User reviews

Jake(Hawke, innocent yet with some edge) has been on the force for over a year and a half now. He wants to make detective, and that means joining Narcotics. For his titular training day he must impress Alonzo(Washington, simultaneously threatening and charming). He will soon find that this is a cop who crosses the line frequently. Exactly how far is he willing to go?

The acting by both leads is amazing. Honestly, for everyone in this. Denzel steals the show, but Ethan still really makes a mark. This is immensely gritty, with many honest looks at what happens in the bad neighborhoods of LA, as told by a screenwriter and director who actually lived there. The authenticity is a huge part of why this is so compelling. With a few exceptions, you really feel like this could happen(there are things that are not very credible. Others have already detailed them, I don't really have anything to add), and it really provokes a discussion of police brutality. Despite an episodic nature, every scene has a distinct purpose in the overall narrative, although for a number of them, you won't realise what it is until later.

This contains a lot of strong language, some brutal violence, and a little nudity. I recommend it to everyone who can stomach the contents. 8/10

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!!

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.

"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?

I'm not really sure what the point of this movie was, other than to look cool and to give Denzel a badass persona with which to chew the scenery. The characters make reference to the "chess game" going on between them, but it's really a game of kick the can. They only manage to keep it moving forward one hour, at which point it just could becomes a big checkers endgame, full of black-leather gold-chain-danglin' fury, signifying nothing. This movie pistol whips you with countless racial stereotypes, and F's you up with an anticlimactic, silly ending that would be satisfying only after a hit of PCP-laced dope. The friends who recommended this to me ought get their own special brand of "street justice". Garbage.

as my personal opinion, i have to say dr.dre and snoop dogg were much more convincing as l.a. street men as denzel will ever be. all the time i could see denzel's black suite and red tie. shrug. what do i know about l.a. street life, but that's just the way i felt. meanwhile, ethan hawke, sigh, has never been my favorite actors, performs a whining mouse-like role as the partner, maybe it's supposed to be that way, didn't like it anyway.

anyhow, the strong points of this movie are good action sequences, nice street feeling and an ok plot. there are all kinds of good side characters in this film, some who are shamefully underused. actually, the lead pair is the only one that i didn't really like. the higher-then-average rating i gave came really from the general feeling in the movie, thanks to the side roles.

the last 20 minutes of the film is bucket stuff though, i've seen a similar ending a thousand times already. the director could have thought of something more original.

Denzel Washington is sensational in this, the plot might not quite match his performance but 'Training Day' is still a great watch. It's a riveting 122 minutes, I'm just not in love with how the premise is played out.

Washington's character, Alonzo, never really changes throughout, despite a supposed problem of his. I kept waiting for a reason to change the opinion that the first act puts to you regarding him but it never came, there's never a point I cared for him and I assume I was supposed to... at least to some degree? Also, his issue is thrown at you in one scene and isn't really mentioned again until the end. I get the character, just not his arc.

Ethan Hawke is very good, too, in this, even if I kept hearing Tom Cruise when he spoke... You also have a load of now familiar faces involved, including Eva Mendes, Raymond Cruz, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Terry Crews. Quite an interesting cast list, that.

Loved all of this, except the (still good) plot execution. Maybe that's just me though. From what I've seen, Washington's best performance so far. He's the main takeaway from this whatever way you look at it.

This movie is nothing more than another action movie. It has some nice action scenes and that's about it. Denzel Washington's role is overrated. The only thing that gave him the oscar is that he never played the villain. But his acting isn't that great.

It's just like if Tarantino would win an oscar for making a Disney movie...

Movie rating 5/10

One helluva good old film. Considered a classic by myself, some great acting by both Denzil Washington and Ethan Hawke.

The only really reason this movie gets a 6 from me is the ending. I really thought it was a 3 out of 10 until the ending of the movie, the ending made the movie worth watching. I me how much can you stand a rogue cop movie. It takes away your confidence in the real police to see them potrayed this way.

If you ask me, TRAINING DAY is an excellent film that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat and blow you away. Harris (Denzel Washington) kind of gave me the creeps. You'll understand why once you've seen this movie. In my opinion, the performances were top grade, the direction was superior, the costumes were perfectly designed, and the cast was perfectly chosen. Also, the soundtrack is really good, too. Before I wrap this up, I must warn you that this movie is very violent if you're going to see it, so viewer discretion is strongly advised. Now, in conclusion, if you're a fan of Denzel Washington or Ethan Hawke, I highly recommend this movie. It's sure to keep you guessing from start to finish.

