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Movies / On DVD / Training Day
Training Day

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Training Day (2001)

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Reviews Counted:152

Fresh:109

Rotten:43

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: The ending may be less than satisfying, but Denzel Washington reminds us why he's such a great actor in this taut and brutal police drama.

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Every day, there is a war being waged on America’s inner city streets – a war between residents, drug dealers and the people sworn to protect one from the other. This war has its casualties, none... Every day, there is a war being waged on America’s inner city streets – a war between residents, drug dealers and the people sworn to protect one from the other. This war has its casualties, none greater than L.A.P.D. Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (DENZEL WASHINGTON), a 13-year veteran narcotics officer whose questionable methodology blurs the line between legality and corruption. His optimism has long since been chipped away by his tour of duty in the streets, where fighting crime by the book can get you killed, and getting the job done often requires Alonzo and his colleagues to break the laws they are empowered to enforce. A gritty, realistic drama set in the morally ambiguous world of undercover police investigation, Training Day shadows Alonzo as he tests the resolve of idealistic rookie Jake Hoyt (ETHAN HAWKE), who has one day and one day only to prove himself to his fiercely charismatic superior. Over the next 24 hours, Jake will be pulled deeper and deeper into the ethical mire of Alonzo’s logic as both men put their lives and careers on the line to serve their conflicting notions of justice. Training Day is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to decide what is necessary, what is heroic and what crosses the line in the harrowing gray zone of fighting urban crime. Does law-abiding law enforcement come at the expense of justice and public safety? If so, do we demand safe streets at any cost? Or do we risk our security by insisting that those empowered to protect us do so within the boundaries of the law? At a time when police across the nation are battling a public image of rampant corruption, narcotics use, planting evidence and excess brutality while patrolling the meanest streets of America, Training Day paints a gripping and realistic portrait of the war taking place on the urban front lines – and just how high the costs of this battle can be. -- © Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger

Starring: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Eva Mendes, Dr. Dre, Raymond J. Barry, Will Foster Stewart, Harris Yulin, Macy Gray

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Screenwriter: David Ayer
Producer: Jeffrey Silver, Robert Newmyer
Composer: Mark Mancina
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for Training Day

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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The movie moves rapidly, is extremely violent and not entirely plausible.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment 2 Comments
04/09/08
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

Marred slightly by an unsatisfactory climax, this is a cracking cop drama anchored by great performances and intelligent direction from Fuqua.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Chris Hewitt (UK)
Chris Hewitt (UK)
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Fuqua keeps it slick and sleazy and stokes up the race some, but this only accelerates the movie's deafening rush toward the top and ever over.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Trashy cop-thriller entertainment of the highest quality: well-made and superbly acted, with Washington in line for a possible Oscar nomination.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

There's an edgy, authentic rhythm to this gritty undercover cop drama that's boosted by strong performances ... and then undermined by an appalling ending.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/20/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

As if the LAPD needed any more bad publicity.

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
02/26/02
FilmFour.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If its content is over-the-top, well, it's still engrossing.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
02/10/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Good to see Denzel Washington get the meaty villainous role he deserves.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/03/02
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A brutal, fierce, and tense police thriller, Training Day takes a well-worn format and infuses it with freshness and verve.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/21/02
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/28/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Stacie Hougland
Stacie Hougland
Hollywood.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

If he makes it through the trial by fire -- and a blandly twisting plot with no meaningful revelations or substantial themes -- Hawke will get a promotion, but there's nothing in it for us.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 2 Comments
04/09/08
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

This isn't a serious movie, despite Denzel Washington in full eruption and giving his calloused lines more weight and authority than they deserve.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
08/05/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Cast against type as a corrupt cop, Denzel Washington, usually seen in noble and heroic roles, is nothing short of brilliant; with some luck, he should earn an Oscar nomination.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment 1 Comment
01/04/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Alonzo's test of Jake's mettle is paralleled by the implicit acting challenge Washington's formidable work presents to Hawke, and like his character, the well-cast Hawke proves up to the demanding task, at times rather surprisingly so.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
Film Threat

Thumbs up, without question. Unfortunately, Training Day could have been so much more than it is.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
10/01/05
Steven Snyder
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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