Training Day
Reviews
Bazzjazz
This Film has to be one of the most intense shows I’ve seen . Ethan Hawke and Denzel are a great match together. Ethan plays the supporting role majestically. Great cameos in the show too. With Snoop Dog. Macy Gray, Tom Berrenger . But the show is highly tense. But good entertainment. “Are You a Wolf Or A Sheep?”
Wuchak
_**Great urban thriller**_ Ethan Hawke plays Hoyt, a rookie cop on his first 24-hour training day with the L.A.P.D. narcotics division. Denzel Washington plays veteran Alonzo Harris whose methods seem questionable, to say the least. Harris argues that one has to become a wolf to take down a wolf. Will Hoyt make it through the day alive, let alone uncorrupted? "Training Day" had a lukewarm reception at the box office the first weekend of its release in 2001, but the profits steadily increased for the next six weeks as word-of-mouth spread. The greatness of "Training Day" is not simply due to the intriguing story and excellent writing, but also the superb casting. Hawke is perfect as the naive, but ambitious rookie and Washington is nothing short of stunning as Alonzo Harris, ranking with the best performances in cinematic history, like Jon Voight's Manny in "Runaway Train" or Robert Duvall's Col. Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now." As the training day continues Alonzo's methodology becomes increasingly dubious and you can just imagine Hoyt responding, "I... don't... see... any... method... at... all... Sir." How can anyone withstand the temptations he faces and not give in (and I don't mean the drugs)? Needless to say, the film scores high marks on the moral conundrum front. There's one obviously contrived element but that's par for the course with movies and it could've been worse. Of course, the action and thrills are amped-up, but the tone is thankfully realistic. BOTTOM LINE: "Training Day" is an excellent urban thriller with a captivating performance by Washington. It's fittingly ugly, raw and brutal, so stay away if you don't think you can stomach it. The film runs 2 hours, 2 minutes, and was shot in L.A. Peripheral actors include Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Eva Mendes, Charlotte Ayanna, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. GRADE: A-
r96sk
Denzel Washington is sensational in this, the plot might not quite match his performance but <em>'Training Day'</em> 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.
GenerationofSwine
This movie is meh at best. The plot is so-so. This isn't anything to write home about. You could make it into a B-Movie and no one would care. No one likes Training Day for Training Day... they all just love Denzel Washington's performance in Training Day, and that is just an honest fact. The movie wouldn't be anything if he didn't deliver and what he delivered was so sensational that people are going to be talking about it decades after we pass. And that is what people like. They like how deliciously evil Denzel was in the role. They like that he had free reign, as a villain, to make the role as memorable as possible. And he did, he knocked it out of the park. So now, people watch Training Day, but let's be honest, they are only watching it for Denzel Washington, and that is as it should be, he was stellar in this, he deserves the recognition, and it's one of those movies that is otherwise so meh that his performance just shines out as the only thing really great about it. Even this rating, 10 out of 10 stars? It's not because the movie was good, it's 100% based on Denzel Washington.
CinemaSerf
Ethan Hawke is on great form here as the rookie "Jake" assigned to the street-wise "Alonzo" (Denzel Washington) so he can learn the ropes on the highly dangerous streets of Los Angeles. Unsure as to whether not he is the one being tested, he finds himself being placed in a series of increasingly dubious scenarios by his new partner - each one testing how far he will go; how far he might "bend" the rules - just how ruthless can he be? What is soon clear is that "Alonzo" has few, if any, boundaries - and we are fairly rapidly immersed in a tale of police corruption and brutality. Will "Jake" join that lucrative club, or will he remain steadfast? I am not sure I remember Washington in such an ambiguous role before, and he plays it really well. The dynamic between the two men goes full circle from that of one dependant and slightly awe-inspired to one that puts lives, quite literally, on the line. Antoine Fuqua uses a combination of tautly played-out scenarios, spiky dialogue and plenty of attitude to deliver this solid and superior crime thriller. Well worth seeing on a big screen if you can find it.
Movie Recommendation
Man on Fire2004-04-23Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.More...
Inside Man2006-03-17When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.More...
The Hurricane1999-09-17The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.More...
American Gangster2007-11-02Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.More...
Unstoppable2010-11-04When a massive, unmanned locomotive roars out of control, the threat is more ominous than just a derailment. The train is laden with toxic chemicals, and an accident would decimate human life and cause an environmental disaster. The only hope of bringing the train to a safe stop is in the hands of veteran engineer Frank Barnes, and young conductor Will Colson, who must risk their lives to save those in the runaway's path. Inspired by true events.More...
