Ethan Hawke in "Training Day."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film an: Stars: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke Director: Antoine Fuqua Rated: R, with profanity, violence, drugs Length: 120 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(October 5, 2001) -- "You gotta be a wolf to catch a wolf." That's what hard-edged cop Alonzo Harris tells the idealistic rookie Jake Hoyt, who's trying out for the narcotics beat in L.A. in the film Training Day.

But Hoyt soon discovers Harris isn't just a wolf. He's also a snake. Or to put it another way, he's corrupt and makes up his own rules.

Denzel Washington is electrifying as the vociferous, crooked officer. It's the sort of buzz-generating performance that can elevate a film.

It's also the sort of down-and-dirty role this superb actor has needed. Recent portrayals of decent, courageous guys have started to form a halo around his head.

And Ethan Hawke matches Washington in the less flashy role of the idealistic young officer who believes procedures and rules are there to be followed.

Ultimately, Training Day works best as a one-on-one contest between two quality actors playing characters with opposing points of view.

Their battleground is on the job, inside Alonzo's unmarked police car, in booths at L.A. diners and on the mean streets and grungy alleys of the city.

The film is strongest in the repartee between the two cops, but grows more conventional when it leaves the squad car for action in the streets.

And plausibility gets stretched in the film's last act, a lengthy confrontation between the two cops in a rough L.A. neighborhood where Harris has established a fiefdom.

Director Antoine Fuqua takes a major step forward from his debut action film, The Replacement Killers, thanks mostly to the casting.

The script by David Ayer is the latest stab at a well-worn theme: police corruption running deep in Los Angeles. But at least it sides with the decent young cop who wants "to serve and protect" without lining his own pockets.

In these days when viewers may not want to see police in a bad light, that quality helps elevate Training Day. Along with Washington's memorable performance, of course.