"King Kong ain't got shit on me!"
Denzel Washington's Oscar winning performance in 2001's Training Day is something to be in awe of. A departure from his usual moral standing characters, Washington played a corrupt drug cop in Los Angeles. Ethan Hawke plays Jake, a rookie trying to make his way in the narcotics division. On his first day he shadows Alonzo (Washington), they drive around the city and Jake gets a whiff the corruption Alonzo and his crew (one member being Dr. Dre) have when taking on the city.
This film was definitely a slow burn for the first 45 minutes. But, once minute 46 hit you were in shock. My jaw was on the floor the way that Alonzo was dragging Jake into different antics around the city. It's one of those movies that, even after the ending you wonder where Jake is now. Is he still in the narcotics division? Is he going to walk in the corrupt footsteps Alonzo is paving?
It's well known that the Oscars can be pretty political (well...all awards shows are), people say that Denzel received this Oscar (Actor in a Leading Role) because he didn't get the award for his role in the 1989 movie, Glory. But, Denzel deserved every bit of this Oscar. Especially coming off his 2000 role as Coach Boone in Remember the Titans (a classic and one of my favorites). The amazing thing about Denzel Washington is he has range...and he also doesn't. He can play a character so drastically different but then play character's that are exactly the same but some way, somehow Denzel manages to make each character stand apart and stand out.
I highly recommend watching this exciting, classic film.
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