Training Day

Rating: 7/10 (13 June 2007)

I think the main reason I wanted to see this film was because of a great star winning the Oscar, and then I heard that the villain he plays is a cop. Basically Jake Hoyt (Oscar nominated Ethan Hawke) wants to become a professional LAPD narcotics cop, i.e. stop drug trafficking, and he is teamed up with veteran, swaggering and streetwise narcotics cop Alonzo Harris (Oscar winning, and Golden Globe nominated Denzel Washington) for 24 hours to learn and prove his mettle. But as they are searching and investigating the big drug case, along the way they clear the streets of other (possibly drug related) crimes, and Jake is finding it very difficult to cope with Alonzo's questionable and very rough techniques, particularly when the guilty should go to prison. As the film continues, you see what a genuine scum Alonzo really is, and why he does not deserve to be a cop, and he and Jake do eventually turn on each other in the concluding scenes. Alonzo does meet an unexpected death, being killed by thugs (most likely the ones he insulted). It is a dark, pretty engaging and very stylised look at American law enforcement. Also starring Scott Glenn as Roger, Tom Berenger as Stan Gursky, Harris Yulin as Doug Rosselli, Raymond J. Barry as Lou Jacobs, Cliff Curtis as Smiley, and hip hop stars Dr. Dre as Paul, Snoop Dogg as Blue and Macy Gray as Sandman's Wife. Denzel Washington was number 28 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, and he was number 40 on The World's Greatest Actor, and Alonzo Harris was number 50 on 100 Years, 100 Heroes & Villains. Very good!