subtle shifts in Alonzo's character from scene to scene. Now, I didn't believe the character was stereotypical. If anything could be construed as stereotypical, it was his street persona. But that was only a persona, only a part of the character. It was the glimpses of the good man still lurking inside that made the character fresh and original. There isn't another actor working today that could've captured all those nuances. No Hopkins, no DeNiro, no Pacino, no Rush... nobody. He most definitely earned that Oscar, for what it's worth. And even if--IF--it was only a "freebie" for ignoring his tour-de-force performance as Malcolm X, it was certainly no different from Russell Crowe's situation last year, when he won for "Gladiator" after being passed over for "The Insider" a year before. And that reparation didn't even have the added wrinkle of any white actors having been ignored for 3 decades.

About the violence... I've never lived in LA. I've never even been off the East Coast, so I can't say I know how it is there. But I do know how it is here. This movie has no more violence in it than anything you might see on 52nd Street, or K & A, or 5th and Lehigh, or the Badlands, or even Broad and Olney, where I saw a crackhead jump on the hood of a man's car and promptly get the [stuff] beaten out of him. (If you live in Philly, or have ever lived here for an extended period, you know the areas I'm talking about.) It's not violent for the sake of violence, like other Hollywood movies. It's violent because it's a reflection of a certain lifestyle which happens to be very violent sometimes. That's what I believe.

Now I don't think that my opinion will change anybody's mind about this movie one way or the other, but maybe it'll help you see the other side of the argument. But if you haven't seen the movie, don't let this review or any other review sway you. Watch it with an open mind and judge for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY
Review: THE worst! Washington and Hawke exchange badly scripted rants in performances no better than those found in really wretched community theatre. Fuqua's uninspired directing turns this movie into a typical made-for-ghetto blaster. The corrupt-cop genre has been done better MANY times before. As for Oscar, God in not great, D. In this case, God is overly generous.

Rating:
Summary: A shocking look at the LAPD
Review: Shocking. This is one of the first things that come to mind when I think of Training Day. I bought it because of Denzel getting the Academy Award. I don't think any preview can prepare you for this movie. Denzel plays a nacotics cop who heads a squad who plays both sides of the street. And what a street it is. Gang bangers, drug dealers, poverty all rear their ugly head here.

This movie takes place over the span of one day and tells the story of a young officer played by Ethan Hawke riding with Denzel for the first time as a new member of this narcotics unit. Hawke's character sees being in this elite unit as a way to make it higher up into the Department on the way to detective. But he has no idea that Denzel and his unit have their own set of rules, many contrary to the Law and he must choose to stay with his moral duty to uphold the Law or give it up to join Denzel and advance his career.

This movie shows the way the streets are on the "other side of the tracks". My wife told me she never wanted to go to LA after seeing it. I don't know how truthful the protrait of Denzel's character is but you would think there has to be some truth to it with all that power in their hands and all the drug money they are dealing with. It will make you think the next time you see a story of a narcotics bust and hear how much money was found. You'll wonder if that was 100% of the funds or if there was some skimming going on.

Rating:
Summary: The most mundane cliched junk I've seen in a long time.
Review: Training Day is mildly interesting in its previews and sets you up expecting a clever and scintillating day with a crooked cop. The only thing it truly succeeds at is pulling every cliche out of bad cop film history and throwing it out without even a scintilla of wit. The film is formulaic and very woman-hating from start to finish. Something more interesting to see would be Mamet's Heist.

Rating:
Summary: Criticism +the meaning of the movie
Review: The acting in this movie was superb. Denzel Washington plays the bad-cop well, and he accurately portrays his character is comparable to other devils in disguise: Al Pacino's devil in The Devil's Advocate, James Cromwell in L.A. Confidential, etc. Unfortunately for the great acting and directing, there are too few scenes of criminal punishment.
If you've seen the movie, you know that Denzel's character, Alonzo, is a bad cop. He bends the rules and breaks the law in order to do what he wants to do with the law. Unfortunately, Denzel's character lacks the BORDERLINE evil that this movie needed. One of the most important points, left hanging in mid-air, was that there were "profoundly evil people out there", and that cops like Alonzo shouldn't handicap themselves with rules.
What was needed was the kind of brutal attacks on street crime that could almost make you understand and ROOT for Alonzo, which were probably cut from the film. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COMPLETE SURPRISE when you discover that Alonzo was just as evil as the evil people on the streets all along. Also, this could have been hinted at by Snoop-Dogg's character, who deserved more than a few minutes on film. Last scene of the movie, "How do you think that cripple got that way?" There could have been more context to that, n'est pas?
Finally, making Alonzo a more brutal cop than Samuel L. in that disgraceful remake of SHAFT instead of BAD LIEUTENANT's Harvey K. would help in bringing some "I can't believe it!" suspense to the shoot-out scene between Ethan Hawke and Denzel. This would be a final scene where you would see just how much of a criminal Alonzo truly is.

One complement to the movie: the APPARENT message of the movie is that Police Brutality is necessary to eliminate the criminal element. WHAT THE MOVIE REALLY ASKS TOWARD THE END IS IF BRUTALITY IS THERE TO BENEFIT CROOKED COPS THEMSELVES. If you pay attention to more what the characters DO than Say, you'll see that.

