_**Great urban thriller**_

Ethan Hawke plays Hoyt, a rookie cop on his first 24-hour training day with the L.A.P.D. narcotics division. Denzel Washington plays veteran Alonzo Harris whose methods seem questionable, to say the least. Harris argues that one has to become a wolf to take down a wolf. Will Hoyt make it through the day alive, let alone uncorrupted?

"Training Day" had a lukewarm reception at the box office the first weekend of its release in 2001, but the profits steadily increased for the next six weeks as word-of-mouth spread. The greatness of "Training Day" is not simply due to the intriguing story and excellent writing, but also the superb casting. Hawke is perfect as the naive, but ambitious rookie and Washington is nothing short of stunning as Alonzo Harris, ranking with the best performances in cinematic history, like Jon Voight's Manny in "Runaway Train" or Robert Duvall's Col. Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now."

As the training day continues Alonzo's methodology becomes increasingly dubious and you can just imagine Hoyt responding, "I... don't... see... any... method... at... all... Sir." How can anyone withstand the temptations he faces and not give in (and I don't mean the drugs)? Needless to say, the film scores high marks on the moral conundrum front.

There's one obviously contrived element but that's par for the course with movies and it could've been worse. Of course, the action and thrills are amped-up, but the tone is thankfully realistic.

BOTTOM LINE: "Training Day" is an excellent urban thriller with a captivating performance by Washington. It's fittingly ugly, raw and brutal, so stay away if you don't think you can stomach it.

The film runs 2 hours, 2 minutes, and was shot in L.A. Peripheral actors include Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Eva Mendes, Charlotte Ayanna, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

GRADE: A-

This Film has to be one of the most intense shows I’ve seen . Ethan Hawke and Denzel are a great match together. Ethan plays the supporting role majestically.

Great cameos in the show too. With Snoop Dog. Macy Gray, Tom Berrenger .
But the show is highly tense. But good entertainment.

“Are You a Wolf Or A Sheep?”

This movie is meh at best. The plot is so-so. This isn't anything to write home about. You could make it into a B-Movie and no one would care.

No one likes Training Day for Training Day... they alike Denzel Washington's performance in Training Day, and that is just an honest fact.

The movie wouldn't be anything if he didn't deliver and what he delivered was so sensational that people are going to be talking about it decades after we pass. And that is what people like. They like how deliciously evil Denzel was in the role. They like that he had free reign, as a villain, to make the role as memorable as possible. And he did, he knocked it out of the park.

So now, people watch Training Day, but let's be honest, they are only watching it for Denzel Washington, and that is as it should be, he was stellar in this, he deserves the recognition, and it's one of those movies that is otherwise so meh that his performance just shines out as the only thing really great about it.

Even this rating, 10 out of 10 stars? It's not because the movie was good, it's 100% based on Denzel Washington.

Denzel Washington is sensational in this, the plot might not quite match his performance but 'Training Day' is still a great watch. It's a riveting 122 minutes, I'm just not in love with how the premise is played out.

Washington's character, Alonzo, never really changes throughout, despite a supposed problem of his. I kept waiting for a reason to change the opinion that the first act puts to you regarding him but it never came, there's never a point I cared for him and I assume I was supposed to... at least to some degree? Also, his issue is thrown at you in one scene and isn't really mentioned again until the end. I get the character, just not his arc.

Ethan Hawke is very good, too, in this, even if I kept hearing Tom Cruise when he spoke... You also have a load of now familiar faces involved, including Eva Mendes, Raymond Cruz, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Terry Crews. Quite an interesting cast list, that.

Loved all of this, except the (still good) plot execution. Maybe that's just me though. From what I've seen, Washington's best performance so far. He's the main takeaway from this whatever way you look at it.

I watched this movie when I was 17 when it first came out and I loved it - rated it 8/10 (I’m a hard rater). Gave it a re-watch recently, expecting at least a decent movie considering it is Denzel, and man was I surprised….to the downside.

The screenplay is a little shaky, with the dialogue being corny in more than a few scenes, and to be honest, Denzel’s performance was good, but not great (yes, I know he won the Oscar), but it certainly was not as good as his best, which I’d say is Crimson Tide.

But the worst part of this movie that prevented me from enjoying my the best parts, we’re the abundance of plot holes. Like what the hell?

I counted 5 big ones:

1) Hoyt saves a random girl and then keeps her wallet and then his would-be murderer an hour later happens to be her uncle, who finds the wallet 2 seconds for the trigger is pulled?

2) Alonzo has a bounty on his head due that day but twice he does not kill Hoyt when could/should have (he outsources it the first time (see plot hole 1) and then leaves Hoyt for dead the second time (patio/balcony fight), both times of course Hoyt comes back).

3) the phone call between the uncle and the niece in which she says in an extremely pleasant voice, “I was raped, it’s no big deal.” That it not even remotely how a sexual assault victim acts or talks.

4) Card Game Scene - Why would a cop, even a rookie, ever, ever, ever hand his gun over to a gangster for friendly inspection?

5) I get Alonzo is pushing boundaries with the newbie, but why invite Hoyt into Roger’s house when they execute him? They already have enough to blackmail Hoyt to keep him in line, and so why not tell him to stay in the car? Then when shots are fired, he can barge in as backup and be under the impression that they acted in self-defence? Duping someone into smoking pot is one thing, making them a murder accomplice is something totally else.

Look it, I love a great vigilante thriller. This one was just over the top to the point of ridiculousness. (5/10).