Training Day

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Main otherTemplate:Template otherTemplate:Main other Training Day is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers followed over a 24-hour period in the gang-ridden neighborhoods of Westlake, Echo Park, and South Central Los Angeles. It also features Scott Glenn, Eva Mendes, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Macy Gray in supporting roles.

Training Day was released on October 5, 2001, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Washington and Hawke's performances but were divided on the screenplay. The film received numerous accolades and nominations, with Washington's performance earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor and Hawke being nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 74th Academy Awards.

A television series based on the film, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, was announced in August 2015 and premiered on February 2, 2017, on CBS. Only Noel Gugliemi, Tom Berenger and Raymond J. Barry reprised their roles. The show was cancelled after one season.

Plot

Jake Hoyt, an ambitious LAPD officer, is assigned to work with Detective Alonzo Harris, a highly decorated narcotics officer for a one-day evaluation to determine if Jake will be invited to join his narcotics squad. Driving around in Alonzo's Monte Carlo, they begin the day by catching some college students buying marijuana. Alonzo confiscates the marijuana, puts it into a pipe and tells Jake to smoke it. When Jake refuses, Alonzo threatens him at gunpoint stating that such a refusal while on the streets would get him killed. After Alonzo ostensibly ends his evaluation, Jake relents and smokes the pipe, getting high. Alonzo then reveals that the marijuana was laced with PCP.

Alonzo and Jake then visit Alonzo's friend Roger, an old drug dealer, to introduce Jake. After they leave, Jake notices a pair of drug addicts attempting to rape a girl in an alley. Jake stops the attack and subdues the addicts. Alonzo menaces the addicts, but refuses to arrest them afterwards. Jake then finds and takes the girl's wallet which was left behind.

Later, Alonzo and Jake apprehend a dealer named Blue, who has crack rocks and a loaded handgun in his possession. Rather than go to jail, Blue informs on his employer Kevin "Sandman" Miller, who is in prison. Using a fake search warrant, Alonzo steals $40,000 from Sandman's home. At lunch, the two visit Alonzo's mistress Sara and their young son. Next, Jake accompanies Alonzo to a meeting with a trio of corrupt high-ranking law enforcement officials. Aware that the Russian mafia is hunting Alonzo, they suggest he skip town. Alonzo insists he has control of the situation and trades the $40,000 for an arrest warrant.

Alonzo assembles his squad of narcotics officers including Jake, and they return to Roger's house with the warrant to search for Roger's stash. They find over $4 million in cash. Alonzo leads the team in pocketing some of the money, explaining they will only turn in $3 million. Jake refuses to take his share of the money, worrying Alonzo and the other officers. Alonzo executes Roger after Jake refuses to kill him, staging the scene with his men to make Jake appear to be the shooter. Jake subsequently gets into a standoff with the corrupt officers as he refuses to corroborate their story. Alonzo then reveals he has orchestrated the day's events to have leverage over Jake and threatens him with the police department's post-incident blood test, which will detect the PCP Jake smoked and end his career. Alonzo promises to protect Jake from the drug test if he stands down; Jake reluctantly complies.

Later that evening, Alonzo drives Jake to the home of a Sureño gangster named Smiley for an errand. As he waits for Alonzo, Jake reluctantly plays poker with Smiley and his fellow gang members, Sniper and Moreno. Smiley then explains Alonzo's situation: Alonzo got into a fight with a connected Russian mobster in Las Vegas and killed him. Alonzo must pay a million dollars as compensation, or be killed himself. Additionally, Smiley reveals Alonzo has abandoned Jake and paid Smiley to kill him. Jake attempts to flee but is beaten and dragged to the bathroom to be executed. Moreno searches Jake for money and finds the wallet of the girl Jake saved from the attempted rape earlier, who is revealed to be Smiley's cousin. After calling her and confirming that Jake saved her, Smiley spares Jake's life.

Jake returns to Sara's apartment to confront Alonzo. A gunfight and chase ensue, and Alonzo is eventually subdued on the street while the entire neighborhood gathers to watch. Alonzo offers money to whomever kills Jake, but the neighborhood residents, tired of Alonzo's abuse and corruption, refuse to help. Jake takes the stolen money to submit as evidence against Alonzo, and the neighborhood gang allows him to leave safely. Alonzo then attempts to flee for the Los Angeles International Airport, but is ambushed and gunned down by the Russians. Jake returns home and voice-over of a news presenter reports Alonzo's death.

Production

Development

Although corruption in the LAPD's C.R.A.S.H. unit was yet to be exposed when Training Day was written, Antoine Fuqua has stated that the emergence of the Rampart Scandal in the late 1990s catalyzed the completion of the film. Denzel Washington also grew a beard in order to emulate the appearance of Rafael Pérez, an LAPD narcotics officer involved in multiple scandals. Fuqua wanted Washington's character to be seductive and part of a machine, and not just a random rogue cop. In Washington's own words: "I think in some ways he's done his job too well. He's learned how to manipulate, how to push the line further and further, and, in the process, he's become more hard-core than some of the guys he's chasing."

