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Movies / On DVD / Training Day
Training Day

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Training Day (2001)

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Reviews Counted:152

Fresh:109

Rotten:43

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: The ending may be less than satisfying, but Denzel Washington reminds us why he's such a great actor in this taut and brutal police drama.

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

US Box Office: $76,074,739

Synopsis: Every day, there is a war being waged on America’s inner city streets – a war between residents, drug dealers and the people sworn to protect one from the other. This war has its casualties, none... Every day, there is a war being waged on America’s inner city streets – a war between residents, drug dealers and the people sworn to protect one from the other. This war has its casualties, none greater than L.A.P.D. Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (DENZEL WASHINGTON), a 13-year veteran narcotics officer whose questionable methodology blurs the line between legality and corruption. His optimism has long since been chipped away by his tour of duty in the streets, where fighting crime by the book can get you killed, and getting the job done often requires Alonzo and his colleagues to break the laws they are empowered to enforce. A gritty, realistic drama set in the morally ambiguous world of undercover police investigation, Training Day shadows Alonzo as he tests the resolve of idealistic rookie Jake Hoyt (ETHAN HAWKE), who has one day and one day only to prove himself to his fiercely charismatic superior. Over the next 24 hours, Jake will be pulled deeper and deeper into the ethical mire of Alonzo’s logic as both men put their lives and careers on the line to serve their conflicting notions of justice. Training Day is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to decide what is necessary, what is heroic and what crosses the line in the harrowing gray zone of fighting urban crime. Does law-abiding law enforcement come at the expense of justice and public safety? If so, do we demand safe streets at any cost? Or do we risk our security by insisting that those empowered to protect us do so within the boundaries of the law? At a time when police across the nation are battling a public image of rampant corruption, narcotics use, planting evidence and excess brutality while patrolling the meanest streets of America, Training Day paints a gripping and realistic portrait of the war taking place on the urban front lines – and just how high the costs of this battle can be. -- © Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger

Starring: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Eva Mendes, Dr. Dre, Raymond J. Barry, Will Foster Stewart, Harris Yulin, Macy Gray

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Screenwriter: David Ayer
Producer: Jeffrey Silver, Robert Newmyer
Composer: Mark Mancina
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for Training Day

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You are easily drawn into the gangsta lifestyle and the movie’s well written dialogue and briskly edited pace keep you interested.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
07/31/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/28/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Stacie Hougland
Stacie Hougland
Hollywood.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

The movie moves rapidly, is extremely violent and not entirely plausible.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment 2 Comments
04/09/08
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

If he makes it through the trial by fire -- and a blandly twisting plot with no meaningful revelations or substantial themes -- Hawke will get a promotion, but there's nothing in it for us.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 2 Comments
04/09/08
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

This isn't a serious movie, despite Denzel Washington in full eruption and giving his calloused lines more weight and authority than they deserve.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
08/05/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Cast against type as a corrupt cop, Denzel Washington, usually seen in noble and heroic roles, is nothing short of brilliant; with some luck, he should earn an Oscar nomination.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment 1 Comment
01/04/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Marred slightly by an unsatisfactory climax, this is a cracking cop drama anchored by great performances and intelligent direction from Fuqua.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Chris Hewitt (UK)
Chris Hewitt (UK)
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Fuqua keeps it slick and sleazy and stokes up the race some, but this only accelerates the movie's deafening rush toward the top and ever over.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out

Alonzo's test of Jake's mettle is paralleled by the implicit acting challenge Washington's formidable work presents to Hawke, and like his character, the well-cast Hawke proves up to the demanding task, at times rather surprisingly so.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
Film Threat

Thumbs up, without question. Unfortunately, Training Day could have been so much more than it is.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
10/01/05
Steven Snyder
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies

Denzel Washington delivers a remarkable performance in this enthralling and unique tale of a corrupt cop, completely transforming himself into an unexpectedly imposing threat.

Full Review Source: Radio Free Entertainment | comment Comment
01/15/04
Andrew Manning
Andrew Manning
Radio Free Entertainment

...an intelligent and riveting action movie that doesn't rely on a lot of special effects to tell a genuinely interesting story.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

While most critics have chosen to highlight Washington's performance as the standout, it would be unfair not to mention Ethan Hawke, who plays the rookie Hoyt with a perfect patina of guileless enthusiasm.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
02/13/03
Tom Grealis
Tom Grealis
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

It is unfortunate that the script by David Ayer is so riddled with pretense, but Washington, Hawke, and their supporting cast do all they can to play through.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Denzel Washington’s performance is tremendous… really up there amongst the best of his career.

Full Review Source: Hot Button | comment Comment
01/07/03
David Poland
David Poland
Hot Button
 
 
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