Rating: 
Summary: Trainign Day
Review: BackroundThis superb story takes place in downtown LA.Rookie officer(Ethan Hawk) is preparing going on a "ride-a-long" w/ Narcotics Cop Alanzo Harris(Denzel Wasjington) a courropt leader of a higly elite narcotics "crew". Through out the day Harris does everything he can to blur the line between right and wrong saying "your along way form Star Bucks". The weekend before, harris killed a big hancho in the Russian mob and has until midnight that night to give the Russians a large sum of money or else he will be pushin up dasies. Later that day, Alanzo, his crew and the rookie raid a house that has over $4 million but the russians never gets teh money As the day wears on, the young rookie cop is exposed to Haris's true colors up until he is set up to be killed by a hispanic wanna-be mob boss. The only thing that gets this rookie from having his brains form being splatterd on the wall is...
Rating: 
Summary: Mr Washington Goes To Town
Review: As everyone knows by now, this is the movie for which Denzel Washington won a first and long overdue leading actor Oscar for his portrayal of Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris, a corrupt undercover narcotics in South Central LA and also the film for which Ethan Hawke also received his first Oscar nomination, as Washington's fresh faced rookie partner for the day, Jake. But is Training day any good and did Denzel deserve his Oscar? First off, I have to admit to being a long time admirer and self-confessed fan of Denzel Washington's work, ever since first seeing him grace the big screen in movies such as Cry Freedom and For Queen and Country. Sure there have been some disappointing movies along the way, such as The Mighty Quinn, Virtuosity, Fallen and The Bone Collector, but none of these duds could be apportioned to the always charismatic (and way too handsome for my liking) Mr Washington. Denzel Washington has been a star of big screen and small for twenty years and has established himself as one of Hollywoods great stars, equally able to carry your typical commercial Hollywood fodder (The Pelican Brief, Courage Under Fire, The Siege, John Q etc.) and to shine as a great actor in great movies such as Malcolm X, The Hurricane, Glory (for which he won a best supporting actor Oscar), and the excellent and underrated Spike Lee movie He Got Game. In cop thriller Training Day, Denzel Washington plays a charismatic, utterly corrupt sergeant in the LAPD narcotics squad who takes honest, ambitious rookie Ethan Hawke under his wing for a day and tries to destroy his integrity. It made a great change to see Denzel Washington cast-against-type in his first unsympathetic role in the meaty villainous of Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris, a commanding and morally detestable figure, whose comeuppance we eagerly await. The movie is violent and has a rapid pace and for the vast majority of the movie it is dark, edgy and morally ambiguous as we are taken on a tour of the 'hoods and we see Alonzo increasingly bending then breaking the laws he is supposed to uphold. Washington as Alonzo Harris is as charismatic as ever and he justifies his interventions with clever rhetoric, playing with both Jake's and our heads, leading both us and the fresh faced rookie astray. But as the movie progresses it becomes clear that Alonso is more than a cop that bends the rules to get the job done, a la Popeye Doyle in The French Connection. No, we soon realise that he's no more than a shark with a badge; he's a psychopath worse than the crack pushers, the rapists and general low life of south central LA. He's more than morally ambiguous he's morally corrupt. There's much to enjoy in Training Day, particularly in the lead performances of both its stars, Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Denzel's role is a showy part and it allows him to demonstrate once again what a fine actor he is, whilst Hawke in the less showy and understated role, as the cop with integrity, is no less impressive. Training Day is for the most part a well acted, well-directed (by Antoine Fuqua) movie that like the Sean Penn/Robert Duvall movie Colors comes from a darker angle with regard to police work in LA but ultimately just when it reaches its climax it cops out (if you'll excuse the pun), turning from something darker and edgier than the usual Hollywood fodder into something akin to the usual Hollywood fodder, with a climax reliant upon incredible coincidence and an implausibility with regard to the response of the homies that occupy Alonso's neighbourhood. It's also arguably a tad over-long (but then aren't most movies?). As for Denzel's Oscar, it's a bit of a tough one to call and whilst Denzel Washington is undoubtedly excellent (as always) I can't help but feel that we've seen him better in the likes of Malcolm X, Hurricane and He Got Game. It's also hard to deny the possibility that Russell Crowe performance in A Beautiful Mind was at least on a par and that perhaps the Academy felt it was time to recognise an actor who had been unfairly overlooked before. Maybe I'm too much of an idealist but it seems a terrible shame to me that the Oscars appear to be decided politically and by popularity rather than merit. If they were decided on merit Denzel Washington might already have had a couple of Best Actor Oscars and maybe (just maybe) the less popular but extremely talented Russell Crowe would have bagged his second Oscar for A Beautiful Mind. Maybe? However, don't let any of that put you off. Ultimately Training Day is a good movie with great performances. It's just a pity it's not a great movie with great performances but only because it cops out at the end. 3 ¾ stars out of 5.
