Braveheart Review "They may take our lives but they will never take OUR FREEDOM!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, so its time for another post and this one is another revisitation of an older post on this blog, which is my review of the historical drama, Braveheart starring Mel Gibson as the legendary Scottish knight, William Wallace. 

The film even though it won several Oscars, has been slated for its many historical inaccuracies but after 25 years, how does Braveheart still hold up??? Well, let's take another look and see...

And I will put the usual warning ahead...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

OK so the story begins in 1280 with King Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan) of England having invaded and conquered Scotland.  William Wallace as a young boy survives the deaths of his father and brother and witnesses Longshanks treachery as village leaders were found hanged.  Wallace is taken away by his Uncle Argyle (Brian Cox) to Rome where he will be educated.  

Years later Wallace returns to Scotland as a man (Mel Gibson) to find that under Longshanks rule, he has permitted the Scottish noblemen lands and privileges, but also sexual rights to an English lord with a newly wed Scottish woman on their wedding night (known as Prima Notca).  Wallace soon falls in love with his childhood sweetheart Murron (Catherin McCormack) whom he marries in secret to avoid the English lords claiming their sexual rights with her.  

The day after however one of the English guards tries to rape Murron, but Wallace prevents it.  However Murron is captured then executed publicly in order to provoke Wallace, who then kills the English garrison along with the help of the local villagers.  Wallace also sends the garrison occupying Lanark back to England and warns them that Scotland's daughters as theirs no more.

Meanwhile Longshanks is furious on hearing the news and insists that his son and heir, Prince Edward (Peter Hanley) do everything he can to stop Wallace, however the Prince is weak minded and inexperienced.  Edward is married to Isabella of France (Sophie Marceau) but he is also involved in a homosexual relationship with his military counsel Phillip (Stephen Billington).  

Wallace's rebellion in the meantime grows as he gains more Scottish followers and he soon leads his army to victory at the battle of Stirling against the English.  Wallace also goes on to invade the English on their home soil at York, where Longshank's nephew is beheaded and his head is sent back to Longshanks, who then decides to send Isabella to negotiate with her.  Wallace meets with Isabella but refuses to accept any bribes from Longshanks, but Isabella begins to develop feelings for Wallace, as she inspired by his passion for his country.

On returning to Longshanks Isabella discovers that Longshanks has set an army in place to invade Scotland, and she secretly dispatches her aide to warn Wallace.  Wallace then meets with the Scottish nobleman and insists they stand together and fight against the English, but the noblemen are reluctant to do so.  However one of the noblemen, Robert the Bruce (Angus MacFadyen) who is a contender for the throne is intruiged by Wallace and gives his consent to unite the clans and the other nobleman.  

At the battle of Falkirk however the nobleman Lochlan and Mornay betray Wallace on the battlefield, and the Scottish lose the war, and Wallace as he charges on a horse toward Longshanks, he is stopped by one of the king's lancers, who turns out to be Robert the Bruce, but Bruce soon helps save Wallace from the English capturing him.  

After the battle Wallace begins to wage his own war against the English and he also fights his own fight with the Scottish nobleman as he continues to try and achieve the dream of having a country of their own... 

THOUGHTS 

Braveheart even 26 years still remains an entertaining historical drama and it tells an important story in history about Scotland's battle for independence from the English.  The film is of course somewhat guilty of historical inaccuracies in the storytelling and I will get to some of them in a bit, but what Mel Gibson does depict in the film is of course done for cinematic and drama effect.  But with Braveheart, Gibson does show he has a certain aptitude for creating historical epics on a big budget and he manages to make the film very accessible to audiences.  The film itself was shot on location in Scotland, but the battle scenes were in fact filmed in Ireland, with Gibson also using nearly 2,000  extras who were Irish army reserve. 

PERFORMANCES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!)

Getting onto the performances (the usual structure as always) they are all excellent as the cast are on solid form. 

Starting with Mel Gibson who does a pretty good job as Wiliam Wallace, who also remains somewhat tormented by his past, and the deaths of his father, brother and his beloved Murron, but is willing to fight and die for his country.  He also portrays Wallace as an educated man who also can speak several different languages (not sure how many though!). 

Gibson has his share of notable scenes such as the one near the start where Murron's father shows his reluctance to the idea of Wallace dating (or courting as they say back then) his daughter. 

So, in the scene, Murron's father, McClannough rides with another man, Campbell who says to Wallace "I've come to fetch you to a meeting" and Wallace asks "What kind of meeting?" and Campbell says "The secret kind". Campbell then says to Wallace "You're father was a fighter, and a patriot" and Wallace tells him "I know who he was. I came back home to raise crops, and God willing, a family. If I can live in peace, I will". McClannough then asks Wallace "You say you want to stay out of the troubles?" and Wallace says "Aye!" and McClannough then says to him "If you can prove it, you can court my daughter, until then, the answer is no" and Wallace asks "No?" and McClannough again says "No" and rides off.

Then there is the scene Wallace rides the battlefield at Stirling prior to engaging with the English, and he delivers his stirring speech to the Scottish locals who have turned up.  This scene also features an amusing line when one of the Scotsmen says "William Wallace is supposed to be seven feet tall!" and Wallace replies "Yes so I've heard.  Kills men by the hundred, and if he were he would consume the English with fire from his eyes and lightning bolts from his arse!" and the men all laugh.  

