Training Day (2009)

NYPD marks Antoine Fuqua's return to gritty, intense police thrillers after spending a few years making decent action flicks that didn't really go anywhere else. It follows three different cops, all dealing with their own mess. Richard Gere plays an officer just a week away from retirement, Ethan Hawke is the rookie lured in by easy money, while Don Cheadle is on an undercover assignment to take down a gangster—who also happens to be a friend—played by Wesley Snipes. These three stories collide in Brooklyn, where everyone’s trying to play judge, jury, and executioner.

Nothing groundbreaking here, honestly. Feels like a mashup of > and >, but with this cast and a director who actually knows how to handle this genre, there's real potential. If I recall, it hit > back in January, then the release date kept getting bumped around before finally landing on March 5th next year. Budget is supposedly around 25m, which feels pretty low given the talent involved.

trailer
imdb

Looks good to me. High hopes, we'll see. 🤷 Veseo and the return of > 😍

Finally hit theaters, so let's see if it's actually any good 🙂

I was pretty stoked about this movie at first. 🙂 But honestly, that excitement faded fast. 😢 Unfortunately, ScriptShadow almost never misses (god knows 😁how he does it). We'll just have to wait and see. 🤷

Yeah, I caught that.
Not sure, man. Been following this movie for a while now and honestly, I think the folks over at ScriptShadow might be onto something. It’s been pushed back so many times, and they completely overhauled the ending after it hit Sundance last year. Doesn't look promising, but hey, at least the trailer is decent 😁

The DVDSCC is total garbage, they're out 😢

It’s actually not all that bad; I managed to catch a glimpse of the sample.

Fuqua let me down with Shooter—not because the execution was poor, but because of the script he chose to tackle. I have a feeling this one will be a better move for him.

goldenhound32 said:It’s actually not all that bad, honestly—I caught a glimpse of the sample.

Honestly, this doesn't even come close to the quality you'd expect from DVDSCC. It’s pretty underwhelming, really—it feels more like someone just handed over an unfinished workprint instead of a finished film. 😢 By the way, that sample is a total fake.

I have to admit, Fuqua kind of let me down with Shooter—not because the movie itself was a disaster, but more because of his decision to go with that particular script in the first place. I’m really hoping this next one turns out to be a much better call on his part.

It looks like Antoine Fuqua has gone completely off the rails. Lost his compass.Everything follows below. Training Day It doesn't quite hit the mark, at least not for me. Such a shame.

Christian Taylor3 said:It’s almost like he’s looking for trouble; honestly, it feels like Antoine Fuqua has completely lost his way. Anything produced after Training Day just doesn't hit the mark, at least not in my book. It's a damn shame.

I’m in the same boat—only Training Day really worked for me. But hey, if NYPD ends up being better than Shooter, I suppose that counts as progress. 🙂

Well... it isn't quite Training Day, but it holds its own enough. 👍

There is one clumsy little detail regarding one of the shootouts, though I suppose I'll save that critique for when someone actually sits down to watch the film.

The movie was decent enough, but I walked away feeling like it missed the mark. It just could have been more.
Some parts were honestly pretty easy to see coming. I felt like Ethan Hawke lacked depth here; his character's patterns felt way too one-dimensional. There wasn't much intellect there—he just played the part of a straight-up thug.

To be fair, both Black leads absolutely outclassed the white characters. Their dynamic was easily my favorite part of the whole thing—that specific friction between Wesley Snipes' laid-back vibe and Don Cheadle's intensity.

goldenhound32 said:Well, it’s definitely not Training Day, but I guess it’ll do. 👍

Signature. It’s alright, I guess, but honestly? When I really sit back and think about it, Americans didn't put out a single decent movie in 2010. NYPD The sheer scale of this thing is actually pretty impressive. What’s most striking about this whole setup—with three seemingly unrelated Brooklyn Police Officers all ending up at the exact same crime scene despite being dragged there under totally different circumstances—is how much ground it covers. You get a little bit of everything. Fuqua and the screenwriter, who honestly seem to be carrying a heavy cross with this script, really put in the work to make these characters feel lived-in. For a while there, they actually pull it off quite well; Eddie played by Gere is... I honestly don't know what to tell you guys, but some people just have a fundamentally broken moral compass that makes my skin crawl. It’s one of those things where you look at someone and just wonder how they even function in polite society without accidentally offending everyone within a five-mile radius. I'm sitting here thinking about it, and it's just genuinely unsettling. It’s almost funny how they just set them up like that, only to toss them aside so effortlessly at the end—I guess you have to wrap things up somehow, right? Honestly, let's just pack Tanga, Salo, and Eddie into a beat-up Greyhound bus, put Ljubo Cesic Rojs behind the wheel, and just drive those guys straight off a cliff. 🤷 It’s honestly impressive, isn't it? It’s like Fuqua just hasn't learned a single thing from his past work. Training Day? 😕 Despite all that incredible potential, they completely botched Salo's character (Hawke). 😢 Ethan Hawke is such a phenomenal actor, though it’s a shame his range isn't tapped more often; honestly, you could probably base an entire gritty American crime drama around a character like his, and I'm pretty sure half the cops working the beat in any major US city would see themselves in him. 😬).

