A riveting piece of filmmaking

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2002)

I have never seen A Beautiful Mind. I'm sure Crowe did a fantastic job acting it. But Washington definitely deserves the Oscar he won for this role. Why? He took on a role that I had never see him try before and gave such a multilayered performance that I was riveted to the screen throughout the entire movie. You never knew exactly what was Alonzo Harris' true motivation in his actions towards Jake Hoyt(Ethan Hawke)until the final act, and it takes superb acting to pull that off with the sincerity and believability that Denzel did. Ethan Hawke does a good turn here also as the rookie cop Hoyt who struggles throughout the movie with the apparent "realities" of narcotics investigation offered up to him by Alonzo. Just how much "dirt" is Hoyt willing to take on without becoming untrue to his ideals?
I never judge a movie by how "original" the story is. "Being John Malkovich" was hailed as an "original" story, yet I found it only mildly interesting. If Training Day has been "done" before, I can't recall seeing it. I judge movies by how well they tell the story that they are telling. This one is told quite well. The characters were interesting, the plot moves along quite smoothly, the visuals really portray the gritty, harsh reality of the LA ghetto.
All in all, I found this to be a very worthwhile experience and would recommend it to anyone.
I gave it an 8/10.
P.S.:I wonder if the writers of FX's The Shield watched Training Day before writing the character of Det. Vic Mackey?