Wallace however asserts himself as he rides on the field and tells the men "I AM William Wallace. And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men... and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?!". And one of the men says "No, we will run and we will live!" and Wallace says to him "Aye, fight and you may die, run and you may live, at least for a while!".  But Wallace then stirs the men by delivering his powerful words "Would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance to come back and tell our enemies that they can take our lives, but they will never take our FREEDOM!!!".  

Another notable scene is where Wallace is knighted and but during the scene, the other Scottish nobleman all squabble with one another. So as he is about to leave they ask where he is going and he tells them "We have beaten the English but they'll come back because you won't stand together!" and he says "You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position.  I think that position exists to provide those people with freedom.  And I go to make sure that they have it."

Then there is the scene where Wallace confronts the Scottish nobles as they squabble over standing together as a united army. So, in the scene Wallace enters and says to them "My army has marched for more days than I can remember, and we still have preparations to make. So I'll make this plain. We require every soldier you can summon. Your personal escorts, even yourselves. And we need
them now!". 

However the nobles refuse to help and one of them, Craig, tells Wallace "We cannot defeat this army!" but Wallace defiantly shouts at him "We CAN and we WILL!". Wallace then berates the nobles and says to them "We won at Stirling, and still you quibble! We won at York and you would not support us. If you will not stand up with us now then I say you're a coward!". And as the nobles looks outraged and move forward, Hamish takes his axe and plunges it into a table. And Wallace says with disgust "And if you are a Scotsman, I ashamed to call myself one!".  

Robert the Bruce however then asks Wallace to step outside to talk, which they both do and Robert tells Wallace "Now you've achieved more than anyone could have dreamed but fighting these odds looks like rage and not courage". Wallace then makes an impassioned plea to Robert and says "It's well beyond rage. Help me. In the name of Christ help yourselves! Now is our chance, now. If we join, we can win. If we win, well then we'll have what none of us have ever had before: a country of our own. You are the rightful leader, and there is strength in you. I see it!". Wallace then offers his hand to Bruce and says to him "Unite us! Unite us! Unite the clans!" and after some hesitation, Bruce shakes hands with him and Wallace says "Alright!" as he rushes his way out.
 

Patrick McGoohan is excellent in his role as the cruel king Edward Longshanks, who has several highlights in the film and his clipped delivery and commanding tone makes for an intimidating figure.  

McGoohan has some good scenes also that include his first one where Longshanks plans to use a cruel custom known as Prima Noctes to take sexual advantage of Scot's brides on their wedding night as a means to tax them. 

So, in the scene, Longshanks says to his men during a meeting "The trouble with Scotland is that it's full of Scots. Perhaps the time has come to reinstitute an old custom. Grant them prima noctes. First night, when any common girl inhabiting their lands is married, our nobles shall have sexual rights to her on the night of her wedding. If we can't get them out, we breed them out!". 

Then there is the scene where after Wallace has started his uprising against the English, Longshanks returns to his castle and chastises his son, Prince Edward for his weakness as a leader.

So, Longshanks says to Edward "Scottish rebels have routed one of my garrisons and murdered the noble lord" and Edward says "I heard. Wallace is a brigand, nothing more!" and Longshanks with some sarcasm asks him "And how would you deal with this brigand?" and Edwards says "Like any common thief. Have the local magistrate arrest him and punish him accordingly". Longshanks then says to the others in the room "Leave us" and they walk out and Longshanks suddenly hits Edward in the face, who falls down and tells him"Wallace has already killed the magistrate and taken control of the town!".  Edward nervously backs away and Longshanks tells him "Stand up! Stand up. In the morning, I depart for France to press our rights there, and I leave you here to quell this little rebellion, understood? Is it? One day you will be a king. At least try to act like one!" and he walks out. 

Then there is the scene where after Wallace invades the city of York in England, Longshanks on returning home and heard the news, he asks what Edward has done about it. 

And in the scene, Longshanks enters his castle and the room where Edward is with his counsel (and presumed gay lover). So, Longshanks asks "What news of the North?" and Edward nervously tells him "Nothing new, my Lord. We've sent dispatchers to spread any word". However, Longshanks informs Edward "I heard the word in France, where I was fighting to expand your future kingdom. The word, my son, is that our entire Northern Army has been annihilated. And you have done nothing!".  Edward then anxiously tells Longshanks "I have ordered conscriptions. They are assembled and ready to depart!".

However, a messenger then enters with a sack and a letter, says to Longshanks "Excuse me, sire. There is a very urgent message from York". Edward takes the letter and on reading it tells his father "Wallace has sacked York!" and Edward takes the letter and reads it and looks in the sack to find a severed head, which cause Edward to nearly faint. Longshanks coldly says to himself "If he can sack York, he can invade lower England!". 

