Matt's Reviews: Training Day
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Rating: 3 handguns
I'm a huge fan of Denzel Washington, who plays Alonzo, the corrupt cop. He argues that
no one is clean, and that to fight crime effectively, he has to cross the line.
He says that he can't be constrained by the law. But his argument quickly seems
ridiculous, as he shoots one of his friends, and takes his money, in
order to pay off his gambling debts.
Ethan Hawke is solid as Jake, a wide-eyed young policeman witnessing
Alonzo's behavior. The ending is kind of silly, involving a big fight between
Jake and Alonzo. A lot of hitting, blood, and gunfire. It's almost as if they
got to the end of the movie and realized that they had to satisfy the requirements
of the "corrupt cop" genre movie. And actually, that's regretable, because
in a lot of ways, this movie is more than just a "corrupt cop" genre movie. It's
a movie with some real heart that may give you some insight.
This movie is rated violent, and disturbing. Actually, my father and I went
to see it in the movies, and he found it so objectionable that he walked out
after 20 minutes.
"I can't believe that the police could be that corrupt and violent," he commented, "and if
they are, I don't want to know."
I agree that this movie violent and disturbing- but yet it does have echoes of real
life. Recently the LAPD endured a major scandal when an LAPD policemen
testified that he had shot innocent people, and arrested them as criminals.
A Chicago cop was arrested for similar behavior. Sometimes
I pick up a newspaper and say, "Hey- that's just like
that movie, Training Day!"
TRAINING DAY (2001)
Directed by Antoine Fuqua; written by David Ayer; director of photography, Mauro Fiore; edited by Conrad Buff; music by Mark Mancina;
production designer, Naomi Shohan; produced by Jeffrey Silver
and Bobby Newmeyer; released by Warner Brothers Pictures.
Running time: 120 minutes. This film is rated R.
WITH: Denzel Washington (Alonzo Harris), Ethan Hawke (Jake Hoyt), Scott Glenn (Roger), Macy Gray (Sandman's Wife), Tom Berenger (Stan), Cliff Curtis (Smiley), Dr. Dre (Paul) and Snoop Dogg (Sammy).
Directed by Jonathan Lynn.