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Antoine
Fuqua's direction is brisk, stylish, and suspenseful, but of more
importance to this policier's success is screenwriter David Ayer's
ear for authentic street slang and the superb central performances
of good cop/bad cop pairing Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington.
Hawke
is a revelation. Which is something that no self-respecting reviewer
ever expects to write. As naive, rookie detective Jake Hoyt - assigned
to Washington's ruthless veteran for one day only, to prove his
worth - he uses his fragile, prissy image to his advantage, making
his gradual transformation from dewy-eyed idealist to hardened 'tec
believable and compelling.
Washington,
meanwhile, cleverly plays off his image as a wholesome American,
delivering a typically intense performance as the morally ambiguous
cop who believes that "you've got to be a wolf to catch a wolf".
The
question that both Hawke and the audience must answer is this: is
he simply bending the rules to get results, or snapping them for
personal gain? And, even if he is batting for the law, do the ends
justify the means?
The
only problems in Ayer's twisty, unpredictable script come in the
final third, where seat-gripping tension eventually gives way to
horror movie-style cliché (a character's fate hinges on the
sort of ridiculous coincidence that could well happen in real life,
but is too contrived for fiction). Overall, though, this gritty,
impactful movie matches its bloody violence with a rare intelligence.
Cop that.
"Training
Day" opens in the UK on Friday 1st February 2002.
Reviewed by 91Èȱ¬ Films
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