And then Edward's counsel, Phillip interrupts and says to Longshanks "Then we must stop him!" and Longshanks, irritated by this turns and asks Edwards "Who is this person who speaks to me as if I needed his advice?!". Edward then tells Longshanks "I have declared Phillip my high counselor!". Longshanks sceptically asks Edward "Is he qualified?" and Phillip proudly tells him "I am skilled in the arts of war and military tactics, sire". Longshanks then puts his arm round Phillip and walks with him and asks "Are you? Then tell me what advice would you offer on the present situation?" and he suddenly throws Phillip out a window to his death, leaving Edward distraught, who runs over and looks down on Phillip's dead body below. Edward then tries to attack his father with his a knife, who swiftly hits him in the face and kicks him on the ground and he sits down and ponders what to do about Wallace "I will make him a truce and pie him off!".

And last of all is the scene where during the battle of Falkirk, the English army overwhelms the Scottish army and Longshanks reveals that some of the Scottish nobles betrayed Wallace for money and lands.

So, in the scene as Wallace's army appears to be doing well in battle, Wallace waves his flag to signal two of the Scottish nobles, Mornay and Lochlan to attack but instead they just ride away much to Wallace's shock. 

And as we see them ride off, an English general riding next to Longshanks asks "Mornay, Lochlan??" and Longshanks tells him smugly "I gave Mornay double his lands in Scotland and matching estates in England. Lochlan turned for much less. Archers!". And the archers prepare to fire and the general says to Longshanks "I beg your pardon, sire but won't we hit our own troops??" and Longshanks indifferently tells him "Yes, but we'll theirs too! We have reserves. Attack!". And as the English archers fire volley and volley and start to cut down the Scottish army, Longshanks then orders "Send in our reinforcements!". And as the English army turn the tide and become victorious, Longshanks tells the general "Bring me Wallace! Alive, if possible. Dead, just as good!". 

Sophie Marceau is also quite good in her role as Isabella, although in the end she just serves more a romantic subplot for Wallace as the two of them become involved with one another.  

And I will mention just one of her scenes and its the one where near the end, Isabella has engaged in a romance with Wallace, visits Longshanks, who by this time is very ill and cannot speak and Edward sits with him and she begs for Longshanks to spare Wallace. 

And Isabella says to Longshanks "I have come to beg for the life of William Wallace" and Edward says to her "You're quite taken with him, aren't you?". Isabella then says "I respect him. At worst he was a worthy enemy. Show mercy, O great king, and win the respect of your own people. Even now you are
incapable of mercy. And you. To you that word is as unfamiliar as love!". Edward however tells Isabella "Before he lost his powers of speech he told me his one comfort was he would live to know Wallace was dead!".  Isabella then in a more sinister tone moves in close to Longshanks and tells him "You see, death comes to us all. But before it comes to you, know this. Your plot dies with you. A child who is not of your line grows in my belly. Your son will not sit long on the thrown, I swear it!".

Brendan Gleeson is excellent in his role as Hamish (and ironically is an Irish actor!) who is Wallace's childhood friend, and becomes one of his key allies in fighting the English.  

And I will mention again just one of Gleeson's scenes and its the one where Wallace prepares to ride off to meet with Robert the Bruce for a meeting but Hamish warns him that it is a trap. 

So, in the scene Hamish says to Wallace "You do know that it is a trap. Tell him!" but the Irishman, Stephen says "I think if Bruce wanted to kill you, he would have done it already at Falkirk" and Wallace agrees and says "Aye". Hamish however is still reluctant and warns Wallace "I ain't leaving him aside. What about the others?! The scheming bastards couldn't agree on the colour of shite!! It's a trap, are you blind?!". Wallace however pleads with Hamish "We've got to try. We can't do this alone. Joining the nobles is the only hope for our people. You know what happens if we don't take that chance?" and Hamish asks "What?" and Wallace says "Nothing!". 

Hamish then says to Wallace "I don't want to be a martyr!" and Wallace tells him "No do I. I want to live. I want a home and children and peace!". Hamish asks him "Do ya?" and Wallace sincerely says "I do. Its all for nothing if you don't have freedom!". Hamish however cynically tells Wallace "Its all a dream, William" and Wallace annoyed asks "A dream?! Just a dream?! What have we been doing all this time? We've been living that dream!". Hamish defiantly tells Wallace "You're dream isn't about freedom! Its about Murron! You're doing this to be a hero because you think she sees you!" but Wallace says to him "I don't think she sees me. I know she does. And your father sees you too!" and Hamish angrily punches Wallace in the face.

Angus MacFayden however is probably the weak link in the cast as his potrayal of Robert the Bruce is far from commanding and he comes across more a meek figure than the strong leader that would eventually lead his country to freedom.

Nevertheless MacFayden has a couple of excellent scenes as Bruce with his father, Robert the elder (played superbly by Ian Bannen) as the two of them argue over their position on Wallace and the Scottish noblemen. 

And I will mention the first one where after Bruce betrays Wallace on the battlefield of Falkirk, he tells his father about his anguish over doing it. 

