Rating: 
Summary: Training Day was soooooooooo good!
Review: I just purchased the DVD and watched it as soon as I got home. I really enjoyed this movie. Denzel is such an excellent actor. I really hope he gets an Oscar for his performance. He is the only man I know that can act just as good as my favorite actor Samuel L. Jackson. Anyway, I have never seen a movie where Denzel is the bad guy. He was truly bad in this movie. I highly recommend this movie.Oh, Ethan Hawke wasn't too bad either.
Rating:
Summary: great
Review: i loved this tale of crookedness. denzel washington plays his best role as the cop whos very crooked and ethan hawke is the rookie cop. alonzo (dw) exposes hawke to drugs and life on the streets. ok denzel deserves the oscar. hawke does too. this is the most realistic cop movie since one tough cop. just see this.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad.
Review: But if you want to see a really good film of this same genre, watch "Donnie Brasco" , with excellent performances by Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.
Rating: 
Summary: Thumbs up for two extremely absorbing performances.
Review: I must say, my preconceptions about Training Day were all wrong. The trailer I saw in the theatres made it look like a belated ripoff of The Corruptor, while director Antoine Fuqua's disastrous fumble with The Replacement Killers several years ago did nothing to boost my confidence. My doubts were dispelled the minute Denzel Washington looked up from his newspaper. It is indeed good to see Washington, one of the most gifted actors of our time, abandon the saintly martyrs he's been prone to playing for 10 years and sink his teeth into a role which allows him to show a mix of deep charisma and dangerous viciousness. That same alchemy had made his breakthrough performance in 1989's Glory amazingly compelling, and in Training Day, there isn't a single moment where Washington is less than completely absorbing. Ethan Hawke also gives the performance of his career as Jake Hoyt, an idealistic but easily swayed young cop who finds himself drawn into a web of corruption, violence, and twisted morals. Fuqua's directing is still overly stylish at times, but after a hyperactive first act, the film begins to roar. David Ayer's script is dazzling, a combination of rat-a-tat street vernacular and relentless forward momentum, and after the midpoint of the movie, the intensity of the scenes would reach incredible levels. And that's when Fuqua's show-offy camerawork finds a raison d'etre. In this film, Fuqua even finds room for some comparatively simple scenes which are really like a breath of fresh air to his filmmaking -- for example, the "you're a leader" car scene, and that beautifully understated ending shot. I hope he makes this part of his regular style, because there's only so much virtuoso camera one can take before it gets tiring, as is the case in the opening of the film. A white-knuckle thriller, well worthy of the accolades it received. I stand humbly corrected on my original predictions.
Rating: 
Summary: A Waste of Awesome Talent and Performances
Review: Training Day begins with such promise. Unfortunately, the potential of the story and the great acting are wasted by a convoluted trip through an utterly implausable plot. A true shame. By the second act one is left feeling cheated and further jaded by Hollywood's inability to make motion pictures in this genre realistic and believable. The exposition of the film fills the viewer with optimism that one hell of a ride awaits. I was excited that what I was getting into what was going to be a film on par with some of the cops and robbers masterpieces (Heat for example). Washington is nearly perfect as the narco-detective interviewing eager beaver Ethan Hawke (who suprisingly holds his own for the first 45 minutes) for a slot on an elite dectective squad by taking him on a "Training Day". However, one must suspend one's disbelief early on - and so frequently thereafter, that any viewer with the slightest conception of police procedures will quickly begin to pick the movie apart - instead of enjoy it. For example: 1) Maybe you believe that the young Hawke would smoke pot/PCP to prove his loyalty to Washington's unit but,
2) Washington's character doesn't answer to anyone. He soon gets into a gun fight with not less than 10 gang members, after stealing 40K by using a chinese take-out menu as a search warrant, and drives away in his custom low-rider Monte Carlo with only three symetrical holes in the rear window. No follow up investigation, no reports to file - this guy is on his own.
3) Next we meet Washington's mystery friend (Scott Glenn) who provides some liquor and wisdom. Unfortunately, we never find out who he is, until the unit returns later (ostensibly to serve a felony warrant..without backup, air support, transportation, etc.) to kill him and dig up $3 million from underneath his kitchen. Question - why would this renegade group take an unproven Hawke with them? Just send him home and say see you tomorrow. Instead, they provide him with an opportunity to witness the nonsense. In for a penney...
4) Ultimately Washington must deliver some of the loot to even more mysterious "Russians" by midnight, if he fails he's dead. Needless to say so is "Training Day" from about scene 3 on.
