Rating: 
Summary: Good grit
Review: Have you every done something that you normally didn't want to do just because someone else wants you to do it? If you are in love, that's great, but often it's just because someone is at least a bit intimidating. Or very intimidating. You find that avoiding an arguement with the person is more important than your lack of desire for doing the task. Unless you are a total bully, we've all experienced this. "Training Day" takes this to the extreme. Ethan Hawke is on his first day with a special police unit that he wants very much to be a member of. He very much wants to impress Denzel Washington, the leader of the group, but encounters problems from his first minute with Washington, and they only get worse from there. It is the nightmare that unfolds that makes this well worth seeing. Cops are not choir boys, and the terrific new series "The Shield" points this out to the extreme. When undercover cops work with trash, some of it is bound to rub off. And I'm sure most of us would say there would be no way we would smoke a joint laced with PCP offered from the boss, especially on the first day on the job. But where the movie succeeds in how the Oscar-winning intimidation by Denzel Washington makes it perfectly believeable that this could happen. Once that dirty deed is done, Hawke becomes almost putty in Washington's hands, and is taken from one harrowing situation to another. You want to believe that some good will come of it. After all, cops need to learn how things are done to effectively get their jobs done, and this sometimes means acting less than angellic. You want to believe that Washington overall ends justify his means. To see if this comes to pass, catch this movie, which is not for the faint of heart.
Rating: 
Summary: TRAINING DAY
Review: The movie itself has a somehow perdictable story but the acting which is superb, lifts the story above its 'standard' plot. Alonzo's intentions about Jake's 'Training Day' are not what Jake (and us) think they are at the beginning of the movie. Alonzo's original intentions seemed to be to shock him and corrupt him - he perceives Jake as innocent, and wants to have some 'fun' with him. A good example of that is what he says after the squad kills Roger - he's been plannig Jake's day for a week. That's obvious on a second watching: he made sure he'd have PCP laced weed pretty early in the day, and knows how to push Jake into smoking it - just to make sure he has something he can control Jake with if he needs to... But he hardly has to use it against Jake throughout the day: he's in total control, and knows the turf, and the 'street rules' - unlike Jake, who's new and too idealistic to unerstand them - at least at first. The 'Training Day' isn't meant to train Jake to join Alonzo's unit, but after it's over Jake has received some valuable training: how he can survive in the streets. Some of what he learns comes from Alonzo, but he manages to combine it with his own common sense - by taking the girl's wallet, he eventually manages to save his own life, even though Alonzo discourages him - after all, Alonzo's 'Street Justice' has been done. This goes against another one of Alonzo's lessons: don't show your sensitivities to the world. But by showing it in case of the girl - again, he manages to not only save his life, but to establish a connection with Smiley, which might help him later on. As the day (and the movie) progresses, we see that Alonzo's attitude towards ake changes - he starts taking him seriously, until he realizes how much Jake doesn't fit in when they raid Roger's house. But he still doesn't take him seriously enough - when Jake comes by his house after survivng the poker game, Alonzo still tries to pretend that it was all a test, and having survived the experience made him get into the squad. But Alonzo hadn't realized that he'd taken it too far, just as he doesn't realize it about other events in his life - he thinks that the neighborhood's fear of him is respect, for instance. Or his son -the little boy trusts Jake after only one meeting more than Alonzo could ever hope for. And this time - Alonzo isn't able to use his charm or force as a policeman to get out of this situation...
Rating:
Summary: Art resembles life?
Review: This is a great movie, especially in context of the Rampart Scandal faced by LAPD. There is very little to complain about in watching this movie, it's powerful, it reflects real life, and the good guy wins. The soundtrack is fantastic, the ending is not expected. Worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Denzel at last!
Review: When Denzel received his oscar for the role in this fil I was disappointed. Firstly beacause I didn't think he was the best and secondly because it was so set up that it was the year for black actors. Denzel should have already won for his role in the Hurricane. However, all that aside I love this movie...
The twisted dark and yellow colours in this movie remind me of Traffic ( another fabulous movie )driving along with Ethan Hawk tapped out of his head on PCP. Its a blur of violence, realism and race one that Hawk doesn't even know he's in until its right on top of him.
Throughout the film you recognise Washington as a bad mother, but still an anti-hero. There is a link between the two characters Hawk and Washington and at some point along the line it breaks, leaving you tense and excited, longing for the fight that has to come. oh, and boy does it come...