So, in the scene, his father tells Bruce "Soon you will have all the power in Scotland" and Bruce feeling empty and ashamed says "Lands, title, power, nothing!" and his father asks "Nothing?". And Bruce with great anguish tells his father "I have nothing. Men fight for me, because if they do not, I throw them off my land and I starve their wives and their children. Those men who bled the ground red at Falkirk, they fought for William Wallace, and he fights for something that I've never had. And I took it from him when I betrayed him and I saw it in his face on the battlefield, and it's tearing me apart!!". His father however tells him "All men betray, all men lose heart" which prompts Bruce to yell "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HEART! I want to believe as he does! I will never be on the wrong side again".  

David O'Hara is also really good in his role as Stephen the demented Irishman, who provides some funny moments (again the irony here is that O'Hara is Scottish yet he plays an Irishman!).  

O'Hara as Stephen has some funny scenes especially when he first meets Wallace and he laughs and says "That can't be William Wallace. I'm prettier than this man!" and he looks to the sky and says "Alright Father, I'll ask him!" and he looks to Wallace and asks "If I risk my neck for you, will I get a chance to kill Englishmen?".  Hamish then sarcastically asks O'Hara "Is your father a ghost or do you converse with the Almighty?" and O'Hara says "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God. Yes, Father. The Almighty says don't change the subject; just answer the fooking question!".

Hamish then warns O'Hara "Mind your tongue!" and Hamish's father, Campbell scornfully says of O'Hara "Insane Irish!" which prompts O'Hara to quickly draw his dagger by Campbell's neck as the other draws sword on him and O'Hara grins and says "Smart enough to get a dagger past your friends, old man!". Wallace then tells O'Hara "That's my friend, Irishman and the answer to your question is yes, if you fight for me you get to kill the English". O'Hara then smiles and says "Excellent. Stephen is my name! I'm the most wanted man on my island, except I'm not on my island, of coarse. Mores the pity!". 

Then there is the scene where Wallace hunts in the woods with a bow only for O'Hara to follow him nearby but then we also see another armed with a sword charge towards Wallace and O'Hara throws his dagger, which hits the man in the chest, who falls down dead. So, O'Hara says to Wallace "Are you sure the almighty didn't send me to watch your back? I never liked him anyway. He wasn't right in the head!" and he pulls his dagger out of the man and runs off leaving Wallace to look up to the sky to the Almighty in wondering.  

And last of all is Catherine McCormack who does a good job as Murron, Wallace's true love, who sadly would meet her death at the hands of the English, which spurred Wallace to rise up against them. McCormack herself is an English actress playing a Scottish woman, so again its funny now all the different nations play the Scots! 

And I will mention just one of her scenes and its the one where Murron meets with Wallace after they go for a ride and Wallace declares his love for her (as you do!).

And he tells Murron about his plan to raise a farm and have children and says "Of course running a farm is a lot of work, but that will change when my sons arrive" and Murron asks "So, you've got children?" and Wallace awkwardly says "Well not yet, but I was hoping you could help me with that". Murron smiles and asks "So, you want me to marry you then?" and Wallace smiles and says "Well, that's a bit sudden but alright!" and Murron laughs and asks "Is that what you call a proposal?!". Wallace then tells her sincerely "I love you. Always have. I want to marry you" and Murron smiles and Wallace asks "Is that a yes?" and Murron says "Aye, that's a yes". 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

Finally moving onto the direction, Mel Gibson does a good job with the action of the film although it has to be said he does overdo the slow motion sequences during the battle scene at Stirling and also the moment where Wallace is about to attack the English garrison on horseback in his village.  But his visual sense and staging of the action scenes are quite spectacular (also thanks mainly to John Alcott's stunning cinema photography) and the bloody violent battles are impressive, which include plenty of hacking, slashing, stabbing, as well as decapitating (well it is a war film after all!).  

As for the film's score by James Horner it is also quite good, but it is somewhat guilty of being overly romantic and sentimental at times, and Horner uses the Uilleann Irish pipes as opposed to the traditional Scottish bagpipes, which suggests the film has bigger Irish heritage than a Scottish one, which is a bit annoying! Mel Gibson however did admit that he chose the Irish pipes over the Scottish ones in his commentary for the DVD as he thought they sounded better. Yeah but this IS a film about SCOTTISH people, Mel, right???!! Ah well. Never mind, its a decent enough score all the same.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contains spoilers but also more about the film's inaccuracies!) 

Now getting onto the film's flaws and niggles, Braveheart of course has its fair share. 

And to start off, I thought would mention the film's numerous historical inaccuracies starting with Wallace's relationship with Isabella of France, which in reality never happened as that time Isabella was only three years old and lived in France and was nine years old at the time of Wallace's death! So, yeah I don't quite see that romance working out very well!

Robert Bruce is also shown to have betrayed Wallace on the battlefield of Falkirk in the film, but according to history there was no record that Bruce had betrayed Wallace directly, even if he did switch allegiances between both sides in the early years of the war for independence. So, the scene with Bruce's portrayal is completely fictional in itself from what history has recorded. 

Prince Edward who was portrayed as a weak and ineffectual gay man, but in reality the Prince was in actual fact a married man with children, although it was rumoured that he did have relationships with other men, and he also married Isabella at a time when he was already crowned as King Edward II.  This was also an accusation aimed at Gibson in this portrayal of the prince as it was deemed as being homophobic by the media, although Gibson himself claimed it wasn't, and that Longshanks was purely a psychopathic personality who took some pleasure in tormenting his son, also seen in the scene where Longshanks throws Philip's military counsel out a window. Longshanks however to be fair was said to have been a ruthless leader by nature anyway, so I guess Mel got that right enough! 

