Training Day (2001) review

What a day! I spent most of Training Day confused about what the hell was actually happening, which somehow made the experience even better because I felt exactly like Ethan Hawke’s character. He is constantly trying to figure out what kind of world he has stepped into, and I was right there with him. And this might be the most GTA shit Denzel has ever been. The angst, confidence, menace, and ridiculous amount of swag just ooze out of him. When the raid happened, I was in total disbelief over what transpired and how everything suddenly came together. It feels like Sicario (2015) level kind of shit with the police. It totally caught me off guard. The runtime still had almost an hour left, but I already wanted to do a rewatch. The tension in this is on another level. This shit does not let me breathe, especially during the bathtub scene. Props to Denzel and Ethan for the performances. Antoine Fuqua directs the hell out of it, and David Ayer’s writing keeps revealing new layers until everything finally clicks into place.