Training Day (2001)

"Training Day" is a high energy film filled with difficult moral dilemmas. It delivers on drama, but doesn't deliver much meaning.-Analysis of Notable Work- *Writing/Directing: The pacing and drama is excellent and powerful in this film. The film is two hours, but it only feels an hour long. There are some nice callbacks that pay off pretty well. The story is set up wonderfully for an unforgettable ending. The disappointing thing is that the ending is truthfully quite forgettable. We leave the film feeling as if the final ten minutes were unplanned. Despite a weak ending, Antoine Fuqua commands an exhilarating story with absolute skill. Tension builds all throughout the film, and Fuqua gets the most out of his actors while having them do the least. The drama is in the story not the characters' actions, and Fuqua understands that. *Cinematography/Editing: The work of Mauro Fiore is greatly executed. He doesn't do more than he has to. This is a grim film about a hardened cop clashing against an eager rookie, not an artistic voyage of cinema. His understanding of what the story is about gives him incredible power in his visual storytelling. He doesn't get flashy, rather he presents the information to us in the way we need it. He makes excellent use of darkness and shadows contrasting with dim lights in tense scenes. The editing is mostly unnoticeable, which is what it is supposed to be in a film of this particular type. There are some well cut scenes of tension, especially towards the end. *Dialogue/Acting: The dialogue draws us further into the characters for most of the film. It is realistic and informal, but sometimes it seems as if the film tries too hard to be philosophical. Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington provide good performances. Hawke doesn't seem to have much range in this film, but his moments of calm are the most powerful of his performance in the film. Washington does enough to carry the story, but does not impress as much as he is capable of. *Music/Sound: These are among the weaker aspects of the film. The score is mediocre and does not do much to change the mood. The most intensely powerful scenes were typically without music. Other than a few queues the score hurt the film more than helped it. The sound was lackluster. There was not a dynamic range and it did not do enough to draw the audience into the world that Alonzo and Jake live in. *Production Design/Special Effects: The location, sets, and props were believable enough. They were not totally engrossing, but once again the film is all about the story so the production design is not as important. The special effects were passable. Some shots of people being punched or hit with items looked a bit weak. But it stayed real enough for us to stay invested in the story.*Conclusion: "Training Day" is a decent film that is sure to entertain and cause people to think about law enforcement. It may not have provided a clear path of what to think, but it did at least succeed in starting a conversation.

Training DayDavid Ayer's anticipated vision communicates straight and crystal clear to the audience where they are instructed to hold on to their seat belt and join the journey of a day along with these amazing lead characters that never fails to surprise. Antonie Fuqua is in his A game and doesn't disappoint at any frame of the feature holding the audience with wide open eyes for 2 complete hours. Danzel Washington and Ethan Hawke have put their soul into these parallel roles to an extent that the performance overpowers its explicit screenplay. Training Day is brutal, raw and dark natured feature that endorses its upcoming events in a subtle way that is unpredictable yet with genuine reasoning and soul that surprisingly has no barring and no rules just like its streets.

It doesnt get any tougher and more real than Training Day. One of Denzel Washingtons very best performances ever. If you like dirty cop movies and you havent seen this one yet, you will be in for a real treat.

Training day is a classic film. it's difficult to find negatives here. the screenplay is tight and realistic. the acting is phenomenal, the run-time doesn't feel too short or too long, and in terms of production value the film is top notch. the sound and visuals are great. so lets get into the details of why everything is so great.firstly, the performances are excellent. Ethan Hawke gives us a timid yet bold performance as the rookie narcotics agent who's not all that comfortable with the way his first day unfolds. his character's main goal is to become street ready and become the best cop he can possibly be. he starts out as a soft yet passionate officer who isn't very in tune with all of the street details that are required to perform the job. in scenes where he needs to be a little reserved and in his head, Hawke pulls it off. in scenes where he needs to be bold and charismatic, Hawke pulls it off as well. the key to the character is the outstanding morals he displays. he is at his core, a good man who seeks to do good. Denzel Washington's character is the polar opposite. the grizzled vet who knows what it takes and might cut some corners in order to get the job done. Washington is very charismatic and sells his characters motivations and morals perfectly. his character acts as the corrupting force that could be Ethan Hawke's characters undoing. the interplay between the characters moral differences is what drives the plot and keeps the story flowing smoothly and with consequence. each scene where a moral question comes into play could or could not affect Ethan Hawke's character in a major way. it's interesting to see how each scene plays out and how it will affect our perceptions of the characters as well as the perceptions that characters have of each other. what really ties everything together though is the script. the screenplay allows for both the characters to propel the plot and the plot to propel the characters. it's this balancing act that makes the movie special. an event happens, we learn about our characters, they learn about each other which causes a new reaction or event and the story flows smoothly. every time Denzel's character teaches Hawke's character something, although it may be immoral or even insignificant at the time, it comes into play in the third act. Hawke's character grows and towards the end of the film becomes the cop that he set out to become. completing the character's arc and completing the story with a tightly wrapped bow. it may not be on the level of the godfather or citizen Kane, but it sure is a great film and if you haven't seen it.. watch it.9/10