Longshanks is also depicted to have been rather tight-fisted with money, as he seems to grudge Isabella for giving the bribe money for Wallace to the poor.  Although this was also another historical inaccuracy as Longshanks was reputed in reality to have been a generous man who gave to charity, who in fact died during a campaign rather than in bed from fever as depicted in the film.

Another big inaccuracy is that the Scottish were shown to be wearing kilts but in the 13th century, Scottish people did not wear kilts and it would several hundred years later before kilts would come into fashion. The same can also be said for the blue warpaint that Wallace and his men wear during the battle of Stirling as there was no record of Wallace having ever worn paint of any kind. 

Its also worth pointing out that the film even gets the battle of Stirling wrong because for starters, it takes place on a field in the film but the actual battle itself took place on Stirling bridge! The bridge itself was a narrow entrance for the English soldiers, which was an advantage for the Scottish soldiers, who ambushed them and cut them down, which is quite different from fighting on a big field! 

There were also criticisms leveled at the film for being somewhat anglophobic (fear and hatred of English people) especially in its depiction of Longshanks as such a loathsome king, and also for having strong Anti-English sentiments.  And its difficult to try and level these criticisms when the film itself deals with the English and how they dominated the Scottish at that time, and it was all about the fight for independence, its difficult to portray the English in such a positive light in that regard.  

However to be fair to an extent, writer Randal Wallace said that the screenplay was inspired by an epic poem written by Blind Billy, a minstrel, who wrote the poem based on Wallace's life, but the poem itself also has various historical inaccuracies, so that in itself may account for a lot of the historical discrepancies in the film.

I also felt given the film deviates so much from actual history there really are some moments that have to be called out as complete nonsense. And a particular example is the scene where Isabella pleads with a dying Longshanks to spare Wallace's life, even though Longshanks can't even talk! Isabella also even says that she is pregnant with Wallace's son and that his son Edward, will not live long on the throne, suggesting heavily that she will kill him. Now, given that she is saying that, I mean how can she even expect to survive long at all given that the Prince is right there in the room and heard her words! I guess the film was trying to assert how weak the Prince is and that he wouldn't do anything about it. Either way though its just a silly scene that is wildly inaccurate and made up. 

And last of all I would have to say regarding the Wallace's final torture scene that we have that ridiculous line where, Wallace manages to shout "FREEDOM!!!!" while he is being disemboweled! Yeahhh, I'd imagine in reality, Wallace would have had a mighty hard time trying to even say that line while all this gruesome stuff was going on with him! 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Braveheart is an entertaining historical drama that does provide some spectacular action scenes as well as fine performances from its cast with Mel Gibson doing a fine job in the role as Wallace and managing a decent Scottish accent at the same time. However, the film isn't without its problems especially with its numerous historical inaccuracies and it is also quite lengthy and Gibson also overdoes the slow motion moments to build tension. 

However, if you can forgive its flaws (and there are plenty of people that wouldn't lol!) then Braveheart is still an entertaining film but just don't take it as an actual history lesson is all I'd say! 

So, I will rate Braveheart as:

7 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and this most likely will be my final post of the year, so I will wish you all a Happy New Year and see you in 2022.

Until then its bye for now! 

 

5 More Great Scenes From The Sopranos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I figured I would get in a couple more posts before Christmas and I thought I would do another favourite scenes from one of The Sopranos as I have done two of these posts already. However, these scenes like the previous post, will not be in any particular order of preference but I will only be doing 5 scenes this time round and one post.

So, with that said let's take a look at my picks for the 5 scenes.

And I will issue another familiar warning:

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

1. Episode - Walk Like A Man Season 6 

"Chris you're in the Mafia!"- Chris's final meeting with JT Dolan

So, first up is this scene from the final season 5th episode "Walk Like A Man" where tensions are bubbling up between Christopher and Paulie over Chrissie's father in law's business being manipulated and robbed by Paulie's nephew, Little Paulie. Christopher also has been distancing himself from the others in the New Jersey crew by avoiding the Bada Bing club. 

However as tensions boil over, Christopher brutally beats up Little Paulie and Paulie destroys Christopher's lawn to get back at him but they soon bury the hatchet and share a drink together at the Bing where a drunken Christopher gets mocked by Paulie. Christopher feeling mocked and rejected, drunkenly leaves the Bing and pays a visit to JT Dolan, looking for sympathy he doesn't get much.

So, in the scene, Christopher turns up at JT's apartment and he tells JT emotionally "I'm losing it, man!" an JT looks at him and says "How much did you drink?" and Christopher says "I dunno, a lot!" and JT says "I'll put on some coffee. Call your sponsor" and Christopher "He's not there. Its an urban myth anyway!". 

