Training Day (Snapcase Packaging)
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Movie Reviews of Training Day (Snapcase Packaging)
Movie Review: Won't Let Go
Summary: 5 Stars
While I won't say that I liked this movie, it is one that won't let go. I saw it in the theatre. Watching the DVD version made me realize how vividly I recalled the film. Any film that stays with you enough to be memorable must be good, even if it isn't likeable. Screenwriter David Ayers (The Fast & the Furious) provides an action-packed character study with the moral question: Do the ends justify the means? Most would answer "no," but Denzel Washington's character Alonzo Harris has bit hook, line & sinker that whatever it takes is what he will do. In doing that, he has become corrupt. Ethan Hawke's character Jake Hoyt begins by saying that he'll do WHATEVER Alonzo wants, which leads to the oft repeated phrase, "You're my nigger." His journey in the film leads him to reject this. Some were bothered by the contrivance that Hoyt (Hawke) stops a rape, only to have that act be the one that keeps his brains from being splattered in the bottom of a bathtub. I didn't view it a problem. For me, the one act of good that is done in the film produces another act of goodness, letting Hawke go by the gang contracted to kill him. For me, it reinforces the theme that evil begets evil, and good begets good. Aside from the debate of whether Denzel deserved the Oscar or Ethan his best supporting actor Oscar nomination, what impressed me with the film was the depth of the supporting performances. One of the stars for me is Eva Mendes who plays Sara Harris, Alonzo's Spanish lover. She was so gracious when she first met Hawke, loving to her son, sexy with Alonzo, terrified of the gunfire, protective of her son, and finally in one last shot we see her from a window whisk up her son and turn her back on Alonzo. For a small part, she had an amazing array of levels. I didn't pick out the actor's name, but the little boy was about as wonderful of a sweetheart as any mom could want. Scott Glen also wonderfully plays Roger, the drug dealer who is a dear friend and fast buddy of Alonzo's, only to be shot by him when convenience dictates. Macy Gray as the Sandman's wife does an on-the-edge cameo bursting with energy. I appreciated the added features of the DVD. The scene where the Hispanic guy tells Hoyt that Harris wanted him killed could have made that plot point more clear, for me. So although I didn't enjoy TD by any means, I certainly appreciate the performances and found the film memorable. It grabs you & won't let go.
Movie Review: TRAINING DAY
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie itself has a somehow perdictable story but the acting which is superb, lifts the story above its 'standard' plot.Alonzo's intentions about Jake's 'Training Day' are not what Jake (and us) think they are at the beginning of the movie. Alonzo's original intentions seemed to be to shock him and corrupt him - he perceives Jake as innocent, and wants to have some 'fun' with him. A good example of that is what he says after the squad kills Roger - he's been plannig Jake's day for a week. That's obvious on a second watching: he made sure he'd have PCP laced weed pretty early in the day, and knows how to push Jake into smoking it - just to make sure he has something he can control Jake with if he needs to... But he hardly has to use it against Jake throughout the day: he's in total control, and knows the turf, and the 'street rules' - unlike Jake, who's new and too idealistic to unerstand them - at least at first. The 'Training Day' isn't meant to train Jake to join Alonzo's unit, but after it's over Jake has received some valuable training: how he can survive in the streets. Some of what he learns comes from Alonzo, but he manages to combine it with his own common sense - by taking the girl's wallet, he eventually manages to save his own life, even though Alonzo discourages him - after all, Alonzo's 'Street Justice' has been done. This goes against another one of Alonzo's lessons: don't show your sensitivities to the world. But by showing it in case of the girl - again, he manages to not only save his life, but to establish a connection with Smiley, which might help him later on.
As the day (and the movie) progresses, we see that Alonzo's attitude towards ake changes - he starts taking him seriously, until he realizes how much Jake doesn't fit in when they raid Roger's house. But he still doesn't take him seriously enough - when Jake comes by his house after survivng the poker game, Alonzo still tries to pretend that it was all a test, and having survived the experience made him get into the squad. But Alonzo hadn't realized that he'd taken it too far, just as he doesn't realize it about other events in his life - he thinks that the neighborhood's fear of him is respect, for instance. Or his son -the little boy trusts Jake after only one meeting more than Alonzo could ever hope for. And this time - Alonzo isn't able to use his charm or force as a policeman to get out of this situation...
Movie Review: A Movie that Totally Suspends your Disbelief
Summary: 5 Stars
Training Day works because it is pure fantasy masquerading as a reality. The film bends our suspension of disbelief at every moment. We all know that police corruption is a real thing but Lord if a character like Denzel ever walked the street of L.A like that for real he would be dead in a few months. The same goes for Hawke. Both these characters would have a life-span of a Star Trek extra who beams down to the strange planet with the rest of the party.Denzel practically walks and drives the streets like he owns L.A. The man can go down any alley, go into any house, shot up any gang, beat up rapists, steal money, abuse criminals and have some extra debauchery on the side... all before cornflakes. Ethan Hawke is just a way out his depth as a rookie who gives new meaning that that word. A boy playing the donkey to such extremes that the carrot almost brings him to murder 'cause Denzel orders it.