Rating:
Summary: Denzel stole the show
Review: This was a very strong, intense film with excellent performances from both actors. We all know Denzel can handle dramatic roles like this and now Ethan has proven he can do the same right next to one of the greats but what can you say about Mr. Washington that hasn't already been said before? He comes through as per his usual high-level style here, and gives the audience a completely different side to his talent
This movie takes place over one day. It's a rookie cop's narcotics training alongside a seasoned police veteran. The rookie doesn't know much about "street justice", so the older cop teaches him about the way things work in the "real world". How even cops like themselves have to "bend the rules" and "break the law" every now and then, in order to catch the really bad guys
Rating:
Summary: Denzel at his best
Review: Denzel Washington has to be the greatest actor alive! This movie portrays Washington in a light you have never seen nor thought he would be in. Me and a friend left this movie stunned from the pure evil he portrayed. If you are or are not a fan of Washington's, you will be when you see this movie. This is not a movie for the faint of heart, or for sensitive people. You have to be totally open and unexpecting of what is to come next, that's what will make you enjoy every aspect of this gripping and excellent peice of work from one of the greatest actors alive.
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY AMAZING
Review: This movie shows the acting strengths of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, has a great plot, and a scene that was worth the 5 stars I gave it alone. (with Ethan Hawke's character "JAKE" left to fend for himself) Whoever says this movie is unrealistic, has never lived in Los Angeles.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Good Film
Review: First of all the acting performance of Denzel Washington is very good in this film, But that doesn't justify a good film. First of all they never give any proof that Denzel is actually a police officer. You never see him in uniform. You never see him going to the police station. So what's up with that?...!... This film is badly directed and written. Flat out! Denzel doesn't make it any better saying the "N" Word over and over again. What I kept asking myself is what was his motive for doing the stupid things he was doing in this film. I was embarrassed as an African American male watching this film. All he does is ride around in a car playing mister bad guy. Ethan Hawke had a couple of good scenes. The director did a bad job and the screenplay could've been better. Flat out. Now u see film isn't getting nominated for anything. Only Denzel's performance. Geezz.....
Rating:
Summary: Words Can't Describe The FORCE Of This Great Movie!!
Review: I am a HUGE fan of Denzel Washington. He has brought so much magic, comfort and love to the silver screen and has become a wonderful role model of what it is to be a man and a powerful actor. Every role he has played, particularly as Malcom X, has shown us strength and an ever present honesty and decency even when he is playing a man with slightly tarnished morals. No matter what, you always love Denzel and know it's him! When TRAINING DAY begins, we are introduced to Rookie Officer Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) and his wife; a very boring couple. The pace of the movie is slow for the first 7 or 8 minutes as we meet them and find out our rookie is beginning his first day in the narcotics division of the LAPD; a really nice promotion. And he must go to meet his supervisor for this training day at a local coffee shop. And there he is. In all his wonderful glory - Mr. Denzel Washington sits at the booth, looking fine as wine in all black, reading a paper. You are in love again, as you were in every one of his movies
UNTIL....
he opens his mouth to speak.
And you suddenly realize THIS AIN'T DENZEL!!! From the very first line spoken by Officer Alonzo Harris, you will be uncomfortable, frightened, intrigued, amazed and stupified. His deliciously evil way of speaking, looking and acting will have you spellbound and scared to death. He is beyond mean. And you immediately wonder how poor rookie Hoyt will ever survive the day with this crazy man. I found TRAINING DAY to be inventive and incredibly disturbing. Yes, it has formulaic car crashes, violence and dialogue. And the stereotypical latin and black criminals would seriously get on your nerves IF it weren't for the powerful performances by Denzel and Ethan. This is a movie designed to showcase their acting ability and it does so in a powerful way. But ever present is the underlying message that says this is how things actually are in many large urban cities. As Alonzo says, "To catch a wolf, you have to become a wolf". And that drives this movie and keeps your heart pumping at a mad pace till the very last line. Halfway into the credits you'll suddenly realize it's over and stumble around wondering what kind of world are we living in. YES, it will affect you like that! In TRAINING DAY there were many lines of dialogue that stuck in my brain; some funny and some wild. But without doubt, the most powerful one came after rookie Hoyt discovers he has been played by Alonzo all day. That Alonzo has been planning Hoyt's destruction from the beginning and he accuses Alonzo of this fact with such naivety and surprise. Alonzo turns to him and says, "[Expletive], this ain't no checkers!! This is CHESS!!". Meaning, nothing in life is about fun, it is calculated and each move done to advance the desired end result. At the end of this movie, you will be wishing for - praying for - Officer Alonzo Harris to DIE!! You will want that evil to be destroyed and for the rookie Hoyt to somehow get out of the web of evil spun for him by Alonzo. You will throw popcorn at the screen. And you will know, without the tiniest doubt, that who ever that evil guy is... it darn sure ain't Denzel. THAT is the very discription of an actor who DESERVES A BEST ACTOR OSCAR!!! I VERY HIGHLY recommend this movie. PLEASE buy it. And prepare to step outside your comfort zone.
Dr. Braxy :o)
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