CCC Reviews

Training Day

There hasn't been an action packed cop film in quite a while. Traffic was an a great film, but concentrated heavily on the use of narcotics. Then of course, there's the light hearted Lethal Weapon series, but often, it's too comedic to be considered a serious cop film. Training Day is a perfect cop movie.

In Training Day,  officer Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) is sent to tag along with LAPD narcotics officer Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). But, unlike any other officer on any other detail, Harris does not approach his job with the same level of justice or integrity that would be expected.

What Harris believes in strictly is street justice. Letting the rats sort each other out picking the weak from the strong while the rest he picks up and sends to prison. This is hard for Hoyt to accept because he believes in firm justice and to get the use of narcotics off the street.

As the movie progresses, we begin to see what kind of person, not so much a cop, that Alonzo Harris really is. He isn't merely about bringing people to justice, he has as much to gain from the success of the drug dealers as the coke heads themselves. Hoyt slowly evolves and adjusts to Harris' style but as Harris begins to leave him hanging every so often, he loses trust in him and questions what is this really about.

Finally, a deep cop film with a lot of action and superb acting from both Washington and Hawke. A great script, original concept and an excellent supporting cast. I mean, seriously, who can beat Snoop Dogg as a paraplegic coke dealer?


Scores for Training Day
Slacker711 - - "Great acting and a compelling story about drug cops."

Cast
Alonzo Harris - Denzel Washington
Jake Hoyt - Ethan Hawke
Roger - Scott Glenn
Stan - Tom Berenger
Smiley - Cliff Curtis
Sammy - Snoop Dogg
Sandman's Wife - Macy Gray
Paul - Dr. Dre

Crew
Director - Antoine Fuqua
Writer - David Ayer
Producer - Robert Newmyer
Producer - Jeffrey Silver
Co-Producer - David Ayer
Co-Producer - Scott Strauss
Co-Producer - David Wisnietvitz
Associate Producer - Susan Novick
Executive Producer - Bruce Berman
Executive Producer - Davis Guggenheim
Original Music - Mark Mancina
Cinematography - Mauro Fiore
Film Editing - Conrad Buff
Casting - Felicia Fasano
Casting - Anne McCarthy
Casting - Mary Vernieu