Unbelievable!

Rating: 6/10 (20 July 2003)

This isn't a film about the moral amiguities of a modern plain clothes cop, or the blurring of the line between right and wrong. Denzel's character marches over the line with such incredible abandon that from early on in the film all sense of realism is lost. Ethan Hawke does a pretty good job of playing the rookie dazed by the events of his Training Day, but even he can't rescue this script. I'm surprised that Denzel got an oscar for this because his portrayal is so over the top, although I can't say he doesn't deserve it for his overall body of work. This film does ask some serious questions, but in such a loaded way that the answer is never really in any doubt. The ending is just laughable, but at least its the ending.