Alonzo
Harris (Denzel Washington)
Jake
Hoyt (Ethan Hawke)
Roger
(Scott Glenn)
Stan
(Tom Berenger)
Paul
(Dr. Dre)
Sammy
(Snoop Dogg)
Directed
by Antoine Fuqua
Written
by David Ayer
Running
Time: 122 minutes
Distributed by Warner Bros.
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Training
Day is a powerful film that looks into the world of corruption
in the Los Angeles police force. Jake Hoyt (Hawke) is a rookie
cop that believes he is getting a shot at doing some real
police work (narcotics). The audience first meets Hoyt in
his small home, and we feel the love that he has for his wife
and newborn baby. This day is considered his training day
(first day as a narcotics officer). His boss and mentor for
the day is Detective Sgt. Alonzo Harris (Washington). Harris
is cocky, touch, and most of all intimidating. Through the
two characters’ first encounter, we see the wickedness
and awareness of Harris. He takes Hoyt around the streets
of Los Angeles, preaching and expressing his philosophy of
street justice. The young cop tries to amend with him, but
begins to disagree with his methods. Harris explains that
on the streets one has to be the wolf and take matters into
in one’s own hands. The young rookie is engulfed into
this corrupted world and must make a decision of acceptance
or denial.
Training
Day is a well done film that will leave you yearning for more.
All aspects in the film work for the most part in delivering
this crime drama.
Antoine
Fuqua patiently directed Training Day. Fuqua’s previous
credits include the sloppy Replacement Killers and the average
Bait. With Training Day, this young director raises the stakes
and throws the audience up-close and personal with the Los
Angeles crime world. Fuqua chose to shoot most or maybe all
of the film on location in the ghettoes and crime-filled streets
of Los Angeles. This choice gives more realism to the look
of the film, with the sunsets and other elements of reflectiveness.
Fuqua doesn’t get carried away with his action scenes,
like he did with Bait, the story is the centerpiece and the
action is more supportive than exploitative. The director
also delivers one of the most intense scenes in a film I have
seen all year. I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say
it contains Ethan Hawke’s character in a bathroom.
David
Ayer, who wrote the summer hit The Fast and The Furious, wrote
Training Day. The script’s content is superb, but I thought
that the characters are what really made this story click.
Like I spoke of earlier, the first time Harris and Hoyt meet
is just terrific, and the mannerisms along with the dialogue
(Harris’ philosophy) just give the actors more juice
for their roles to work with. I don’t want to say that
the whole corruption side of the film is limited, but I did
want to see more of it. An example is some of the secrets
of the film; it would have been better with more depth to
the subplots. The only real problem I had with the script
was that I felt like the last twenty minutes kind of went
overboard. The flow of the film leads there being more intensity
and closure to the story, than the way it closes.
Denzel
Washington is just absolutely brilliant in the role of Alonzo
Harris. He develops this evil being that speaks his mind,
and is so convincing in making wrong seem right. Audiences
might be surprised by his performance, because it is nothing
like his previous work. Some might see Ethan Hawke’s
performance as Jake Hoyt to be a mere shadow of Washington’s
presence, but I thought that he was right there with him.
Hawke is very sharp and bold with his acting in this film.
Also, the two actors worked exceptionally well off of one
another and create a hidden chemistry. In my opinion, this
is some of the best work of these two respectable actors’
careers.
Training
Day is a crime drama that might not be for all audiences.
However, I believe most adult audiences will enjoy this film,
even though it is dark. I think audiences will applaud Washington’s
turn as a villain, and it will probably earn him another Oscar
nomination.
Report
Card Grade: B+
Beastman’s
Movie Reviews
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