Training Day (Snapcase Packaging)
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Movie Reviews of Training Day (Snapcase Packaging)
Movie Review: Compelling Cop Flick !
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost turned this dvd down as a rental because I did not want to see another "good cop goes bad" flick...I am glad I rented it !By now, it is no secret that Denzel's character Alonzo is bad to the bone and rotten to the core all the way from the start of the film. We are only given very subtle background hints as to his character's so called "reasons" for his fall from grace.Yet, it is never quite clear as to what the actual event was that pushed him over the edge or if it was a culmination of events...The acting performances were absolutely outstanding and stunning !Ethan Hawke's performance deserves high praise;he was perfect for his role. He had that young, "wet behind the ears" thing going for him.He was very credible and looked the part. But his chracter also demonstrated that strength and honor should not be judged by physical appearances or on one's age alone ! In one day Hawke's rookie character goes from being naive to... well, getting his...popped in a figurative manner. The difference one day in the life of a rookie drug/undercover enforcement officer will make after "learning" the ropes from Alonzo will probably make him rethink his next career choice or move !
I can now fully understand why Washington received the Oscar...I have never felt so much disgust and contempt for an onscreen law enforcement character gone bad...way bad as I did for this one ! Who said the Oscar for Best Actor can only go to those who played the role of good guy.
The story is gritty and compelling and shows the world that even certain heroes that uphold the law are still human and fallible...this not excusing the fact that a choice ultimately has to be made of whether choosing good or evil and upholding one's own accountability for immoral/illegal actions (there is no "gray area"...as so many of us would like to believe)! This film is even more involving when the viewer has family members or friends in law enforcement as I do !!!...
Movie Review: Intense!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very intense police drama that stares Denzel Washington, as the evil, very corrupt narc Alonzo Harris, and Ethan Hawke, as the "rookie", Jake Hoyt, who spends one day on the job with Alonzo. Little does he know that Alonzo is so hard nosed, and that he joins in the drug inducing along with the creeps he is trying to bring down.Jake has quite a day with Alonzo. Washington's Alonzo is unnerving but brilliant!! He is one of the best actors and has my deepest admiration for going against the type of characters he usually plays. It was very brave of him to take on this role. I found myself shocked at some of the things the character said and did, especially since he is supposed to be a police officer, but I guess they aren't all so good, and Alonzo Harris is definitely one of the baddest cops to grace the big screen. Although, I was so amazingly entralled by this movie, I also found it difficult to watch, but couldn't stop watching because it was just so darn interesting and intense.
I found the acting all around was very good. Denzel is so excellent in this. He is such a talented actor, and I am glad he did this movie. It really shows that he is not afraid to try any role that he finds interesting no matter how immoral that character may be. I think it came at a good time. He was always seen as the good guy; this proves to me that Denzel is a real actor who cares about the craft of acting.
Ethan Hawke was also excellent in this. Before this movie, I had only seen him in "Reality Bites", which was a comedy.
Kudos to him for taking on this role! It was a great performance.
This movie is so worth watching because it of the strong performances by Washington and Hawke and it's capability to keep the viewer glued to the screen. I didn't want to take my eyes away from the screen nor get up for any reason.
Movie Review: IS THIS WHAT AMERICA IS LIKE??
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished watching it. I always thought Washington was the good man's good actor lacking that nerve and that bulge of testosterone. I thought American Gangster was the first time he did something with a shade of grey. How wrong was I? TRAINING DAY is truly one of the most absorbing, relentless, gutsy, powerful, powerful, upfront and non-boring action/drama movies I've seen.
This film truly edges on it's morality. It is in it's own hemisphere. LA or Los Angeles is stunning. I'm tempted to think this is what is like or maybe it's just a film. I know in it's 2 hours - Training Day tried to show a certain half of a cop's life. Maybe all cops are this way and maybe they are not but I'm just left quite speechless at the perfromances.
When the film started and the restaraunt scene hit me, I thought OK, This is interesting but soon just about every scene hits you when you're expecting. If someone falls asleep while watching this film, they must be nuts or on McDonalds.
Ethan Hawke is brilliant. I don't know what happened to the man.
The director is someone I've never heard of and I just searched the internet and found he's the same guy who did King Arthur and Tears of the sun. The latter I have not seen and the former's forgettable but I must get around to watching more films featuring the actor, the director and the same genre.
I can clearly remember that the last film that shook me up just like training day did was a 2006 film that you clearly remember. And that was called "RUNNING SCARED"
I'm not quite sure which one I liked more but that is the magic of the best films. It becomes difficult to compare.
To those of you who haven't seen this film as of yet, guys and girls, men and madams......this is it. Look no further.
MY Respect.
Movie Review: "Training Day" is very powerful and very intense!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Training Day" is among one of those films that you would have to watch very carefully to find out exactly what is going on throughout. And yet, it is so entertaining and so powerful that you would not believe Denzel Washington's performance in this movie until you have seen it! And speaking of his performance, you get to see a side of Denzel that you have never seen before...as the bad guy! That's right! Washington stars as veteran Detective Sargeant Alonzo Harris, a "lone wolf" cop that, to him, has spent too many years obeying the law, etc., that he goes over the edge (a.k.a. "crossing the line"). This film is also about a fresh-faced LAPD rookie named Jake Hoyt (an excellent Ethan Hawke), who is anxious to join the elite narcotics squad headed up by none other than Harris himself. So Harris has agreed to give Hoyt a shot at joining his team with a one-day ride-along during which Hoyt must prove his mettle if he wants to make it into narcotics. As the day wears on, however, it becomes increasingly clear to the greenhorn that Hoyt's experienced mentor has blurred the line between right and wrong to an alarming degree, enforcing his own morally compromised code of ethics and street justice. In conclusion, I would like to say that "Training Day" is nothing short of being intense. This is one of Denzel Washington's most frightening performances that I have seen on the big screen in a long time. And I would like to say this: "Denzel, please stick to the good guy roles. I know that this is a major change for you, but pleeeease stick to what you're really good at...and that's bringing out the good in you in any film that you make." "Training Day" is a great DVD addition to any Denzel Washington collection!Movie Review: Denzel is Dynamite!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, Denzel's Oscar was no Hollywood "gimme", he earned it all the way with a powerful and disturbing portrayal. Beside being a consistently terrific actor, Denzel Washington is a true Movie Star. He commands the screen the way the young Brando or Newman did, with complete authority. And he was really on his game here. The 5 stars are for his performance!I have not been a fan of Ethan Hawke in some of his earlier, arsty-fartsy Mr. Sensitivo roles. So I was surprised at how well he held his own opposite the power of Washington in this film. Will reserve judgement on Mr. Hawke for the future.
So, these two fine nominated & deserving performances are worth the trip alone. The film's main problem is it becomes a bit excessive & melodramatic toward the end. Will put some off, but by then, I was hooked into the flick and was willing to go wherever it went.
Not just about a twisted cop who has completely lost his moral compass and bearings and has become the thing he started out to destroy, the Hawke character gets in deep because of his own ambition, the same type of desire for power that must have fed Washington's young Alonzo, before his complete corruption.
So we have a two character waltz, of the seducer (the Devil assumes a pleasing shape) and the honest, naive, but flawed seducee. We watch Alonzo tempt and belittle and flatter his young protege, bending him to his will. We watch Jake be shocked, resist and argue but give in to his own ambition. And there are surprises to come.
The movie is tough & brutal, the dialogue fast & gritty, the direction fluid and restless, all pulsing to the beat of these hot LA streets. Not a perfect flick, but a riveting one. 4-1/2 stars.