Searing Work From Washington and Fuqua

Rating: 8/10 (17 October 2001)

Audiences looking for a big, mindless, action-driven cop flick in Training Day will be surprised by two things: director Antoine Fuqua, who made the dismally mediocre Jaime Foxx vehicle, "Bait", has molded an adult, tense, mature, and engrossing action-drama, and two, Denzel Washington has eschewed his good guy persona, playing a charismatic but unlikable rogue cop.
While the story of corrupt cops lurking in the police department may be done to death, a certain timeliness is present with such stories as the recent LAPD Rampart scandal. Ethan Hawke plays a rookie-cop who hopes to work his way up the rungs of the LAPD to detective by working with seasoned undercover narcotics cop Washington. Washington proves, however, to have questionable methods of investigation and procedure. Hawke unwittingly is drawn into the sickly logical and charasmatic musings of Washington until he ends up unwittingly becoming a participant in a coverup.
Again, the story has been done before, but rarely has it been tackled with such a tense, uneasy, and guttural realism. Director Antoine Fuqua injects the film with a searing authenticity: LA hasn't been such an uninviting. dangerous, ugly urban jungle in a while, with bleak, rainy shots of the city swimming in dirt, litter, and graffiti. The use of realistic looking and acting gang members, and also the cameo appearances of rap stars helps keep tensions high as well, and also adds striking resonance.

Anchoring the whole movie is Denzel Washington, in a refreshing change from his usual upstanding, righteous roles. As the corrupt cop, he gleefully goes for broke in a manic, antihero, larger-than-life performance so unlike his previous work that it will surely garner him an Oscar nomination.

While the last 15 minutes almost undo the fantastic work by the cast and crew, Training Day is an accomplished renewal in the cop movie genre, a promising feature in Fuqua's career, and another great performance under Denzel Washington's belt.
8 out of 10