Hey folks, Harry here with our young and crusty friend, QUINT with a look at Fuqua's TRAINING DAY... a film that I'm very much looking forward to seeing someday when they let me out of my padded cell... SIGH!!!!! (that's a really loud and frustrated and aggravated exaltation) However, for the time being I'm live vicariously through all these reports! I hate Quint now! Argh! No I don't... He's too cuddly and fun to tickle. Here ya go....
Ahoy there, squirts. 'Tis I, the mourning seaman, Quint, here. I mean damn. Victor Wong can't really die, right? Gods can't die, can they? Here I was all set to write this nice big review of a movie that blew me away, Training Day, I sign on, check my email and stop by the site to see one of my all time favorite character actors has exited stage left.
The bombings, the death of Samuel Z. Arkoff and now Egg Shen. How much more can a crusty ol' salt like myself take? I'm just grateful that the movie I saw tonight was something special. I saw what I hope to be the first great film to usher in the post summer blockbuster season. Training Day.
Massawyrm called up, said he had an extra seat on his ticket to the sneak and invited me along. When we met up at the theater I discovered that he had been reading up on this film, something I very rarely do, and he told me the buzz was amazing, that early screenings have yielded glowing reviews. I had only seen the trailer and had kept away from all reviews and reports... I've had too many movies ruined for me. Unless I know the reviewer, I usually wait to read the reviews until after I see the film.
Anyway, I now had higher expectations for the film. The lights went down and a trailer popped up for 13 Ghosts. Now, the sound and BASS was cranked up to the Nth degree and boy did that trailer rattle me. I'm a little nervous about Matthew Lilard and Hollywood's recent history with big budget haunted house movies, but goddamn if they haven't put together a freaky trailer. I hope they don't fuck it up.
The movie starts and immediately shows me that there is a very talented cinematographer on board. The shots in a very normal setting, the first being Ethan Hawke's small apartment, were set up imaginatively... Ah, like you give a shit about that. Let's just say the visual tone of the film is fantastic.
The real meat and potatoes of the film is in the performances of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Denzel plays Alonzo Harris, a badass street-wise NARC, who takes young, rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) on a day full of tests... It begins with tests of his resolve, of his cop knowledge and soon becomes a test of his moral fiber.
I don't want to go too long on this review, but I must go into detail on these two characters. We'll start with Denzel. He plays totally against type in this film and it works spectacularly. He gives his crooked cop character dimension, makes him a vicious bastard, but one we can't take our eyes off of. Yet we do see his facade drop at certain moments in the film revealing a human being who is at once scared, pissed and eerily cunning.
I'm tempted to say this is a career best for Denzel. He's always great, but unlike Hurricane (which I dug) or Courage Under Fire or The Siege or Glory or even Malcolm X... he's never played this character before. He almost always plays the good guy, or at least the sympathetic character. He's vicious in this movie. He's one guy you don't want to fuck with. What's so disturbing about him and his character is you can't quite put a finger on what's going on behind his eyes, what he has planned for you.
Ethan Hawke is perfectly matched with Denzel. Where Denzel is the confident, brooding badass, Hawke is the nervous rookie with his ideals and morals firmly in check. At once, Denzel starts toying with Hawke, testing him for weaknesses and strengths. He takes a joy in taking this young rookie with stars in his eyes, who in the end just wants to be a detective to better help people, and twisting his idealistic vision on law enforcement to the point of shattering the young man's dream.
The film is a great loss of innocence piece. Hawke's innocence is not just simply eroded away, it's ripped from him violently, stomped upon, spat upon, shit upon, then thrown back in his face. This movie holds no punches. There was never one point where I knew what was going to happen at the end.
Denzel and Hawke are backed by a great, great, great supporting cast. Scott Glen (Silence of the Lambs, Urban Cowboy) is terrific in a small role as one of Denzel's old buddies and informants. Also a standout is Cliff Curtis (Escobar in Blow, Bruce Campbell's nemesis in the film within the film in Darabont's upcoming The Majestic) as gang banger. He is in some of the best scenes in the movie and he dominates the screen when he's on.
I was blown away by the film. Then the credits started to role and I was even more blown away when I saw who the director was. It was the man who made Chow Yun Fat not seem like a God. Antoine Fuqua, who directed The Replacement Killers directed this superb cop drama. I can see his style in the film now, but I frankly never would have thought he had it in him. Bravo to him. He made a great film. I really hopes he keeps it up and have no doubt he will. It took great talent to make the film I saw tonight and I'm sure we'll see more great work like Training Day in the near future.
So, there you have it. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Entertaining, emotionally involving and some of the best performances and chemistry I've seen in a while. If you're tired of the buttery summer popcorn movie aftertaste, Training Day is the perfect film to cleanse your pallet and get you ready for the Oscar rush of the Fall Movie Season.
Keep yer eyes on the horizon, squirties. I have some goodness to share with you fine folks in the very near future. Some script reviews and even an interview with the daddy of everybody's favorite '80s horror series... But more on that later. 'Til that day, squirts, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