Rating:
Summary: This is the MOVIE up in this PIECE!
Review: This was a great flick. Hands-down, it's the best work Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke have each done, respectively. Washington plays corrupt detective Alonzo with so much charisma, it is frighteningly convincing. This story (aided by the superb acting) is a perfect demonstration how charisma and strong personality can overwhelm those unsuspecting individuals who are in a "I look up to you" position. The heart of the film is Ethan Hawke's portrayal which functions as a perfect counter to Washington's. Here, we see the idealistic young cop faced with the reality of the jaded, corrupt, and ultimately evil cop. As Alonzo uses his "training day" with Hoyt (Hawke) to serve his own needs, it becomes apparent to the viewer and to Hoyt, that he is being used like a pawn to serve a greater, sinister plan. It turns into a struggle for Hoyt's ideals and ultimate survival in the end. Excellent film overall. Stunning and engrossing, it only gets better with repeated viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Man up... Man up...
Review: I liked Training Day. I have always liked Denzel and been luke warm to Ethan Hawke. But I must say for this roll he is perfect. Denzel is also very very good. The story is a good one but I felt like they did the standard Hollywood feel good cop out in the end. Also, though I usually like Scott Glenn, I personally found him to be miscast. Suprised to see Tom Berenger show up too, though he was very good in his small roll.
Rating:
Summary: Watch this movie for one reason.
Review: This movie showed that Denzel Washingto can act and play the villian as well as the hero. His Oscar for this movie was well earned.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful, disturbing
Review: This movie was both powerful and disturbing. That being said, I would never watch it again. The violence, the language, and the wanton disregard for the sanctity of human life is appalling. While it may be realistic, and the movie may be well-done, I cannot endorse it for viewing. It makes me sick.
Rating:
Summary: Man up!
Review: Rookie narc Jake Hoyt's "training day" is his 1st day on the LAPD. He is clueless as to what to expect, regarding good & evil as it pertains to his work. Therefore, he cannot respond correctly, and uses the only sensibility available to him: the ability to reason, and he does so as a man of high integrity. This is the main thread around which the whole movie is woven. Training Day clarifies how the line between right and wrong can get blurred, for different people, as well as in different circumstances. "Bone" (Cle "Shahid" Sloan) is an awesome natural for his part, and cute, too.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD MOVIE, GREAT PERFORMANCE FROM DENZEL, BUT...
Review: Denzel Washington's electrifying perfomance is what helps what would otherwise be a routine cop thriller earn an extra star. Ethan Hawke is also very good as a rookie cop on his first day on the job "training day", who finds himself appalled by, then drawn into, the use of excessive force and lack of morality and conscience of his partner. Some of the violence here is pretty unsettling, but who said police work (and life) was all roses? And there's more than a few thorns in this movie to prickle the viewers subconscious.
Rating: 
Summary: Wouldn't have paid to see this
Review: The previews to this movie are extremely misleading, the film lacks a decent story and is basically a violent shoot em up bad cop flick! Denzel Washington is definately not meant to be the bad guy, although convincing in his portrayal, it somehow did not fit. Ethan Hawkes preformance was shoddy at best.
I have not seen very many movies that are this bad, however I rented it for free and yet still feel as though I paid too much!
If your into watching two straight hours of violence then this might be the flick for you, however if you are looking for a film with at least a bit of a story behind it, then you should definately look elsewhere because this is certianly not it!
Rating: 
Summary: Should¿ve been an independent movie without Warner.
Review: Interesting moral dilemma. About the first half way through the movie, the premise was bright. A moral story. A rookie who spends a day training with his new boss narcotics agent discovers that the ways that his boss roots out evil aren't exactly... godly. This reminded me of Boiler Room, because in both movies the "rookie" is forced to make a decision between the morality he has and what is being presented to him as moral. I've never seen Denzel Washington use such foul language. But in the second half, it just fell flat on it's face. - NO SPOILERS, don't worry. - It looked as if Warner Brothers had forced Village Roadshow pictures to slap on the ending that they did because the moral fable just wasn't enough - that W.B. wanted it to appeal to lower brow audience, perhaps. Maybe that's why there is such unnecessary violence throughout the movie. In fact, the ending - no spoilers included - stylized as to look dramatic, but really it is just low-brow. Should've been an independent movie without the financial backing from WB as WB messed it up.
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