Christopher then sits down and asks JT "What are you writing?" and JT tells him "Law and Order" and Christopher says to him "I could tell you stories that will make your fucking head curl!". JT however becomes very uncomfortable as Christopher starts to give away some mob secrets "I know things my friend, about Ralph Cifaretto, my fiance Adrianna". Christopher then says "One phone call and whole fuckin thing comes tumbling down!" and JT nervously says "I shouldn't be hearing this!" and Christopher then angrily says "Yeah, I know you just wanna leach off me and write about it!". 

Christopher then out of pity says to him about Tony and the others "I don't know about you but my friends have abandoned me! I have been ostrified!" when he means ostracized. Christopher tearfully then says "Even my father abandoned me!" and JT says "I thought he was shot". 

JT then impatiently says to Christopher "Give me your phone, I'm calling your wife!" and Christopher asks "What??" and JT tells him "I have told you REPEATEDLY I don't want to hear this shit!". Christopher the points at him and says "I let you be part of my movie" and JT mockingly asks him "You LET me??". Christopher then emotionally says "I'm pouring my heart out, man!" and JT sarcastically says "Well, I'm very sorry!" and Christopher says "Hey, we met in AA!" and JT delivers the fatal line "Chris, you're in the Mafia!". Christopher looks at JT for a moment and says quietly "Fine" and he makes to leave but before he does, he turns round takes out a gun and shoots JT in the head, who falls down dead. Christopher then uses his sleeve to close the door to JT's apartment as he goes. 

So, its a great scene and one with a shocking end that really comes out of nowhere, especially if you haven't seen it before. Its also one of Michael Imperioli's best scenes from the show as Christopher is both pitiful but loathsome all at once. Tim Daly is also excellent in the scene too as JT in what is of course his final scene of the show itself. 

2. I Dream of Jeanie Cusomano - Season 1

"You've been a good doctor to me! Thank you" - Tony warns Melfi to leave town. 

Next is this great scene from Season 1 where after Tony furiously storms out of session with Melfi after she suggests that Tony's mother tried to have him killed, he hears her voice on tapes recorded by the FBI. So, he goes back to Melfi to make amends but she shuts the door on him as she sees him. 

So, in the scene Melfi asks Tony "Will you give me your word that I won't be in a any physical danger if I let you in here" and Tony impatiently says "Fuck! Yes, you have my word!". So, in the next scene, Tony sits with his head in his hands, clearly feeling devastated by what he has learned and Melfi tells him "I have to say that I take no pleasure in knowing that I was right about your mother". 

Tony then tells Melfi "One of the reasons they tried to have me clipped is because I'm seeing a shrink" and Melfi tells Tony "You know that patient-doctor conversation is privileged, and I couldn't testify against anybody" and Tony tells her "Well maybe they know and maybe they don't". Tony then warns Melfi "You're in danger" but Melfi can't believe it and says "Get out of here! That's not fair!" and Tony says to her "Fair? What are you talkin about?! Oogatz! These people don't give a shit about fair!". 

Melfi then asks Tony "OK, what am I supposed to do?" and Tony tells her "Leave town. Today" and Melfi shocked says "I can't do that. Lam it. I have a life! I have patients!" and Tony says sarcastically "Tell them August came early" but Melfi annoyed says "It doesn't work that way. I have patients that are suicidal!". Tony says to her "Well, they aren't gonna much better if you get clipped!" and Melfi furiously says "Jesus fucking Christ!". 

Tony then says "I'm sorry, okay? I'm gonna work on this problem with the people that pose a threat to you, and I'll take care and you can come back". Melfi shocked then asks "My God. People are gonna get murdered, aren't they?" and Tony tries to reassure her "Don't about those distractions. You just keep your eye on the ball!". Tony looks at Melfi and says "I know what you're thinking" and Melfi angrily says "You have no idea what I'm thinking!" and Tony says "You're thinking of going to the cops but you can't give them anything! Don't be stupid. Even in the short term. Get the fuck out of town". Tony then gets up to leave and says to Melfi "You've been a good doctor me. Thank you" and he walks out. 

So, its another great, very well acted scene by both James Gandolfini and Lorraine Bracco, which has humour as well as drama with a funny reaction from Tony as he tells Melfi to keep her "eye on the ball" and not think about the potentials murders Tony will have to order to resolve his issues. So, its well worth putting on the list. 

3. Toodle-Fucking-Ooo Season 2 

"There's a lot I could say right now that I'm NOT gonna say!"

So, next is this scene from the 3rd episode of Season 3, "Toodle-fucking-oo!" where an outraged Janice finds that her mother, Livia's house has been trashed after Meadow has a party there, so she goes to rant about it to Tony and Carmela. 

So, in the scene, Janice angrily walks into the Soprano home and we see Tony sitting at eating his cereal as Janice says to him "You see what she did?" and Tony asks "What?" and Janice angrily says "That house is fucked!" and Tony looks at her and says "I though you didn't swear". Carmela asks Janice "What are you talking about?" and Janice angrily says "I'm outraged! I'm beyond outraged! Talk about disgrace! Disregard for other people's property. Its like a freaking shooting gallery over there!". Janice continues "Its smells like urine, there's puke all over the hardwood floors!" and Tony says to her "Sounds like your apartment in Venice!". 