Rating:
Summary: Very good but too violent
Review: I just watched Training Day and I have to say that I thought it was excellent. I am not an Ethan Hawke fan, though. His performance was what you might expect from a white rookie cop. He doesn't know the street, and thinks Alonzo (Denzel Washington) will give him a straight story. It is predictable that Alonzo will become (or already is) crooked. What is not known, however, is the way the story comes back to the person who is portrayed as one of Alonzo's best friends.

A great movie, but too much gratuitous violence. That's why I only give it 4 stars (4.5 actually).

-- teenlibrarian --

Rating:
Summary: An absorbing drama that will enrapture you.
Review: There are two kinds of movies. Plot driven movies, and character driven movies. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages, but it is usually clear if the movie works because of the characters or the characters work because of the movie. In this case, Training Day is definitely a character driven movie.

Because it is a character driven movie, the main characters will be scrutinized by the audiences more than normal, and therefore take more skill to play. Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke have both been scrutinized for their performances in this -and both are definitely up to the standard.

More than ever, I was extremely impressed with the performance by Denzel Washington as Alonzo in this movie. The complexities of his character's personality are as many as threads in a tapestry, and each point is played to perfection by him. Alonzo is like a question mark, you never really know if he is as totally corrupt as he seems till at least halfway through the day. Many an actor would not have been able to convey this sense of indecision and especially this type of character well, but Washington has done it, and with a flair and life of his own. Alonzo was truly one of the most interesting characters I have had the pleasure of watching in a long time.

Almost as impressive was Hawke's range in this movie as Jake. As a rookie cop with conflicting loyalties who questions the ethics of Alonzo, he puts in a stunning performance as well.

The movie was definitely unusual and different from the normal cop movie. Don't expect a beat-em-up movie -this is a crime drama akin more to Soderbergh's Traffic, or Singer's The Usual Suspects than say Brest's Beverly Hills Cop or the Lethal Weapon series. The use of such a short time period (24 hours) as the backdrop was different to say the least, and put the entire movie into a new perspective.

In those 24 hours, more happens than you could ever expect to happen in such a short time. Ethics and loyalties are questioned and answers are given before the day ends. Things happen at the beginning of the day that may have a large impact later on. Things that don't seem of much importance earlier are in fact of importance later.

This is yet another example of a good script -turned into a great script by improvisation. Washington ad libbed many of his lines, and because of this, they have a much more natural flow to them, and he settles into his character much better.

At the end of the day, when all is said and done, it all really comes down to one thing -ethics. Ethics was what started Hoyt on this trip, Hoyt questions certain ethics along the trip, and ethics is what ultimately incites the powerful and thought provoking climax by which time it is clear what sides everyone has taken on this issue.

This film may have been directed by Antoine Fuqua, but it isn't his. At the end of the day, one man stole the show in this movie - and that one man without question was Denzel Washington.

Rating:
Summary: Is The Day Over Yet?
Review: One cannot certainly argue the merits of Denzel Washington's performance as the crooked but hard-hitting cop in TRAINING DAY.

One, however, can easily argue the merits of whether or not the performance deserved Academy Award recognition, and I would imagine that this will become an argument for the ages.

Is it truly noteworthy (or awardworthy) to grant one of cinema's most gift and rightfully revered African American actors the distinction of playing such a stereotypical role? In all honesty, does Mr. Washington want to be remember more for THIS role than he would the perceptive Ezekial Rawlins in DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS ... or the brave submarine commander in CRIMSON TIDE ... or the military officer trying to find a personal sense of purpose in death in combat in COURAGE UNDER FIRE ... or the Civil Rights leader in MALCOLM X?

Granted, the AMPAS cannot undo history and go back to honor Denzel for roles that truly showed distinction, but we've seen the detective he played in TRAINING DAY in hundreds of other films, portrayed by hundreds of other gifted actors, in similar situations. To award someone with the talent of Denzel Washington film's highest honor for such a stereotypical role is, perhaps, film history's greatest injustice.

That said, the plot -- while predictable -- unfolds as the young recruit (played by the always-forgettable Ethan Hawke) realizes he's being used, rises to the occasion, and saves the day.

Rating:
Summary: Oscar-worthy? Not.
Review: I was very disappointed in this film. Denzel Washington's character was over-the-top, and Denzel himself in this role was simply not believable as Alonzo Harris - a narcotics detective gone bad. Perhaps I'm used to seeing Denzel in roles that are a little less vile. Aside from being overly violent, bloody, and sometimes downright gory, the story itself leaves a little to be desired in that the "rookie" (Ethan Hawke) is taken out for a day to learn the ropes of the Narcotics Unit, and is taught by Alonzo (Denzel) within the first few hours of training that the usual rules don't apply on the streets. He uses his badge and the support of his superior officers to steal, murder, deceive, etc., while explaining to Jake (Hawke) that in order to defeat the enemy he must become the enemy, in an attempt to justify his actions I guess. If I have to say something nice about this film it would be that Ethan Hawke delivered a knockout performance as the white boy rookie fighting against the temptation of corruption and the promise of making detective in 18 months in order to be a good cop. All in all, I can't understand why this film was nominated, much less won, any Oscars.

Rating:
Summary: I don't get it
Review: There are several movies that I don't understand how in the world people can dislike them. Training Day falls into my second category of Why do so many people love this film. Sure Denzel did a great job (I'm still not sure it deserved an Oscar Nomination...never mind the award). Ethan was a tremendous supporting actor...but the movie was just a series of yelling matches. What was the point of this film? Why was Denzel's character the way he was? There was just something totally missing here.