The movie moves rapidly, is extremely violent and not entirely plausible.
Training Day (2001)
Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins
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 greater than L.A.P.D. Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (DENZEL WASHINGTON), a 13-year veteran... 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]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Snoop Doggy Dogg
Screenwriter: David Ayer
Producer: Jeffrey Silver, Robert Newmyer
Composer: Mark Mancina
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 8, 2006
Blu-ray Disc Features:
- Blue BD Case
- Widescreen - 2.40
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English, French (Quebec)
- Dolby Digital Surround Sound 2.0 - Latin Spanish
- Subtitles - English SDH, English, French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Trailer - 1. Theatrical Trailer
- Commentaries - 1. Antoine Fuqua - Director
- Featurettes - 1. Additional Scenes
- 2. Alternate Ending
- 3. "HBO First Look: The Making of TRAINING DAY"
- 4. Music Video - Nelly - "#1"
- 5. Music Video - Pharoahe Monch - "Got You"
Reviews
Marred slightly by an unsatisfactory climax, this is a cracking cop drama anchored by great performances and intelligent direction from Fuqua.
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.
Trashy cop-thriller entertainment of the highest quality: well-made and superbly acted, with Washington in line for a possible Oscar nomination.
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.
Good to see Denzel Washington get the meaty villainous role he deserves.
A brutal, fierce, and tense police thriller, Training Day takes a well-worn format and infuses it with freshness and verve.
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.
This isn't a serious movie, despite Denzel Washington in full eruption and giving his calloused lines more weight and authority than they deserve.
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.
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.
Thumbs up, without question. Unfortunately, Training Day could have been so much more than it is.
Denzel Washington delivers a remarkable performance in this enthralling and unique tale of a corrupt cop, completely transforming himself into an unexpectedly imposing threat.
...an intelligent and riveting action movie that doesn't rely on a lot of special effects to tell a genuinely interesting story.
While most critics have chosen to highlight Washington's performance as the standout, it would be unfair not to mention Ethan Hawke, who plays the rookie Hoyt with a perfect patina of guileless enthusiasm.
It is unfortunate that the script by David Ayer is so riddled with pretense, but Washington, Hawke, and their supporting cast do all they can to play through.
Denzel Washington’s performance is tremendous… really up there amongst the best of his career.
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