Carmela then tells Janice "She's been punished" and Janice mocks her "Three weeks without a credit card! Madonn! That's some heavy shit there!" and Carmela warns her "Janice...!". Janice then continues "If it was my child..." and Tony finally snaps and knocks his cereal bowl off the kitchen counter and shouts at Janice "You know what?! FUCK THIS! You got a lot of balls, you know that?!" as he gets in Janice's face and Janice defiantly says to him "Don't talk to me like that!". Tony angrily says to Janice "Let's clear the air here! You're acting like some Vishnu-come lately, playing the concerned daughter, who the fuck are you kiddin?! You're just here to pick the freakin bones!". And Janice angrily says to Tony "You know there's a lot I could say right that I am NOT gonna say!" and Tony smiles at her and says "A lot of balls!" and he walks out leaving Janice fuming. 

Janice then fumes to Carmela "Temper tantrums! He's not changed one iota since we lived in Newark! Not ONE IOTA!" Carmela calmly warns Janice "You're passing judgment on him, Janice, on us as parents. How we discipline our children is none of anybody's business". Janice however continues "You let that girl walk over, you'll regret it!" and Carmela finally snaps "Mother of God, Janice! I asked you nicely to stay out of it, you pretend not to hear. Well maybe you'll hear this! Mind your fucking business and keep your mouth shut when it comes to my kids!! Alright?!!". Janice then goes quiet and says in a hurt manner "Maybe I've stayed here too long" and she walks off. 

So, its another great scene and the first one that really shows Janice's true colours in the series as well as the fact that she could go toe to toe with Tony in arguments and is a great performance by Aida Turturro as Janice. So, it easily deserves its spot here.

4. The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti - Season 1 

"Its called cowboy-itis!" Tony berates Christopher in the car 

So, next is this great scene from this episode from the 1st season "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti" where Tony berates Christopher when Chrissie picks him up in his car about shooting a pastry clerk in the foot. 

So, in the scene, Tony gets in the car and punches Christopher in the side of the head and Christopher painfully responds "Oww!" and Tony angrily asks him "What the fuck is wrong with you?" and Christopher tells Tony "I haven't been feeling great lately" and Tony angrily says "Well, I wipe my ass with your feelings! Drive the fuckin car!". 

So, as Christopher, Tony unloads on Christopher loudly "We're under the microscope and I heard you shot some kid in a pastry store because he made you wait in line..." and Christopher says "Fuckin Paulie..." and Tony shouts "Don't blame fuckin Paulie! Nutley's got a make and description of the car, why don't you leave a fucking urine sample next time!". Christopher tries to talk "If I could..." but Tony furiously cuts him off and shouts "SHUT UP!! And Georgie comes in with vomit all over him and I ask "what the fuck??" and he said you were digging up some body from months ago..." and Christopher says "I was worried!" and again Tony tells "SHUT UP!!". 

Tony then angrily continues "You want to get caught!" and Christopher asks "I want to get caught?" and Tony angrily says "Yeah, I've seen it before! Its called Cowboy-itis! You wanna be a bad guy?" and again Christopher tries to explain but meets more fury from Tony who yells "SHUT UP!!!!". Christopher finally gets a word in and says "Can I try and explain here?" and Christopher becomes emotional and says "Its like the regularness of life is too fucking hard for me. I dunno". Tony softens a little and asks Christopher "Look at you. I bet you're sleeping all the time" and Christopher says "Its the only thing I enjoy". 

Tony then suggests "Look maybe you're depressed" but Christopher dismisses the idea and says "I'm no fucking mental midget!". Tony then also suggests "Maybe you've got a serotonin problem or whatever the fuck they call it!" and Christopher asks "You know about that?" and Tony awkwardly says "I say last night on a program" and Christopher says "Take Prozac?! Not this skinny guinea!". Tony finally asks Christopher "You ever think about..." and he mimes shooting himself and Christopher says "Fuck no!" and Tony says "Good! You seen those bunch of losers blowing their skulls all over the bathroom!" and two men laugh. 

So, its a pretty tense scene, which again is played brilliantly by James Gandolfini as Tony's anger rises throughout it and we also get to Christopher's vulnerability and this episode was the first to majorly feature Christopher in it as well. So, its certainly worth a place on the list. 

5. Cold Stones - Season 6a

"That pool cue, I wonder if it was chalked?!" Fat Dom foolishly teases Silvio and Carlo at Satriales. 

So, last of all is this scene the penultimate episode of the first part of Season 6 (or 6a) Cold Stones, where the outed gay New Jersey capo, Vito, is murdered by Phil Leotardo's men. And the next day, one of the men responsible for beating Vito to death, Fat Dom, turns up at Satriales pork store and foolishly starts to tease Silvio and Carlo who are there. 

So, the scene begins with Fat Dom entering the store where Sil is cleaning up the floor (with a dustbuster) and Carlo is cooking. So, Fat Dom says to them "There they are! The pirates of Prosciutt! The brigands of bracioll!" and Fat Dom hugs Silvio and gives him a payment and says "Game out in Canarsie. I appreciate the rollers you sent". Silvio then offers Fat Dom to stay but Dom says "No, I gotta stop by my daughter's in Mutuchen". 

