Training Day is a film that is undoubtedly dominated by one man, sometimes to the detriment of the plausibility of the film. But when that one man is Denzel Washington in a career-defining performance as the charismatic, manipulative and dangerous Detective Alonzo Harris, the logical inconsistencies of certain portions of the story can be forgiven. Considering how Washington's career trajectory has gone in the years following Training Day, it's easy to forget just how much of a departure the role was for him at the time of release. This was really audience's first glimpse of him as a bad guy, a far-cry from the morally upstanding roles he had mostly gravitated towards up to that point. It could be argued that perhaps he has traded too much on Alonzo Harris-esque roles in the last few years, but that doesn't detract from the power of this performance, for which he won the Best Actor Academy Award in 2001. The movie was End Of Watch director David Ayer's big break in Hollywood, this time as screenwriter. The script is dynamite, telling an exhilarating and gritty tale over a 24 hour period and featuring a great role for Ethan Hawke, who plays well opposite Washington as the wide-eyed and yet ambitious rookie Jake Hoyt.