This is a fantastic film that all fans should watch and respect *****.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Performances but Poor Script Sinks "Training Day"
Review: After hearing so many good things about this movie, I was greatly disappointed. Denzel gives a great performance, but I would hardly call it Oscar-worthy. Actually, it's hard to say what an Oscar worthy performance is anymore,since so many of the awards are given for political reasons and are based less and less on artistic merit. It was the same with Al Pacino and his award for the very trite "Scent of a Woman" Ugh. The performances by Washington and Hawke are very good and very steady throughout, but the script seems to be thrown together. Basically, it's a mess. I would have liked to see more of a build-up concerning the deal with the Russians-it's almost presented as an afterthought.
Yup, more clarity in the narrative would have made this film a whole lot better...Episodes of the Shield are better written than this!
Rating:
Summary: Even if you watch it once,watch it!!!
Review: First of all, I highly recommend this movie.Not because of the Academy Award,but because this is a good movie! Ethan,with work like this you WILL win a best actor Oscar one year.Denzel,You acted a fool man! With a supporting cast like Tom Berenger,Dr. Dre,Snoop Dogg,Scott Glenn & Macy Gray you couldn't go wrong.In a nutshell it's about a wet behind the ears rookie (Hawke) promoted to Narc, and "trained" for 24 hours by Washington. But there's a twist:Washington is a crooked cop.I'll leave it at that.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping drama
Review: Denzel Washington contributes a powerhouse, Oscar-winning performance as Alonzo Harris, the crooked cop of Antoine Fuqua's "Training Day." He is, however, one of only many reasons to catch this film, an intelligent, thought-provoking study of morality and the line between good and evil. Ethan Hawke, in an Oscar-nominated role, is effective as the conflicted rookie who finds himself in awe of Harris' power and street philosophy, while at the same time being reviled by his actions. "Training Day" is gruesome, but worthwhile. It'll cause you to think about it long after the credits end, as any good film should.
Rating:
Summary: Great performances
Review: The plot of this movie, while absolutely compelling, might have seemed too far-fetched if not for the brilliant performances of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Washington is utterly convincing as a cop gone bad; he truly deserved an Oscar for this role. Ethan Hawke, meanwhile, gives a tough, impressive performance as a young cop who gradually realizes his new boss (Washington) is irredeemably corrupted. Not all the reviews for this movie were laudatory, but I urge you to watch it for yourself and make up your own mind. One reviewer on this page complains that the movie is not suitable for viewers under age 18, and that it's too violent. Well, of course it's not suitable for young viewers--that's why it's rated R. And it's violent because it's realistically depicting violent parts of L.A. If you can't take it, as Washington himself says in the film, "go back to the Valley." If you can, you'll probably be engrossed by "Training Day" and its fine actors.
Rating:
Summary: A good movie, but not the as spectacular as portrayed...
Review: I really enjoyed this movie, but I don't think that it was as great as it was portrayed in the press. Sure, Denzel Washington is excellent as an undercover cop gone bad, but I still don't believe that the movie lived up to its billing. It's an enjoyable film, but don't expect it to become a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: overrated, and no best actor here!
Review: I like action police movies, but this one rings of overstated, overdone screenplay from the beginning. Washington and Hawke are good, but once again nowhere near the hype. The violent finale is so absurd! And when the main elements of the plot are revealed it is also absurd. We can stretch our imaginations to a certain degree, but this is clearly a screenplay and not anywhere close to something realistic. As far as the academy award goes, I'm completely disgusted by the best actor award. Denzel is good (as he usually is) but his performance isn't even in the same class as the one by Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind. A Beautiful Mind wins all the main awards based upon Crowe's incredible, driven performance and he doesn't win best actor? We know the academy likes Denzel and doesn't care for Crowe's antics, we know there was an incredible campaign to get Denzel the award, we know there was all that criticism that A beautiful Mind left out shady elements of the main character's life, but did the voters actually think about the 2 performances solely on merit? Crowe's performance will be heralded for a long time to come, while Denzel's award will be seen as a make-up academy award (like Newman in The Color of Money). I don't understand the make-up award factor since I looked back at the past times he was nominated and I'm not sure he should have won one, except for the supporting actor award in Glory. Ultimately Denzel gives a good (not great) performance in a very forgettable, unrealistic movie. When you see the performances 10 years from now, what will you think? Academy voters, you are a disgrace.
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