He Don't Need No Training

Rating: 6/10 (14 November 2010)

Much like Nicole Kidman in To Die For, this Training Day was a Denzel Washington vehicle. Both movies were ho-hum, but held the character of a lifetime and is highly recommended just on their command performance.
This is not to underplay Hawke's almost (90%) equally acting – he was very good, himself, but Washington was so good, that when I first saw this back in 2001, long before the Oscar Nominations were announced, I said: "He better both be nominated and win." On a side note, unfortunately for Washington Fans – he has tried to recapture this high since and that's made me very sad to say I once was a devote Washington follower. Meaning: almost every role since 2001's Training Day, he has screamed "OSCAR!" without acting much.
But, I digress, this is about Training Day, a good (again, not great) film, but one you should see concerning the troubling day both Rookie Hoyt (Hawke) and Harris (Washington) are having.
Eager to please and diligent to keep his job for his growing family, Hoyt is joining the narcotics hard-core L.A. team, but he needs to deal with drama-filled Harris, who may (or may not) be on the take with the crooks he's paid to take down. (Watch FX's excellent series The Shield for further adventures on the same plane.) You see, Harris might be in over his head with a deal/incident gone wrong in Las Vegas, pissing off the wrong people, despite his demeanor. And he must trust the Clark Kent'ish Hoyt if he's to get away with it.
That's pretty much it. I don't want to spoil much more than that, and the fact I brought up The Shield, which covers pretty much the same ground. That's pretty much itfor the plot. Watch this fantastic performance from Denzel who, up to this point of his excellent career, hadn't played a true baddie. And he does it in spades. It's worth the Orientation Day for him alone.