Training Day
by Cheeto
Posted on 18 August 2021
Rating -
Training Day is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gang-ridden neighborhoods of Westlake, Echo Park and South Central Los Angeles.
Once again, this is another film that I put off watching for a number of years, mainly because when I’d look at snippets, it didn’t seem to be my thing. I was being an idiot, as you need to watch this film in its full glory to truly appreciate how great it is.
Now, this is the only film I’ve seen from Antoine Fuqua, and when the credits started to roll, I knew what his directing style was. It’s woven throughout, just the way he shoots his scenes, he took a great script by David Ayer, and he transferred it to the screen perfectly.
Speaking of David Ayer’s script, he knows how to write characters, this is a good thing too, because this film is so character driven. Large parts of the film, the film shows our two main characters driving in a car, or going to eat. With badly written characters, I don’t know if I could’ve stomached the movie. I also think the story is compelling, as the film takes place during a single day.
This film is a thriller, and it certainly doesn’t fall short of thrills. There’s tidy action scenes, then there’s tense scenes that will make the viewer physically sweat, Antoine Fuqua blends the two perfectly, this is even more impressive as it is such an easy thing to mess up.
I think our two main characters, Alonzo, played by Denzel Washington, and Jake, played by Ethan Hawke, are brilliant. As most of the film focuses on two characters, those characters need to compelling and entrancing, Alonzo and Jake are exactly these and then some. Alonzo is the cop that doesn’t play by the book, someone who’s tactics aren’t exactly ethical, whereas Jake is the cop who does everything by the book, a model student. This is a fascinating pair up, as there is this festering tension between the two at all times, even when things seem to be fine and dandy. I think that Fuqua picked the best actors possible to play the two cops, and Denzel Washington more than deserved his lead actor Oscar.
I love the third act of this film, it almost changes from a tight thriller, into an all out action revenge flick. I love how Fuqua sprinkles little things about the charcter of Alonso throughout the film, but not enough where he gives you a distinct answer, only for it to blow up in the third act and we truly see the type of person Alonso is. I also love the community feel at the end of the film, it truly does put a smile on your face.
Overall, this is honestly one of my favourite films of all time. I love the different aspects that make up this film, it constantly keeps you on edge, and it delivers a satisfactory end. Watch this one guys.
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