Fuqua also saw Ethan Hawke's character as generally honorable but so driven by ambition that he was willing to compromise his principles, particularly when following the charming and persuasive example of Washington's character. He has said that he fought with studio executives who wanted to cut the Three Wise Men scene, thinking it slowed the film. He insisted that the scene was pivotal in establishing that at least some of Alonzo's illegal actions were sanctioned by his superiors who regarded unethical behavior as a necessary evil.

Fuqua wanted Training Day to look as authentic as possible, and he shot on location in some of the most infamous neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He even obtained permission to shoot in the Imperial Courts housing project, the first time L.A. street gangs had allowed a film crew to be brought into that neighborhood. The crew also filmed in Hoover Block and Baldwin Village. Parts of the film were shot on the dead end street Palmwood Drive, where Black P. Stones gang members were seen on the rooftops. Cle Shaheed Sloan, the gang technical advisor of Training Day, managed to get on screen real-life gang members from Rollin' 60 Crips, PJ Watts Crips, and Black P. Stones. According to Fuqua, the actors and crew ended up receiving a warm welcome from local residents. When he was unable to shoot a scene directly on location, he recreated the locations on sets.

There were also two police officers on hand as technical advisors, Michael Patterson and Paul Lozada (the latter from the San Francisco Police Department). Washington, Hawke and other cast members also met with undercover police officers, local drug dealers, and gang members to help understand their roles better.

Casting

Davis Guggenheim was originally attached to direct the film, with Matt Damon as Jake Hoyt and Samuel L. Jackson as Alonzo Harris. Once Washington became attached to the project, he requested to have Guggenheim replaced with Fuqua. Eminem was offered the role of Hoyt, but turned it down in order to focus on preparing for 8 Mile (2002). Tobey Maguire, Paul Walker, Freddie Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillippe, and Scott Speedman all auditioned for the role of Hoyt.

Music

A soundtrack to the film was released on September 11, 2001, by Priority Records. It peaked at 35 on the Billboard 200 and 19 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and spawned two hit singles, Nelly's "#1" and Dr. Dre and DJ Quik's "Put It on Me".

Release

Training Day was originally scheduled for release on September 21, 2001, and had a strong advertising push. However, following the September 11 attacks, the film was pushed back to October 5, 2001, replacing Collateral DamageTemplate:'s original release date.

Home media

Training Day was released on DVD and VHS on March 19, 2002. A Blu-ray version was released on August 1, 2006. A 4K Blu-ray version was released on February 28, 2023.

Reception

Box office

Training Day opened at number one, grossing $22.5Template:Nbspmillion, ahead of fellow new release Serendipity in second place. Upon opening, it achieved the second-highest October opening weekend, behind Meet the Parents. It repeated in the top spot in its second weekend, above that week's new release of Bandits in second place, and spent its first six weeks in the Top 10 at the box office. It went on to gross $76.6Template:Nbspmillion in the United States and Canada, and $28.2Template:Nbspmillion in other territories, for a worldwide total of $104.9Template:Nbspmillion, against a budget of $45Template:Nbspmillion.

Critical response

Template:RT prose Template:MC film Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert said: "Washington seems to enjoy a performance that's over the top and down the other side". Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, praising both the lead and supporting actors and the film's gritty, kinetic energy. He criticized the plot's implausibility, but praised its execution, stating: "Ayer's screenplay is ingenious in the way it plants clues and pays them off in unexpected ways, so that Training Day makes as much sense as movies like this usually can." Jeffrey Westhoff of Northwest Herald gave the film a two out of four rating, stating that "it aims to be a contemporary L.A. Confidential - but crumples with a simplistic, unbelievable climax."

Writing in The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Rechtshaffen gave the film a positive review, stating: "Denzel Washington ventures into the dark side as a seriously corrupt narcotics cop... and the results are electrifying. So is the picture, thanks to taut, sinewy direction by Antoine Fuqua and a compelling script by David Ayer."

Denzel Washington's performance as Detective Alonzo Harris was highly praised by critics. In The Village Voice, Amy Taubin wrote that the film "offers the unsettling spectacle of Denzel Washington, whose old-fashioned combination of decency and sexiness suggests the African American counterpart to Gregory Peck (in his To Kill a Mockingbird period), as an LAPD cop so evil he makes Harvey Keitel's Bad Lieutenant look like even smaller potatoes than he was meant to be".