One thing I will say about this film is that it has some of the best one liners ever put on film. I would say that you would have to watch this film for the one liners that Alonzo (Played by Denzel Washington) spills.

The film as itself is a lot of fun but it still has some flaws. Overall praise has to go to Denzel Washington, who is loving every minute of his performance as the villain. He does all the villain clichés, smiling, laughing and ranting, things you just love to see villains do. However, they don't just make him bad, the brilliant writing also makes him a complex character, giving a twisted morale compass. You actually question his sanity because, despite all the evil things he does, he actually thinks he is doing the right thing, its performances like this that remind me why Denzel Washington is my favorite actor and can do almost no wrong.

The film also does well at setting atmosphere, you really get a sense of these places in fact I even read that they had filmed in areas such as Compton. The appearances by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were awesome and well place and I loved the Latino gangsters that Hoyte has to face at the end of the film, one of them played by Cliff Cirtus who I believe can play any ethnic group.

However, I do have one issue with the film and that is its secondary character, Hoyte, played by Ethan Hawke. Don't get me wrong, I will take nothing away from Hawke's performance but they made the character of Hoyte so bland and predictable, the goody goody, always does right and I know thats what they were going for but they could have made him more interesting, maybe he is tempted by Alonzo and almost turns to the dark side or at the end of the film, something to make him more complex, particularly after all he has gone through.

Overall, if you like cop/crime thrillers then you will definitely enjoy this, if you want something with a lot of depth this may not be for you but hey, watch and make your own conclusion.

Training Day is a solid action crime thriller with exceptional performances by Ethan Hawke and especially Denzel Washington. Director Antoine Fuqua has done an admirable job of making this movie about a rookie cop who gets into a lot more than he bargained for while on a day with a senior rogue detective to prove he's got what it takes to be a narc. Denzel Washington is fantastic as twisted but charismatic Detective Alonzo Harris who takes a big departure from his good guy roles to play the villain in this one. Washington has show over and over again that he's a talented actor. Well he continues to prove just that in Traning Day and then some. Ethan Hawke is equally impressive as rookie cop Jake Hoyt who finds himself in one increasingly dangerous situation after another. Hawke holds his own against Washington on screen and he may not have the flashier role but he goes a very good job as the hero in this film. The rest of the supporting cast including Scott Glenn, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and a brief appearance by Tom Berenger are solid in their roles but none of them are given much to do and are merely given extended cameos. They still prove to be effective none the less in their brief screen time. The music seemed to sync very well with what was happening on the screen and the tone of the film. The brutal action violence is well executed but the showdown between Washington and Hawke near the end did get a bit unrealistic. It was still intense though and the two actors really got to show their off their acting chops in this movie. The vulgar language did get a bit much at times but the good more than outweighs the bad in this one. Despite some flaws Training Day is an entertaining action crime thriller with great performances from Hawke and especially Washington who make this movie definitely worth the time to watch.

Greetings again from the darkness. Not much to say about this except it is not much fun to watch from any perspective. Everything is over the top ... the acting, the directing, the story, the music. It is nice to see Mr. Prima Donna, Denzel, in a bad guy role, but I would much rather see him play a smart/cool bad guy than this loose cannon who would have been shot much earlier in his police career. Ethan Hawke flops through his role like a fish out of water, and what is the deal with the "3 wise men"? Looked to be some type of X-files rip off. Anyway, just a waste of time.

In his Acadamy Award Winning Performance,as best Actor.The movie, as the title suggests, follows a single day in the life of rookie cop Jake Hoyt (Hawk) as he is subject to a single day of evaluation by a senior, decorated police narcotics officer Alonzo Harris (Washington) to see if he has what it takes to be a 'narc'. Almost immediately Hoyt is placed on the back foot, constantly caught off guard by Alonzo's nature, his ability to switch between a cold, no-nonsense street-wise player, a genuinely caring and good intentioned leader, and occasionally jovial companion. From their first encounters though, where Hoyt tells Harris he will do "anything you want me to do", the situations Hoyt is taken into become more and more morally ambiguous, from the simple use of excessive force to outright illegal activity, forcing Hoyt to decide which side Harris is truly on, whether to trust him, or whether Hoyt is the unwitting centerpiece of a huge and complex web of lies and set-ups in order for Harris to for fill his own sinister motives..This is the movie that won Denzel the Oscar that year for Best Actor!! A must watch

Ethan Hawke has a "Training Day" - from hell - and learns that his trainer (Denzel Washington) is way out there in this 2001 film directed by Antoine Fuqua. Featured in the film are Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin, Eva Mendes, and Snoop Dogg.

