Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Written by: David Ayer Starring: Denzel Washington Ethan Hawke Scott Glenn Tom Berenger Cliff Curtis Snoop Doggy Dogg Macy Gray Eva Mendes Charlotte Ayanna Harris Yulin Raymond J. Barry Emilio Rivera

He accomplishes the task in "Training Day." In this film he plays Alfonso Harris, an over-the-top rogue narcotics cop who defines the term 'street justice.' On training day, he takes the rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) under his wing to find out what the greenhorn is made of; in essence it is a one-day on the job interview. Hoyt exposes him to some of the meanest, sickest, most 'gray area' scenarios possible to test Hoyt and see if young Jake is truly cut out to be a narcotics officer. Hoyt is the typical by-the-book guy while Harris is a do it by any means possible type; if it were Eddie Murphy instead of Washington playing the role you could practically have "Beverly Hills Cop 4." Fortunately for us it is all played straight and the result is a strong commentary on the lines that justice must cross.

The plot is a bit contrived and is for the most part jumbled. As Hoyt moves closer and closer to Harris and his game, he realizes that Alfonso has indeed crossed lines of justice and has no intent on returning. He leads a double life; he punishes the criminals, and then scares them straight as he lets them walk free. Slowly Hoyt realizes that Harris is far more involved in lawlessness than simple beat-downs, and the natural conclusion is that Hoyt must decide which team he plays for- the narcotics team that is fully intent on removing the scum of the earth while skimming off the top, or the team that plays by the book and writes parking tickets.

The overall plot is not bad, but it is far from great. As we move farther and farther along in the movie, the intricacy overwhelms us to the point where it really isn't all that interesting. It's too hard to follow, and the movie goes into a bit of a tailspin, going from very believable to a tad absurd. The ending is a bit hackneyed and a bit over-dramatic; similar ends could have been accomplished with a much more toned down ending, and would have kept the movie internally consistent. The plot is ultimately disappointing.

Fortunately for us though, that is not the real point of the movie. That is not it's pure strength. The strength of the movie, of course, is Denzel, and the room that the directors gives him to maneuver throughout the plot, gradually turning up the heat so that we can understand the man's intensity. Washington is amazing in this role, and 90% of the time totally disappears behind the concept of Harris. The best part of his role is that, as we watch him interact with Hoyt, we see the method to his madness. We realize that, though he's totally screwing with Hoyt most of the time, he truly does admire him and sees a guy who has what it takes to do the job. Perhaps this is why Harris pushes him so far; because he realizes that Hoyt is a born leader and can be the same as him in the narcotics division. Each time Hoyt responds, it raises the bar until eventually Harris has no choice left- he must push him into the inner circle, or he must break him trying to. As Harris' foil, Ethan Hawke does a decent job as the idealist just trying to move ahead. He has a look of a deer frozen in the headlights, which Washington plays off of masterfully, and is clearly the movie's top asset. For better or worse though, whenever Denzel lets loose those pearly whites he once again becomes cool family guy Denzel, telling us that it's still just a game.

The plot is average, the acting is superb. If you're willing to sacrifice one for the other and are not afraid of what the notion of street justice looks like, "Training Day" delivers the goods.

- Dogburt

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