On T List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
Training Day (2001)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
6/03, 6/17
6/17:
Training Day...now, that shit will get you fired.
Just ask Dean Zipes, a Florida sheriff's deputy who recently acted out a scene from the movie by rubbing his pistol and Taser
together in the direction of a convenience store in front of a police trainee. Beaming with pride, Alonzo Harris might as
well call him "my niggah."
I saw Training Day in 2003 and hated it. Seeing the movie again, my sentiment remains the same. I'm having too much
cognitive dissonance just like Ethan Hawke's character. The feeling has been mutual as in "what the fuck?"
It's one of the most manipulative movies I've ever seen. What Alonzo Harris did is unrealistic, outrageous, and
impossible. He sure has his way with words. Who drives a car in public with multiple gunshots in the rear windshield?
As for Denzel Washington, it's the most Denzel performance ever, earning himself a second Oscar. I suppose he
deserved it, and there's no getting around that fact. Ethan Hawke isn't bad himself. As a result, he was Oscar-nominated.
It could've been worse because everybody was ready to roll with Tobey Maguire until Ethan Hawke became available at
the last minute when the shooting was about to commence.
The first half is okay, but it's during the second when the film fell apart by becoming cartoonish as evidenced by the
absurd ending. As a result, Denzel Washington's character lost credibility and could be safely dismissed with a
wave of the hand as long as it's supported by a loaded gun.
All in all, Denzel Washington makes Training Day an unforgettable, albeit unbelievable, picture.