Training Day

The New Yorker David Denby

Trashy and opportunistic as some of it is, Training Day is the most vital police drama since "The French Connection" or "Serpico."

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

One of the finest cops-and-robbers thrillers of recent years.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Ominously atmospheric study of police corruption dangles danger and sinister motives at every turn.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Be warned: Though it's entirely justified by the story, there's a level of violence and brutality in Training Day -- that some terror-weary audience members may not care to cope with these days.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

On a purely visceral level, Training Day is easily the most exciting movie out there right now, but as a morality tale with anything large on its mind, it's a cop-out.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Training Day can be simplistic, formulaic and absurdly melodramatic -- but Mr. Washington is flat-out great.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Mesmerizing entertainment, but it's also a cop-out.

Time Richard Schickel

As long as Training Day stays tightly focused on the struggle between the two cops, the movie is first rate.

Washington Post Megan Rosenfeld

A taut, high-velocity film that departs from the action flick template by having actual ideas.

Slate David Edelstein

If nothing else, Training Day is a gorgeous pedestal for Denzel Washington.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Antoine Fuqua's propulsive, elegantly written police thriller, offers the unsettling spectacle of Denzel Washington.

New Times (L.A.) Andy Klein

Washington creates an indelibly charming and terrifying character whose volatile blend of dedication and horrible expediency keeps us off balance.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

A razor-wire-taut (and extremely violent) exploration of what happens when good guys go bad, badder, baddest.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

The movie raises questions that are on plenty of minds right now, including whether and how much the rules should be bent to wage a war (in this case, on drugs) that cannot be won conventionally.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

So extreme is his mad dog behavior, indeed, that it shades over into humor: Washington seems to enjoy a performance that's over the top and down the other side.

USA Today Claudia Puig

With its unflinching style, Training Day can be hard to sit through at times. But it's worth the discomfort for the adrenaline rush of the plot and Washington's compelling performance.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This is a movie that rocks and socks you, and has a performance by Washington that's ruthless and scary. But in the end, it leaves you unmarked.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Even when it falls back excessively on coincidence and contrived set pieces, even when it gushes irretrievably over the top in its final act, Washington makes Training Day sizzle.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

It is so propulsive so much of the time, it almost looks as if it's going to go the distance. If Washington & Co. don't quite manage to bring it home, the getting there sure is something.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Even if the movie loses its nerve at the end, that doesn't take anything away from Washington's performance.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

He presides over the picture with such assurance that even longtime Denzel-watchers gape.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Though Training Day doesn't resolve itself as well as it deserves and ends strictly cops-and-robbers style, it's given us some great acting and something to ponder. Not every cop show can lay claim to that.

Film Threat Michael Dequina

Bit of melodramatic grandstanding that it is -- is made irrelevant by Washington's volcanic energy and fierce conviction.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Mr. Washington's dry-ice grandeur -- the predator's reflexes contrasting with a pensive mouth -- deserves regard, and his powerhouse virtuosity will almost guarantee him an Oscar nomination.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Training Day has the best performances and worst third act of any movie you're likely to see this year.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Even after it becomes clearer which side of law Harris is operating on, the film continues to work as a taut -- if violent -- police thriller.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

But this is Washington's show, his Scarface, if you will, and his smiling, seductive monster is a thrilling creation that gives Training Day all the bite it needs.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's a little depressing to see such a thrilling talent deployed in such an ordinary and sordid movie. Training Day isn't awful, but it's absolutely nothing special.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

As exhausting as it is exhilarating to watch, the film in the end is less than fully satisfying.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Denzel Washington does a cocksure turn in Training Day -- That may be enough to transform a shallow picture with delusions of grandeur into a crowd-pleasing hit.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The masochistic brutality it's selling still seems glaringly out of step with the current mood of the country.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

There's no denying that Washington can play a rococo villain with flip ebullience, but I fervently wish he were doing it in a movie that paid more than lip service to the real world.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

One of those movie equivalents of a freeway pileup -- it's a mess, at once insistently watchable and a total dead end.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

A blandly twisting plot with no meaningful revelations or substantial themes.