Direction by The Replacement Killers' Antoine Fuqua combined with snappy catch phrases and rap star cameos should make movie pulp of a middling order. It's true that the aforementioned are just some of the obstacles in trying to take Training Day seriously. Yet any film which shows two of American cinemas most representative actors trying something different is worth analysis. Denzel Washington, who has successfully become the name above the title symbol for The Righteous Black Male, here plays a very corrupt cop. Equally, Ethan Hawke, the crowned prince of the slacker generation, do-nothing-but-do-it-with-presence lead, finds himself in a very vigorous action hero mode. So how fruitfully do these two performers bloom when cast against type?
Denzel obviously relishes the chance to extend his acting chops. While he has essayed dark roles before (He Got Game's Jake Shuttlesworth springs to mind), he always had that hint of holier than thou to him. The villain in a standard policer shouldn't really throw him but it does. For the first hour his character dangles between loudmouth braggart veteran and someone a fair bit nastier. Unsurprisingly it is when his character is pretending to be caring and paternalistic that he convinces most. By the time we reach the "ain't I a badass" finale, he just tosses about with reptilian smiles and Jimmy Cagney rants half looking at his watch to make sure he doesn't miss his much deserved gangster death in the gutter. It's not that Washington is bad in the role, it's just that the script doesn't seem to care that we might actually want to like his nasty piece of work therefore depriving us, and Washington, the opportunity to shine in his darkness. His casting does however bring almost a profundity to certain scenes as what the actor signifies leads us into a mistrust of what he is actually doing.
Hawke can usually be guaranteed to be a blank canvass to observe these situations. Remember his Hamlet? Well, this role is a messier modern day version of that. Keen to impress to the point where he'll give up his morals, at times you almost want him to crack and whole-heartedly agree with Washington's bad apple. Yet as his day in training turns from bad to nightmare the character is never pushed. While the first hour of the film is actually a decent character study of two oppositional characters in a confined situation, the second half is a far more standard thriller. Hawke is given little to do but turn up for the big duke out and pretty much avoids getting his hands dirty when it seems the entire criminal fraternity of Los Angeles grows a heart. For a film so morally ambiguous to begin with, that is an awful cop out.
Training Day with its edgy performances and palpable tension could have been a real contender, up there with The French Connection or Lethal Weapon. Instead it muddies its spot-on dialogue and illuminates grey areas to give an unsatisfyingly standard action finale. It seems the rules of this genre have overwhelmed what could have been, and what at times is, a trip into the bad alleys of law enforcement. Still, if you want to take a small pleasure from the whitewash ending, see if you can figure out who ends up with the bag of money. Maybe things are not as ethically clear cut as first appears.
Reviewed by Bob Carroll
Reader comments about Training Day
Adele (abirtwistle_primis@yahoo.co.uk) writes:
Good film but intrigued by the ending. Am I just reading too much into it or is the woman in the silver van that pulls up next to Denzel right before the russians shoot him, Ethan's wife. The following scene of Ethan returning home also shows the silver van parked outside his house.
Any connection?
Irelevant (Email address withheld) writes:
What a performance from Denzel - the man is a genius and fully deserves his oscar triumph. The film must be watched for his performance alone, though if that wasn't enough, observe Antoine Fuqua's direction, which is executed with competency and style. A brilliant film.
Craig McSween (Email address withheld) writes:
I believe Training Day is one of the most truly captivating films to come out in the last, I don't know how many years, the film drags you through all sorts of emotions from start to finish and always keeps you wanting more. The acting especially Denzel Washington is perfect, if there were more films like this to come out even half as decent, the cinema might be worth going to
Ade (Email address withheld) writes:
Crap film with no real plot and too many absurd happenings - how do you drive a car with a bullit in your bum? Not at all captivating and quite boring at times. Strange how the bad guy's car was totalled before the final stand-off but was miraculously perfect again when he was gunned down. Plus, yes, that same silver van was outide his house at the end.
Sausage Knowlege (WillyVanilly@gmx.de) writes:
Do anybody know the name and type of the black car from the movie "Training Day" ?
Ali (www.browneyedbrunette5@yahoo.com) writes:
I LOVE TRAINING DAY!!!! I have seen the movie over a thousand times and i never get enough of it. Denzel is such a brilliant actor. By the way, i never seen a silver van outside of his house in the end, trust me. What movie you be watching??
Scott P. [P is for Proactive] (Email address withheld) writes:
This is the voice of the mysterons. We thought that Training Day was I brilliantly made, written, acted and staged film. We thought that Ethan Hawke was good, but was overshadowed by the stunning performance of Denzel Washington who rightfuly won an oscar for his trouble. We also thought that the ending was very vindicating and satisfying and that the quotes were not cheesy in the slightest. We also thought that this film is surprisingly underated. Actually we should say, we still do think that this film is surprisingly underated. Yes we do. Now, where is that Captain Scarlett block?
PS: for any children out there, the Mysterons are desinging a new children's play park. But we need funding. Donations would be useful.
robbie (Email address withheld) writes:
training day is a great film to watch good performance by denzel washington and ethan hawke also dre and snoop dogg but if any of you are wondering what that car they drove around in was it was a 1978 chevrolet monte carlo
Steve Armstrong (Email address withheld) writes:
Hi WillyVanilly
Alonzo's(Denzel's) car in the movie is a black Monte Carlo with hydraulics.
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