Pass the Popcorn review

Rating: 7/10 (15 August 2013)

Denzel Washington won an Oscar for best actor in 2002 for the movie Training Day. Considering the other nominees and Washington's performance, I wouldn't say he deserved it – he wasn't bad, but didn't make an impression either. He based his character on Rafael Perez, a former police officer involved in the LAPD Rampart scandal who covered up robberies and murders.
Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) has always wanted to be a police officer so he could rid the society of drugs and dealers. On his first day on the job, however, a much more experienced policeman, detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington), takes him around town in his car and shows him that being a police officer is nothing like he imagined.
I didn't like this movie, even though it's very good. I found the story to be original, even though it follows the classic good cop vs. bad cop scheme and you can see it from the start: detective Alonzo is irritating, violent, full of himself but he's also experienced; Jake Hoyt, on the other hand, is a family man, an idealist and, maybe one could even say, a fool – but we like him, feel for him and wish his vision of society was the true one. Hawke and Washington both deliver good performances, which makes this movie good since it mostly focuses on their interactions and overall relationship that develops in one day.
Training Day is very violent, therefore it would be difficult for me to watch it multiple times. Another problem with the movie is that it becomes boring from time to time – there are some parts you simply must sit through to get to the good parts. On the other hand, some of the twists were truly intelligent and unexpected. The cinematography and the soundtrack are good too. But the ending seems abrupt, and certain characters should have been more developed, or at least given more screen time – especially those Alonzo calls "the three wise men". All in all, Training Day is a good movie, and you're guaranteed to like it if you fancy violence and action.
Rating: 7/10 Read more at http://passpopcorn.wordpress.com/