There’s one clumsy little detail regarding one of the shootouts, but I'll save that for when someone actually sits down to watch the movie.

Go ahead. Shoot.

P.S. I actually am glad about that. I guess I’m just a regular blue-collar worker, doing my part to keep the gears turning while everyone else is busy chasing some grander ambition.*claps*

Christian Taylor3 said:Just shoot him.

I remember when Gere was squaring off against that guy; he ended up killing him by using those zip ties—you know, the kind American forces used back in Iraq—around his neck. ...It would have been cleaner if the guy had just collapsed... but instead, he went ahead and shot him with a revolver.

Roger Wright94 said:The movie is decent, but I expected more. It could have been better.
Some parts are pretty predictable. I felt like Ethan Hawke lacked depth here; his character's pattern was just too simplistic. There wasn't much intelligence there—he played it like a straight-up thug.

Both lead Black actors are a class above the white roles. Their dynamic throughout the film was my favorite part—that mix of Wesley Snipes's casual vibe and Don Cheadle's tension.

This is actually the first Ethan Hawke role I've seen, and honestly, it totally blew my mind.😢
I didn't hate it at all.😢
My favorite part was that scene where he coolly shoots that guy at the door... it left me feeling even more unsettled.🤷

I've liked Don Cheadle since Traffic, and I have to admit, this is one of Richard Gere's better roles too.🙂

Just a bunch of great actors stuck in a terrible movie.☕

goldenhound32 said:I remember when Gere was dealing with that guy—he ended up killing him using those zip ties they used during the Iraq War. You know, the plastic ones. Honestly, it might have been easier if the guy had just collapsed on his own... but no, he had to go ahead and shoot him with the revolver.

I mean, you're looking at this massive dude, probably 6'6" and pushing 260 lbs, living on nothing but steroids and protein shakes. I guess a single bullet isn't really going to do much against someone built like that.

The movie was actually pretty good, though I felt like the ending was a little bit rushed or unfinished, maybe.

rapidtrucker14 said:We’re talking about a massive guy, maybe 6'7" and 260 lbs, living on steroids and protein shakes; someone built like that probably wouldn't even feel a single bullet...

I wouldn't go so far as to say he was 6'7" and 260 lbs, though that's beside the point regarding my actual observation... the way he was struggling to breathe just looked wrong 🤷 ...in your opinion, is it actually possible for someone to die from that?

goldenhound32 said:I wouldn't bet on it being specifically about the weight or the height, but that’s not even my main point... it just looked incredibly strange seeing someone struggling for air like that 🤷 ...what do you think, though? Is it actually possible to kill someone that way?

Of course it is. I guess that’s honestly one of the easiest ways to choke someone out—just pin their hands and tighten it around the neck. It’s probably more effective than a garrote..

rapidtrucker14 said:Of course it worked... it’s arguably the simplest way to suffocate someone. You just tie their hands behind their back and tighten this around their neck. It’s more effective than a garrote...

Hmm... weren't the hands already tied on that first Black man? If my memory serves me right, he managed to strangle the second guy, who showed up at the door just moments later.

goldenhound32 said:hmm... wasn't his hands tied by that first Black guy? If my memory serves me right, he actually strangled the second guy who showed up at the door just a moment later.

He actually smothered the second guy with a plastic zig-zag tie used for garden vines (😁), right after shooting him in the chest. And honestly, what's even weird about that, especially given the kind of movie this is? 🤷

Christian Taylor3 said:He suffocated the second guy using a plastic zig-zag garden tie (😁), immediately after shooting him in the chest. And honestly, what’s even strange about that, especially given the genre? 🤷

As per usual, when we get into the gritty details of cinematic violence, things sometimes feel... physically improbable. So, I find myself wondering if this was actually doable. Couldn't the Black actor have just loosened the tension on the strap? Maybe slipped a finger in there to create some slack? 🤷