Malcolm X1992-11-18A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.More...
Crimson Tide1995-05-12After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey signs on a relatively green but highly recommended Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter to the USS Alabama, which may be the only ship able to stop a possible Armageddon. When Ramsey insists that the Alabama must act aggressively, Hunter, fearing they will start rather than stop a disaster, leads a potential mutiny to stop him.More...
Remember the Titans2000-09-29After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.More...
The Bone Collector1999-11-04Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.More...
He Got Game1998-05-01A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.More...
Glory1989-12-15Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.More...
John Q2002-02-15John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.More...
Déjà Vu2006-11-22Called in to recover evidence in the aftermath of a horrific explosion on a New Orleans ferry, Federal agent Doug Carlin gets pulled away from the scene and taken to a top-secret government lab that uses a time-shifting surveillance device to help prevent crime.More...
Trainspotting1996-02-23Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.More...
Any Given Sunday1999-12-22A star quarterback gets knocked out of the game and an unknown third stringer is called in to replace him. The unknown gives a stunning performance and forces the aging coach to reevaluate his game plans and life. A new co-owner/president adds to the pressure of winning. The new owner must prove herself in a male dominated world.More...
A.I. Artificial Intelligence2001-06-29David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.More...
Out of Time2003-10-03Matt Lee Whitlock, respected chief of police in small Banyan Key, Florida, must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under suspicion. Matt Lee has to stay a few steps ahead of his own police force and everyone he's trusted in order to find out the truth.More...
Flight2012-02-22Commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker has a problem with drugs and alcohol, though so far he's managed to complete his flights safely. His luck runs out when a disastrous mechanical malfunction sends his plane hurtling toward the ground. Whip pulls off a miraculous crash-landing that results in only six lives lost. Shaken to the core, Whip vows to get sober -- but when the crash investigation exposes his addiction, he finds himself in an even worse situation.More...
The Manchurian Candidate2004-07-30Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. As Marco's doubts deepen, Shaw's political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mysterious implant embedded in his back, the memory of what really happened begins to return.More...
Philadelphia1993-12-22Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.More...
Similar Movies
The Dark Knight
2008-07-16Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.Predator 2
1990-11-21A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.The Wizard
1989-12-15A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross-country, with help from a girl they meet, to compete in the ultimate video-game championship.Jackie Brown
1997-12-25Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.A Clockwork Orange
1971-10-28In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?Sin City
2005-04-01Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.Sin City: A Dame to K...
2014-08-20Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.The Terminator
1984-10-26In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?East of Eden
1955-04-10In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.Young Adam
2003-09-26A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.Live and Let Die
1973-06-27James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.The Division
2020-01-09In the 90s, Rio de Janeiro was shaken by a wave of kidnappings. Security forces call controversial agents to help save the city from thugs and also from the police itself.Angel of Death
2013-06-13Steven Seagal reprises his role as Seattle undercover cop Elijah Kane in this action thriller from the True Justice series. Responding to fresh intel, Kane and his team have to intercept and neutralise the threat from terrorists attempting to offload nuclear bombs hidden in two smuggled suitcases. If that wasn't bad enough, Kane is convinced that 'The Ghost' is trying to lay his hands on them.Mulholland Drive
2001-06-06Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.The French Connection...
1971-10-09Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.Breathless
1983-05-13Jesse, a small-time criminal, high-tails it to Los Angeles to rendezvous with a French exchange student. Stealing a car and accidentally killing a highway patrolman, he becomes the most wanted fugitive in L.A.Arlington Road
1999-03-19Bedraggled college professor Michael Faraday has been vexed — and increasingly paranoid — since his wife's accidental death in a botched FBI operation. When a seemingly all-American couple set up house next door, Michael begins to suspect there’s more to them than meets the eye.Point Break
1991-07-12In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could be surfers, the F.B.I. sends young agent Johnny Utah to the beach undercover to mix with the surfers and gather information.Catch a Fire
2006-10-27The true story of anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, and particularly the life of Patrick Chamusso, a timid foreman at Secunda CTL, the largest synthetic fuel plant in the world. Patrick is wrongly accused, imprisoned and tortured for an attempt to bomb the plant, with the injustice transforming the apolitical worker into a radicalised insurgent, who then carries out his own successful sabotage mission.Notes on a Scandal
2006-12-25A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.