Training Day
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: October 5, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
USA TodayClaudia 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. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael 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. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay 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. Read full review
50
Washington PostMegan Rosenfeld
A taut, high-velocity film that departs from the action flick template by having actual ideas. Read full review
70
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
Bit of melodramatic grandstanding that it is -- is made irrelevant by Washington's volcanic energy and fierce conviction. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen 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. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
One of the finest cops-and-robbers thrillers of recent years. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
As long as Training Day stays tightly focused on the struggle between the two cops, the movie is first rate.
40
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
One of those movie equivalents of a freeway pileup -- it's a mess, at once insistently watchable and a total dead end. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob 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. Read full review
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
If nothing else, Training Day is a gorgeous pedestal for Denzel Washington. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter 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. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Training Day can be simplistic, formulaic and absurdly melodramatic -- but Mr. Washington is flat-out great.
88
New York PostLou 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. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
He presides over the picture with such assurance that even longtime Denzel-watchers gape.
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Ominously atmospheric study of police corruption dangles danger and sinister motives at every turn. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)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. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Even if the movie loses its nerve at the end, that doesn't take anything away from Washington's performance. Read full review
80
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Mesmerizing entertainment, but it's also a cop-out.
90
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Denzel Washington ventures into the dark side as a seriously corrupt narcotics cop in Training Day, and the results are electrifying. So is the picture, thanks to taut, sinewy direction by Antoine Fuqua and a compelling script by David Ayer (The Fast and the Furious). Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
It’s fair to say Washington has never quite topped this performance. It’s an unparalleled treat to watch him messing with the bewildered Hoyt at their first meeting at a diner, and then to watch the two men striding out to the car, filmed from a low camera angle. It is all thrillingly ominous. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Training Day has the best performances and worst third act of any movie you're likely to see this year. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Antoine Fuqua's propulsive, elegantly written police thriller, offers the unsettling spectacle of Denzel Washington. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianShawn 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. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
As exhausting as it is exhilarating to watch, the film in the end is less than fully satisfying. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael 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.
70
The New York TimesA.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. Read full review
90
The New YorkerDavid Denby
Trashy and opportunistic as some of it is, Training Day is the most vital police drama since "The French Connection" or "Serpico."
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A razor-wire-taut (and extremely violent) exploration of what happens when good guys go bad, badder, baddest. Read full review
80
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. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami 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. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen 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. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
A blandly twisting plot with no meaningful revelations or substantial themes. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth 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. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The masochistic brutality it's selling still seems glaringly out of step with the current mood of the country. Read full review
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