Nearly 25 years later, 'Training Day' remains Denzel Washington's greatest performance ever
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Verdict: "Training Day" isn't flawless. The plot veers into the ludicrous. You need to suspend your disbelief at times. And it surprisingly drags a bit, though only for a few beats at a time. But Ethan Hawke's performance as Jake Hoyt will make you forget all of that, and Denzel Washington's performance as Alonzo Harris will have you almost forget about Hawke. It's that good, and it's enough to vault this movie into greatness.
Where to watch: Buy or rent "Training Day" on Prime Video
"Training Day" has been the moment I've been waiting for in my 52-week-long Denzel Watchathon. Not only is it Denzel's 27th film, meaning that I'm now over the halfway mark in this incredible movie marathon, but it's also my favorite Denzel performance of any movie.
Don't believe me? I wrote about "Training Day" being my favorite Denzel movie almost a year ago to the day because it was coming to Paramount+ (sadly, it's no longer on the streaming service). For once, I didn't have to hunt for this movie either, as I owned the 4K UHD disc. That's how much I love this movie.
Ironically, now that I'm a Denzel scholar, my love of the movie itself diminished on this watchthrough. It was still great. But I've now seen over half of the legendary actor's work. I've seen a lot of what he can do, and what he's been in. The truth is that this crime thriller is flawed. Not irreparably so, but the plot veers into the ludicrous at times, and you need to suspend disbelief when watching it. Even I'd have to rank "Crimson Tide" and "Philadelphia" above this movie.
If you can manage to suspend your disbelief, though, you're rewarded with a Denzel performance that feels like the culmination of his rise as an actor.
If you want to watch this movie before you read on, I'm afraid I have some bad news. "Training Day" isn't currently streaming on any of the best streaming services or the best free streaming services. Instead, you'll need to buy or rent it from Amazon or the digital storefront of your choice.
'Training Day' feels tailor-made for Denzel to shine
We're thrust into "Training Day" almost instantly. Technically, it's not a cold open. There's a shot of the sunrise, and the title card appears. But that's all the preamble we get before we begin our way through the crime thriller's plot.
The movie starts with Ethan Hawke as LAPD officer Jake Hoyt. He's trying to join the narcotics squad of Detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). To get the gig, he will need to ride along with Alonzo as Alonzo's partner for a one-day trial.
Here are the other Denzel Washington movies I've covered so far in our Denzel Watchathon:
- "Carbon Copy" (1981)
- "A Soldier's Story" (1984)
- "Power" (1986)
- "Cry Freedom" (1987)
- "For Queen and Country" (1988)
- "The Mighty Quinn" (1989)
- "Glory" (1989)
- "Heart Condition" (1990)
- "Mo' Better Blues" (1990)
- "Mississippi Masala" (1991)
- "Ricochet" (1992)
- "Malcolm X" (1992)
- "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993)
- "The Pelican Brief" (1993)
- "Philadelphia" (1993)
- "Crimson Tide" (1995)
- "Virtuosity" (1995)
- "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995)
- "Courage Under Fire" (1996)
- "The Preacher's Wife" (1996)
- "Fallen" (1998)
- "He Got Game" (1998)
- "The Siege" (1998)
- "The Bone Collector" (1999)
- "The Hurricane" (1999)
- "Remember the Titans" (2000)
Despite the premise and the star power, this is not a blockbuster. Or, more accurately, it doesn't feel like a blockbuster. With a budget of $45 and Warner Bros. distributing it, you cannot call "Training Day" an indie movie.
But watching the movie, I have to assume most of that budget went to paying Denzel and Hawke or paying to feature "Still Dre" (and Dr. Dre himself) in the movie. It feels very stripped down, a far cry from many of the overly produced Hollywood movies Denzel made in the 1990s.
This is to the movie's benefit. It allows us to simply focus on Denzel and Hawke, who are often the only two on screen. In the first act of the movie, in particular, much of the film is just dialogue between Denzel and Hawke.
In these scenes, Denzel simply cooks. He chews scenery. He verbally bats Ethan Hawke around like a cat with a ball of yarn. His character is in total control, and so is Denzel.
As the movie goes on and Denzel starts to lose control, Hawke begins to take equal billing in the movie. To be clear, Hawke is also excellent in "Training Day." Like Denzel, he gets an Oscar nomination for his performance. But it's Denzel who rips off incredible monologues and quotable lines until the bitter end. It's Denzel who steals the show, and the movie feels designed to put him in scenarios where he can put on the best performance of his career time and time again.
Verdict: King Kong ain't got nothing on Denzel
Earlier, I mentioned that Denzel's performance feels like a culmination of his career to that point. And having watched his entire career up to (and through) "Training Day," you can see what performances he's pulling from.
Alonzo has the confidence and recklessness of Bleak from "Mo Better Blues." But he also has the calm, collected demeanor of Coach Boone in "Remember the Titans." Well, at least until things fall apart.
In short, the range on display throughout Denzel's career up to this point gets compressed into a single character.
The closest comparison is probably "Malcolm X," where Denzel also showcases incredible range. But in that film, the range is elongated throughout the entire performance, shown in stages. In "Training Day," the same range of emotions, flaws and traits are compressed into a character who exudes and exhibits them all at once.
It's no wonder Denzel won an Oscar for this movie. Even though it's no longer my favorite Denzel movie, it's still the best performance of his career.
Buy or rent "Training Day" on Prime Video now
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