Loud, Over-the-Top Movie That Tries Too Hard for Street Cred

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2015)

(Spoiler Alert in below review)
"Training Day" desperately tries to achieve "street cred" and just winds up overshooting its target.
This movie would have been much more effective (and realistic) if it'd gone for a more low-key approach. The problem with today's Hollywood is that the first rule of movie-making is always MORE, MORE, MORE.
But the subtle, low-key approach has its advantages. It would have given this movie the street credibility that it so desperately tries to achieve.
Yes, there are rogue, out-of-control cops in America in real-life. It'd be nice if we could get a half-way realistic film about this problem.
But instead, we get this loud, over-the-top, ham-fisted movie that won't have any more real-world impact than the latest superhero/comic book movie.
A more subtle, low-key movie could maybe have shed a little light on the rogue cop phenomenon (and perhaps even let us relate to the rogue cops on some level and understand what drives them to act the way they do). In fact, it appears that this movie makes at least a half- hearted effort to achieve just that. But it fails.
Maybe some people in the audience related to why the Denzel character acted the way he did. But I thought he was just a one- dimensional jerk who was abusing the badge.
A lot of his dialogue was presented as being a lot more profound than it really was. Actually, a lot of it (along with his actions) didn't make a lot of sense (spoiler alert) starting with the premise of bringing a new guy along on a day of outrageous antics that would have shocked the most jaded, crooked veteran rogue cop.
This movie not only fails as a work of art, it is an insult to real- life police officers.