Hawke is a young family man, Jake, who is teamed up with a decorated narcotics detective, Alonzo, to see if Jake has what it takes to work the street and go undercover. Alonzo is a very unsettling guy - joking one minute, mean the next - and Jake doesn't know quite how to take him. He just knows the job means a lot to him.

Gradually it dawns on him that a) Alonzo is more corrupt than any of the perpetrators he says he's after; and b) he's setting Jake up so that he's part of some dirty work and therefore won't be able to talk.

Really top-notch, edgy performance from Denzel Washington, who is always full of surprises, here playing an unpredictable character. This was his Oscar winning role, and it was deserved, though there's no question that he deserved it in the past too. The film is full of action, violence, and really raw characters - one certainly gets a sense of the mean streets from watching this film. Ethan Hawke acts just as a man who doesn't know what's going on would - unsure, embarrassed, nervous, scared, but very determined and quick-thinking, as he realizes what he's gotten himself into.

Shocking, violent, bloody, and fast - that about sums it up. Some excellent performances along the way, too, from everyone involved.

To tell you the truth,

now that i am commenting on this movie i do have a "guilty feeling", giving this movie a score of : 1 out of 10.

So i changed it to : 4 Out Of 10!

But really after watching it : i couldn't really do anything else!

The hole show was Denzel Washington and to this day now i really can't understand why the plot was so predictably Poor!

It's easy to predict a "Denzel Washington-Movie" when you see it. Because the role is always the same : "A man ho has to run from his family to protect his wife and child and also has to deal with the mafia. or like in this movie he deals with Drug-mafia's and for once he's the Bad Guy!."

This one wasn't special although i must admit i have a "Soft-Spot" for the "Beautiful, Foxy and Sexy Femme Fatale" Eva Mendes.

This movie just didn't do it for me.

Denzel Washington is an actor but is he a great actor?

He has won an Oscar, but let me ask you this : Is everyone ho wins an Oscar "Worthy" of winning the Prize?

Is John Ruiz truly a Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world?

Is Lennox Lewis one of the all-time great Heavyweight Boxing champions?

The answer on the Denzel Washington question will always be a split decision, in my eyes.

The best movie i saw of him was : "The Hurricane".

That was truly a brilliant performance, but "Training Day" is not.

And i think that movie will always make the grade in my book.

The "annoying" thing about this movie is that the "predictability" is pretty "obvious and boring".

When i mean "Predictability" i mean : Guns, Drugs, Mafia, shootout and This and that.

And even if Denzel played the "Bad Guy".

There wasn't anything "Special" about that role.

Russell Crowe's "Beautiful Mind" but especially Will Smith's Ali are much better "Performance's".

Some people on "this Board" seem to think this movie is "real day to day life." or think that this Denzel's best performance.

Well i don't think so!

Hurricane was his best, Malcolm X i wasn't impressed with and Out Of Time was Good to watch but Sanaa Lathan and again Eva Mendes made it even more Tasty!

And all that talk about this movie being real "day to day" life?

How "Out of touch" can you be?

At the end of the day everyone is in titled to his opinion.

So my conclusion : This movie isn't one of "Denzel's" better performance's. Eva Mendes will always be "Beautiful" on the screen, she is a "Very Underrated" Talent.

Ethan Hawke seemingly is very popular for his "role", witch was pretty good.

And there are a lot of "unnecessary" "Rappers" invited like Dr. Dre and Snoop "Doggy" Dogg.

And that doesn't much help the credibility of the "real life case" of this movie, that is put forward by some people on this board.

And although the movie is rated "High" by many in my eyes the movie was nothing special than a "Mediocre, Nothing Special Predictable" Performance.

For the people ho enjoy these kind of "Action, Drug Mafia and Denzel type movies" I'd recommend it.

But for people ho are looking for "more" depth and a better or a more "Real Life" performance, i say : This is not the movie for You!

My Score : 4.2

"Groeten" from Gerrit