Accolades

Award	Ceremony date	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
Academy Awards	March 24, 2002	Best Actor	Denzel Washington	Template:Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Ethan Hawke	Template:Nom
American Film Institute Awards	January 5, 2002	Actor of the Year – Male – Movies	Denzel Washington	Template:Won
All Def Movie Awards	February 25, 2016	Most Quoted Movie		Template:Nom
		Best Bad Mu#&a Award	Denzel Washington	Template:Won
ALMA Awards	May 18, 2002	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Eva Mendes	Template:Nom
		Excellence in Make-Up in Television and Film	Ken Diaz and Jay Wejebe	Template:Won
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards		Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture	"#1" – Nelly and Waiel "Wally" Yaghnam	Template:Won
Awards Circuit Community Awards		Best Actor in a Leading Role	Denzel Washington	Template:Runner-up
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Ethan Hawke	Template:Nom
BET Awards	June 25, 2002	Best Actor	Denzel Washington (also for John Q.)	Template:Nom
Black Reel Awards	April 21, 2002	Best Film		Template:Won
		Best Director	Antoine Fuqua	Template:Won
		Best Actor	Denzel Washington	Template:Won
		Best Film Poster		Template:Won
		Best Original Soundtrack		Template:Nom
		Best Original Song	"#1" – Nelly	Template:Nom
BMI Film & TV Awards		Film Music Award	Mark Mancina	Template:Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	December 16, 2001	Best Actor	Denzel Washington	Template:WonTemplate:Efn
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	February 25, 2002	Best Actor		Template:Nom
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards	January 3, 2002	Best Actor		Template:Nom
Festival Nazionale del Doppiaggio Voci nell'Ombra		Best Male Voice (Film Award)	Francesco Pannofino (for dubbing Denzel Washington)	Template:Won
		Best Male Voice (Audience Award)		Template:Won
Golden Globe Awards	January 20, 2002	Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama	Denzel Washington	Template:Nom
Golden Schmoes Awards		Best Actor of the Year		Template:Nom
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards		Best Actor		Template:Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards		Best Actor		Template:Nom
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards	December 15, 2001	Best Actor		Template:Won
MTV Movie Awards	June 1, 2002	Best Villain		Template:Won
		Best Line	"King Kong ain't got nothin' on me!"	Template:Nom
		Best Cameo	Snoop Dogg	Template:Won
MTV Video Music Awards	August 29, 2002	Best Video from a Film	"#1" – Nelly	Template:Nom
NAACP Image Awards	March 3, 2002	Outstanding Motion Picture		Template:Nom
		Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Denzel Washington	Template:Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards	January 4, 2002	Best Actor		Template:Draw
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	January 6, 2002	Best Actor		Template:Runner-up
Online Film Critics Society Awards	January 2, 2002	Best Actor		Template:Nom
Satellite Awards	January 19, 2002	Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama		Template:Nom
Screen Actors Guild Awards	March 10, 2002	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role		Template:Nom
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Ethan Hawke	Template:Nom
Taurus World Stunt Awards	May 2002	Best Work with a Vehicle	Brian Machleit and Robert Powell	Template:Nom

In June 2003, the American Film Institute named Alonzo Harris the 50th greatest screen villain of all time in its list AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains.

In July 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York TimesTemplate:' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 250.

Related projects

TV series adaptation

On August 7, 2015, it was announced that Antoine Fuqua had decided to develop a television series based on the movie, and had teamed with Jerry Bruckheimer to develop the concept. Warner Bros. Television was shopping the show to the American broadcast networks. Will Beall would write the series, while Fuqua would serve as executive producer, and would direct the potential pilot. CBS ordered a pilot on August 14, 2015. In addition to Fuqua, Bruckheimer, Beall, and Jonathan Littman will serve as executive producers for the series, which is set 15 years after the original film. In May 2016, CBS picked up the series.

In the CBS television series, Alonzo is mentioned by Deputy Chief Joy Lockhart when briefing Officer Kyle Craig on sending him undercover at LAPD's Special Investigation Section to investigate Detective Frank Roarke. Frank briefly mentions Alonzo at the end of the first season. The series, starring Bill Paxton and Justin Cornwell, premiered on February 2, 2017, with a 13-episode run as a mid-season replacement.

Filming for the first season had been completed in December 2016, so the run was not affected by Paxton's death on February 25, 2017, two days after the fourth episode aired. The lowest rated drama series on CBS that season, it was canceled on May 17, 2017, the same week the season finale aired.

Prequel

In October 2019, it was reported that Warner Bros. was developing a prequel to Training Day. The prequel follows a young Alonzo Harris in late April 1992, two days before the verdict of the Rodney King trial and the associated L.A. riots. The prequel, named Training Day: Day of the Riot, was set to start production in California in February 2022, but as of November 2025, the film appears to be still in development.

See also

• Denzel Washington on screen and stage
• List of hood films
• Crown Vic (2019 film)

External links

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