Actor Denzel Washington (Fences) began his acting career over four decades ago. From 1977 up to now, He has been nominated for nine Oscar Awards, winning two of them. The first was for best-supporting actor for the civil war film, Glory. The second was for Best Actor in a Leading Role for 2001's Training Day, where he played Detective Alonzo Harris, head of the narcotics division for the Los Angeles Police Department. Twenty-two years after its theatrical release, Warner Bros. is making it available for the first time in 4K as part of the studios' 100-year celebration.
Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke; Gattaca) is an LAPD uniform police officer working for a promotion. Assigned to Officer Harris, Hoyt has to spend his day "convincing Harris" that Hoyt will be a valuable member of his team. From almost the very beginning, Hoyt is uneasy as he questions Harris' ethics and methodology of conducting police business. As the day wears on Hoyt becomes certain of two things; 1) he is conflicted about joining Harris' team because while a raise and promotion look good, he can't work within the guidelines set by Harris and 2) Harris set him up so Hoyt would either "Play ball" or go to jail.
The character of Harris was a departure from the types of roles we were used to seeing from Washington. He played a tough, streetwise, hardened cop who played by his own rules and who had his own "arrangements" with the drug dealers in town. His approach was to make Harris as unapologetic and fearless as possible and he succeeded. He won the Oscar because he deserved to and some still consider it his best performance to date.
Hawke almost matched Washington's intensity and his transformation within twelve hours from gullible rookie to worn-out narcotics officer was incredible. Besides the well-written script and director Antoine Fuqua's (Southpaw) vision, Training Day wouldn't have been half the movie it became if neither actor had agreed to make the film.
A movie such as Training Day definitely benefits from video and audio upgrades. With 2160p resolution, this movie has never looked better. Details are so fine from the pop-laced pot Harris makes Hoyt smoke to the car Harris drives, everything is sharp and clean. The background visuals are strong as well especially when Hoyt walks his way into gang territory after dark.
Dolby Atmos audio gives the ambient sounds and the dialogue a nice boost. While it may not be the full-on punch one might expect, it is an upgrade from previous releases. Music, traffic noises, televisions in the background, etc. subtly blend yet can be heard from different speakers throughout the room. Gunshots have terrific depth and echoing which is necessary for a film such as this - making them almost their own characters.
Where this release is slightly lacking is in the extras included in the combo pack. All are housed on the Blu-ray Disc and they were all previously released in 2006. They include: Audio Commentary (also on the 4K disc), Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending, "Training Day": Crossing the Line, Music Videos (Nelly "#1" and Pharoahe Monch "Got You"), and Theatrical Trailer.
With 100 years of movies tucked away in their vault, it is a testament to Training Day that it was included in this special celebration and given some upgrades along the way. Older films don't always stand up to the test of time but this one certainly does and with the new video/audio it is one movie that should be added to almost every home entertainment collection.
Grade: A
