This Day in Theaters: Oct. 5, 2001

Training Day (2001)

In October 2001 the United States was less than one month removed from the horrible events of 9/11 and there were no heroes higher on the pedestal higher than fireman and police officers. So to get a film about a corrupt narcotics detective taking a young cop under is wing for a day to see if he is up to the task was an interesting contrast to the mood in America. But once we saw Denzel, playing the corrupt detective, wearing the skullcap and chains forcing Ethan Hawke, the by the book greenhorn, to smoke PCP we knew we were in for an interesting ride. We get to experience the gritty life of being an undercover narcotics officer in LA for a day; one helluva a day I might ad. With run ins with street gangs, drug deals, blackmail, the Russian mob, and a trip to the girlfriend's (Eva Mendes) hood this is one day both we and Ethan Hawke won't forget.

Claudia Puig of USA Today:

"Training Day presents a tug of war between idealism and pragmatism, the force of good and the lure of evil — though it is somewhat troubling that malevolence is personified by the older black cop and goodness by the young white cop. For people who view the world through a black-and-white lens, the movie could feed into racial stereotypes. But bravo to Washington for not letting political correctness dictate the casting of a meaty role.

With its unflinching style, Training Day can be hard to sit through at times. But it's worth the discomfort for the adrenaline rush of the plot and Washington's compelling performance."

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wasn't so sold on this one:

"...the only thing tawdrier than the violence in ''Training Day'' is the series of jaw-dropping plot coincidences that propels the entire last act. (Gee, that Catholic schoolgirl just happened to be...) By then, the audience, drawn by the chance to see Denzel Washington in a new (dark) light, may have given up on a movie that is hardly worthy of his efforts."

Denzel's Swag > Your Swag

Many of the reviews out there focus on the performance of the two leads: Denzel taking a turn as a bad guy and Ethan Hawke doing what he does best, going along for a ride. As weird as it sounds this seems like the role Denzel was born to play and you can see how much fun he had. He really went all out to convey himself as a real despicable human being and the edge of realism brought out by director Antoine Fuqua helped make us feel like we were in Hawke's shoes riding along. As usual in films that are supposed to take place in one 24 hour period we are treated to some intertwined events that end up assisting the protagonist and contributing to the downfall of the protagonist but what "Training Day" does best is make it believable that the bad guy could succeed and the good guy loose. Filming on location in some not so nice neighborhoods with real gang members standing contributed to its gritty feel and intensity which was matched by the performances of all those involved. This is not just another cop film, or another corrupt cop film for that matter, it is an very entertaining flick about two strong characters that happen to be policemen. If you haven't seen this one go out and rent it as I don't recommend watching it on TV with commercials. This film is the real deal. 

IMDb Score: 7.6

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%