Training Day | The Critique

Hollywood has given many Good-Cop-Bad-Cop movies. More than often its the Good Cop who walks away with all adulation. Training Day is one exception. Antoine Fuqua directed crime drama boasts of a good star cast: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Eva Mendes. But the real star of the movie is the script. Written by David Ayer, Training Day brings in a new perspective to a clichéd concept of rookie taking on a senior.

Jake is a rookie who is going to work under mentorship of Alonzo. Alonzo has earned a name in LAPD as a capable cop. However, the image turns out to be a mirage when Jake finds out who exactly is Alonzo. His approach to drug deals and street crime is not acceptable to Jake. Alonzo considers his objections a rookie's naivety. Soon, Jake realizes that he is on cross roads with Alonzo who is too strong for him. Denzel Washington as Alonzo and Ethan Hawke as Jake gave exceptional performances. Both got Oscar nominations and Denzel was the lucky one.

Training Day ends on a positive note and sums up the reality of life beautifully. Some real good work is done by the Art Direction department. The look of movie is very real. The characters, especially Alonzo, grows on you, He commands respect. The way narrative presents him, his actions look real, justified and wrong at the same time. The way it ends is poetic justice, to say the least. Fuqua has done a commendable job with the movie. Respect.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh