Grim but riveting cat-and-mouse cop flick with a flashy central performance by Denzel Washington.

Rating: 8/10 (30 March 2002)

A total downer from beginning to end, `Training Day' reeks with immoral, unredeemable characters while filling the screen with unavoidable bloodshed. Yet what keeps it from being just another standard tale of urban terror is its sharp, imaginative direction (Antoine Fuqua), an ultra-tense and engaging script, a jaunty pace, and knockout performances by Denzel Washington as an L.A. narc with dirty hands, and Ethan Hawke as his straight rookie partner learning the ropes.
Interesting shakeups begin right off the bat as Washington plays a corrupt black cop and Hawke an honest white one. Jake Hoyt (Hawke) dreams of elevating his young family's lifestyle. He's given a plum opportunity when he's placed in the hands of hotshot veteran Alonzo Harris (Washington) for a trial run as a narcotics cop. Hesitant because of the escalated risk but buoyed by the inevitable raise in pay and respect, Hoyt seizes the moment. If he can pass the muster, he's in. If not, he'll probably end up doling out speeding tickets or pushing papers the rest of his career. But Hoyt is an action man and seems up to the daunting task. He learns quickly on his first day of training that Harris isn't your everyday, by-the-book officer. He's a fearless, arrogant braggart who plays hard ball. Harris has developed his own survivalist style in bringing in the bad guys. His methods are underhanded and he only plays for high stakes. Intimidating, remorseless and just as terrifying as the street gangs he infiltrates, Harris exposes Hoyt to the money laundering and sexual favors, the crooked deals, the set-ups, the frame-ups. Punk-ass thugs and rapists who turn informants are thrown back into the water as bait for bigger game. And Harris is lord of it all, preening about his L.A. ghetto like a peacock, proud of the infamous reputation he's made for himself on the streets. He's an avalanche of cocky confidence and streetwise cleverness out to win every drug game he plays, at any cost, at anybody's expense.
Oscar-winner Washington is nothing short of brilliant in a role that completely shoots down the upstanding good guy' screen image he's thus far cultivated. What remains, however, is that undeniable Washington charm, charisma and quicksilver intelligence. Ethan Hawke (Oscar-nominated) gives one of the best performances of his young career as a man caught between a badge and a hard place -- trying to fit in without compromising his code of ethics. How far can he go? How much can he endure? His boyishly tough yet vulnerable cop gives the audience something to root for. The character byplay between the two leads is strong, real, and fascinates as Harris draws Hoyt further into his dark world, playing some dangerous mind games along the way.
Ravaged, seamy locations and scary, menacing support characters capture the requisite feeling of urban paranoia and moral decay, and surrounds the film with an almost apocalyptical sense of hopelessness and doom. Peripheral characters offered by Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg and, particularly, Scott Glenn as an equally distrustful retired cop, add intensity and atmosphere.
In no sense of the term is "Training Day" an urban action flick. On the contray, it is a taut, stark, ugly, complex character study that shows off some powerhouse talent. Those who prefer mindless escapism will probably be turned off by its unrelenting grimness; those who prefer cerebral, realistic character studies will see it as a plus. Repelling and unforgiving, I only wish the conclusion had been a bit more plausible and less grandiose. It much too much for the realistic story presented.

Director Antoine (`Bait,' `The Replacement Killers') Fuqua, who began directing rap music videos for such artists as Coolio and Arrested Development has a promising future, at least in this genre. It is an assured move into stronger film territory.