DVD Review: Training Day (B+)

Training Day
Directed By Antoine Fuqua
Starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

This is a stellar film. The raves poured in for Denzel Washington on this one, and its clear to see why. The acting is first rate all around (Ethan Hawke is excellent here) but Denzel goes above and beyond anything that I ever expected.

The story revolves around young rookie cop Ethan Hawke starting his first day as an undercover narcotics officer. He reports to Denzel, who takes him under his wing on the first day (aka training day). Denzel takes him through a serious "Wake up and see the crime all around you" schooling, dragging him through the ganglands of LA. As the day wears on however, it becomes clear that Denzel's character is not only pushing the limits of accepted police work, he's going way over the line.

What makes this film stand out is the remarkable performance of Denzel as Detective Alonzo Harris, an intense, brutally honest cop that has seriously gone bad. I mean Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant bad. Lawrence Fishburne in Deep Cover bad. Ice T in.. well, everything bad. Detective Harris can almost be compared to Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, as they both went out to fight a war, and then found themselves out of control, with methods that are unsound.

The ending of this turns out disappointing as the plot degrades into a rather unoriginal Hollywood style ending. I would have liked to see this movie go in another direction at the end. But, with the solid performances of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke making this film so mesmerizing, this film is still a must see.

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