"Let's suit up ladies, time to punch in."

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2006)

I can usually fill a full page of notes regarding my thoughts on a film as I'm watching it, but this time I came away with only about a half dozen character quotes that sounded cool at the time. Looking them over now however, makes them seem cliché ridden, offered in an attempt to manipulate the viewer. That 'smiles and cries' explanation offered by Ethan Hawkes character was an eyebrow raiser, and how about it 'taking a wolf to catch a wolf'. The topper though was Denzel Washington's tattoo - "Death is Certain, Life is Not". That one prefaced the ending, since Washington's Alonzo wasn't a bad cop in a 'Die Hard' yipee-ki-yay sort of way, he was just a bad rogue cop.
Let's face it, if "Training Day" represents a rookie's first day in narcotics, then the bad guys have won. Alternating hits of PCP, beer, and who knows what else, it's pretty amazing Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) even made it through that day. That's not including guns to the head, rifle blasts through the 'office' car, introduction to a Latino bathtub and falls from high rise apartment buildings after being beaten to a pulp. Even with steely resolve and a strong constitution, there's got to be a better way to make a living.
Story semantics and odds defying coincidences aside, Washington and Hawke turn in strong performances as cops on opposite sides of the moral fence. It's not enough though to tone down the way over the top situations and confrontations the pair find themselves in and out of, all without a moment's rest. Try this while watching - take a deep breath.