Training Day

LAPD narcotics detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) takes rookie detective Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) on his training day. Alonzo is a harsh spoken street-wise cop pushing the envelop in South Central L.A. Mostly he goes right over the edge.

This is all Denzel all the time. It's his relentless power. There's no logic or plot worthy of following. That's not the point of this movie. The audience is Ethan Hawke as he tries at first to submit to the Denzel hurricane. Then we're trying gather our feet in the storm. Finally we have to make a decision about his character. This is a tour-de-force performance from Denzel and nothing less.

Wow! What a superb film, Denzel Washington at his superb best. Denzel plays a terrific part as Alonzo Harris, a cop with a dark personality.

From the moment you set eyes on him you can relies that Alonzo is a feisty character, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Ethan Hawke provides excellent backup but Denzel steals the show. I don't want to give an plot lines away but there are only three movies in cinema history I have given 10/10, and this one was so close to being number four.

I sincerely hope to see Denzel put in another performance like this one.

Plot is excellent as it leads you into false sense of securities and even shouting at the TV set.

I loved every breathtaking moment of this film and I am sure you will too.

Quite extraordinary.

"Training Day" was a very good movie. I like movies that shove it in your face and make you deal with it...movies like, "Black Hawk Down"...no clichés, no touching moments, just brutal, bitter realism. "Training Day" was such a movie. However, the one thing that made this film really shine was the performance by Mr. Washington. To me, a good actor is someone who just IS a character...if it isn't obvious that they are acting than they are doing a good job. That was the case with Washingon. He just was Alonzo. Every pantomime, every word, every glance was performed masterfully. Did Mr. Washington deserve his Oscar? Absolutely. 200%. Some people say, "not Oscar material" and I must wonder, what film...what performance were they watching?

This movie impressed me by its great quality in all ways, the story, thrilling with great police detective action and the most remarkable aspect of the movie was the acting performances of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke; they put his soul on the characters making this movie a total delight for those who like action films with intelligent scripts and also like for high quality films.

About the Movie: Ethan Hawke plays Jake Hoyt, a rookie police officer with a good curriculum that is assigned to a one day trial day in order to qualify for a narcotics division in Los Angeles. Hawke meets then detective Alonzo Haris (Denzel Washington) who was assigned as trainer and evaluator for this rookie. Hoyt wants fiercely to get this assignment, but finds very orthodoxes and quaint ways to "protet and to serve" of Alonzo. In this day Hoyt will meet a true challenge and will face the total opposite way to proceed from the one he learned in the academy; he will also face some of the more dangerous neighborhoods and streets of Los Angeles.

I know I'm late as hell and I hate to break the overall 'vibe' about this movie but this movie was great when I saw it in the theater and gets better every time I watch it over again. And this is mainly because of the performances by Denzel and Ethan. I don't know what you guys expected but the movie CLEARLY suggests that Denzel is a crooked, burnt-out, streetwise cop and Ethan is a 'wet-behind-the-ears' clueless rookie. So knowing that, WHAT DID YOU GUYS EXPECT, Malcolm X, Remember The Titans, The Hurricane?? If you were, then maybe you all need to be checked out. The reason why this movie was so great is because it wasn't the typical Denzel 'role model' movie. We KNOW that he can play those roles well so it's a testament to his acting ability that he can portray the other side of the spectrum. And my hat goes off to Ethan because he bounces off Denzel flawlessly.

I hate to break the news to you guys but cops like Alonzo ARE OUT THERE and need to be acknowledged. Acting like the problem doesn't exist does not solve it. You don't have to go that deep to know that Alonzo was once a good cop who just got fed up w/ 'police procedures.' If you acknowledge that Jake's shallow-mindedness at the beginning of the film only allows him to look at the perks of making detective and how the progress of the day transforms him, you can really appreciate Ethan's portrayal of him. Let's face it, a bad day at the office when you're a narcotics detective differs greatly from that of an office executive and the different stresses can warrant different results.

Even the street rhetoric was authentic. Maybe you guys need to get out of the 'burbs more. You guys didn't actually expect eloquent dialogue with little or no profanity, did you? The only part of this movie I struggle with is Dr. Dre's terrible overacting and that isn't nearly enough to take away from the overall result.

Next time you guys bash a movie, make sure to try to be objective and rate what you see and not what you're used to seeing!!