A must see film

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2002)

Once in awhile, a film comes along and totally catches you off guard. Training day,is one of those films. I just had expected a typical bad cop film or something of that nature,but my friends, it wasn't. Denzel Washington has proven, once again, that he is one of the finest actors of his generation. His character,Alonzo,a highly decorated officer of the l.a.p.d.,is charming,street wise,cunning,and dangerous. Now, some actors would have made this guy just a bad ass cop.Heartless.However Denzel gave him a just the right amount of humanity(there's a scene with his son,that briefly gives you a glimpse of that aspect.)where there might be a heart deep within the beast. Ethan.My god. He is wonderful in this film.Playing this first day on the job,fish out of water,and some times confused cop,you see why he,along with Washington, was nominated for the oscar this year. I watched this on DVD and after seeing the deleted and alternate ending of the film, I have to give kudos to the director,Antoine Fuqua. It was very wise to leave out some of those scenes...but at the same time, you got the feeling it was true what the character,Alonzo frequently tells the young det.Hoyt(Hawke),"you remind me of me". Training day is a must see film that may shock and surprize you. It really made me wonder,how widespread is the corruption in the police. Must they,as in the film shows,be criminals to catch crimals??God help us all. See the film. You will not regret it.