• ⇤
• ⇽
• ≡
• ⇾
• ⇥

movie review - Training Day

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a movie about a rookie Los Angeles cop who is thrust headlong into a very unstable situation on his first day on the narcotics squad. Things get off to a strange start with a very abrasive and erratic team lead, and things go into a steep dive thereafter. Brilliantly cast, paced in sporadic bursts interleaved with pauses to let you catch your breath, and shot in seemingly every conceivable set available in Los Angeles, it's very well made and draws you to its inevitable conclusion with a satisfying feeling of realism despite the unlikely events.

I don't know why I didn't see this movie when it came out - perhaps it was the reality distortion effect of living in Australia. But it was much better than I'd expected. It's certainly not perfect - I think a real rookie narcotics cop would have handled things differently, and certain crucial bits of dialog betray the usual high standards - but I enjoyed it.

Recommended.