What makes Training Day so good is that it blends so much reality with so much fantasy that the line blurs to the point where the two are no longer distinguishable. Then the director Antoine Fuqua can play with us all he likes by having the main protagonist abuse the rookie cop at every given opportunity. We buy it. We buy it all and ask for more. Fuqua then gives it to us by taking the whole police corruption element to new heights as a plot involving bent-cop-drug-dealers become the bait and main meal of the day. They even have totally outrageous names like - The Sandman, but still we think that what we are seeing is reality. Fuqua just has us wearing blinkers all the way as he directs us through the streets of crime with Denzel coming up with some of the most memorable lines in a cop drama ever.
The acting is all dark but good. This is a highly enjoyable romp, albeit a totally improbable one, but high-camp stories do not mean high-camp acting. This could well be the B-Movie of cop dramas, but it is just done so well. All the characters are radical and excessive. The plot is almost comic book quality. The ending is totally Hollywood in every department.
This is just a great fantasy cop movie that is worthy of repeat viewings. Fuqua is the master of the suspension of the disbelief here. It is very easy to fall victim to what you are seeing is real. Training Day is just salami, but what tasty salami it is.
Movie Review: Stare into the abyss, and the abyss stares into you
Summary: 5 Stars
The best Bad Guys are the ones who we in love with. They have a magnetic attraction to them, a mysterious air that always keeps us intrigued. We want to be with them, want to be like them. Denzel Washington knows this. His character seduces Ethan Hawke so slowly, with such charm and street-smart grace that by the time the Bad Guys have crossed "the Line", you can no longer tell right from wrong. You wonder if maybe you crossed that line 30 minutes ago and didn't realize it. Hawke plays a rookie cop who is assigned to an elite narcotics squad of the LAPD, and Washington is the head of that squad, the cop who will train the new guy. Hawke has one day to make it or break it. The film is about that day. Hawke being the rookie that he is, is a straight-arrow that wants to arrest every offender he sees. Washington is the old timer with patience, who basically holds the new guy back - don't catch the little fish if they can lead you to the big ones. Their relationship develops in a beatiful combination of police action scenes and wonderfully written dialog. From the first moment, you are wondering if Denzel isn't a bad cop, but by the time you know for sure - Pow! - he's got you.
What makes this film even more entertaining is that it is so obviously accurate and realistic, it makes "Boys in the Hood" look like fantasy. If you don't like foul language, this isn't your kind of movie. The locations are real LA ghettos, the people are real Crypts and Bloods. Director Antoine Fuqua has many friends who are undercover narcotics agents, and thus has brought that knowledge to the film with intense authority. Denzel and Hawke also add outstanding performances which remind me that human nature is basic and universal to many people in many situations. Even the extras in this film stare through the camera into the audience's soul, watching for any sign of weakness.
The DVD is excellent, a good transfer in both visual and audio quality, and with some standard, average extras. The "making of" documentary is short but comprehesive, and doesn't try to sell the film like some bad HBO special. The audio commentary by the director was my favorite, as he describes just how much in this film is the real circumstance for undercover cops. Nothing "Hollywood" here.
Movie Review: Alonzo's Philosophy vs. His Actions
Summary: 5 Stars
Denzel was incredible. I've always liked him, but he truly startled me in this movie. "This is chess, it ain't checkers!" his character declares at one point. Of course, upon repeated viewings, Alonzo comes off as more of a slimebag than urban philosopher. Note his words on the cell phone upon exiting a house where he has murdered a man in cold blood ("make sure the tub is clean"). Thus, his entire speech to Hoyt (including the "chess" remark) was entirely two-faced. He had already arranged Hoyt's murder at that point. A deleted scene reveals he'd planned to murder Hoyt's wife and child as well, along with burning down Hoyt's house, all to make an example of him. Of course, this makes me wonder (why didn't he let Dre kill the guy?).
I don't know if I like Hoyt, but at least he stood for something when most of us would have folded. I can almost understand Alonzo's point of view, and that scares me. I suppose that's the point of the movie, though. If we had just looked at the philosophy that Alonzo spouted, we could perhaps ride along.
But it's his willingness to murder a fellow officer to keep him "out of the way" that shows us who Alonzo truly is: someone who lives by the street rules of "look out for Number One." His loyalty is only to himself and, to a limited degree, the people on his team that are just like him (as long as they assist him and go along with it). He's not loyal to Hoyt, a fellow officer, to his wife, to his numerous illegitimate children, or to the welfare of others. I don't know if he saw that girl being attacked by those crackheads, but I do know he felt it was a waste of time and resources to stop to help her.
This movie has its heaviest impact in the first viewing, before Alonzo's flaws become apparent enough to discount his vocalized philosophies about the street. After the first viewing, he looks more and more like a manipulative hypocrite, hard-talkin' but with no loyalty to others.