Dom sits down with his paper and says of Vito "Hey, sorry to hear about your boy. Terrible thing!" and Sil tells Dom "Son 13, daughter 9 years old". Dom looks at his paper reading a sports result he says "Syracuse! Tanked again!" and he begins to tease about Vito "That pool cue, I wonder if it was chalked?" and Sil a back taken aback tries to brush it off and says "Very funny, Dom. Very cute. Not sure I get it but cute". Dom then teases some more "You know the autopsy revealed they found a 3 ball in his side pocket?!". Sil then says "You're on a run!" but then Dom starts to tease Carlo "They found hankie with Carlo's lipstick in his other pocket!". Carlo looks irritated but Dom smiles and says "I'm just breaking balls" and Carlo smiles. 

Dom then says "You're right I shouldn't laugh about a "tragedy". after a pause however he continues wind them up "That old homo actor, Ramon Navarro. He had an ivory dildo stuck up his ass when they found him". However even Sil is starting to get annoyed at this point but tries to hide it and says "You're pretty up on all this stuff, Dom..." and Dom clicks his fingers and says "Come to think of it...he was from Jersey too!". Carlo however is now becoming angry and asks Dom "What did they find up your mother's cunt?!" and Dom smiles, taking pleasure from riling him up. 

Sil then makes one last attempt to try and get Dom to leave politely and says "Time to hit the trail to Metuchen, what d'ya say?". Dom grins again and says "My mistake" but then takes it too far and says "Carlo's lipstick was on Vito's cock..." and Sil finally snaps and hits Dom over the back of the head with his dustbuster and he yells at Carlo "HIT THIS PRICK!!! HIT HIM!". However, Carlo goes for his chopping knife and makes to stab Dom and Sil shouts "Carlo! No!" but its too late as Carlo viciously begins to stab Dom to death, who falls back on the table dead, after this we hear Dom's phone ring tone go off and Sil angrily shouts "FUCK!" and locks the back door. 

Sil then tells Carlo "Call Patsy and them, tell them a pipe broke, we had to leave. We wait till the store closes and then we get him out" and Carlo says "Cut him up in the work area?" but Sil shakes his head and says "No more of that, DNA". Sil takes a moment and says "Ditch his car, get some biangeleen!". 

So, its another great scene, which features a shockingly violent murder that you don't expect to happen at the start of it but the tension builds brilliantly throughout it and Tony Cucci as Fat Dom also does a great job in the scene as he winds up both Sil and Carlo. So, its both shocking and funny at the same time, which again is something that makes The Sopranos a brilliant show in how it dealt with drama and comedy. 

Right, that's it for now and I will be back again with another post soon but in the meantime have a Merry Christmas folks and bye for now!

  

 

 

 

Point Break Review Revisited "Lose something, bro?!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, time for another post revisitation and this one is a revisit of a revisit (again lol!) and the post in question is my review of the 1990's action thriller, Point Break starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. 

Also as this film is now in its 30th anniversary, I thought it would be a good idea to give it another look anyways and see how it fairs. 

So, with that said, the following warning is coming up as usual...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY   

So, the film begins with rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) who is assigned along with his veteran partner, Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) to investigate a series of bank robberies.  The robbers themselves are dressed up wearing masks of four former presidents, Ronald Regan, Richard Nixon, Lindon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter and they nickname themselves the "ex-presidents".

Pappas has a theory that the ex-presidents are in fact surfers (due to video footage of one of them dropping their trousers to moon revealing a "tan line" across their ass, which would be associated with surfers!) and Utah decides to go with his theory and infiltrates a small surfing community.  Utah however has no idea of surfing or how to and nearly drowns out at sea on his first day but he is rescued by a female surfer, Tyler (Lori Petty). Johnny then runs her plates and finds her arrest sheet and history and uses her parents deaths in a plane accident as angle to get to her. Johnny then tells Tyler that he wants to learn to surf although Tyler initially refuses, Johnny tells her his parents died in a car crash, which makes her reluctantly accept.

Johnny eventually manages to get the hang of surfing through Tyler's help and he soon meets the leader of a local surfing gang, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and when he reveals he was a former quarterback in football, Bodhi's crew accept Johnny, who begins to get drawn into their world.  Utah also follows the lead of a clue which might lead them to the robbers as he and Pappas set up a raid on another gang of surfers, who turn out not to be the ex-presidents and it turns out instead they have accidentally ruined a DEA undercover operation in the process, which incurs the wrath of Utah and Pappa's superior, FBI Agent Harp (John C. McGinley).

The next day however Johnny, who by now has become romantically involved with Tyler receives an early wake-up visit from Bodhi and they go out for surf, however as Utah walks along the beach he sees Bodhi and his crew out surfing, one of whom moons (i.e. drops his shorts!) in the same style as the bank robber did in one of the video tapes taken from a bank robbery.  It then dawns on Utah that Bodhi's gang are the ex-presidents and he tells Pappas of his suspicions as he tailed Bodhi to find that he was scoping a bank.

The next day Utah and Pappas steak out outside the bank and right enough they see the ex-presidents leave the bank, with Utah and Pappas giving chase, Utah eventually chases the robber wearing the Reagan mask on foot through a neighbourhood.  As Utah chases after the robber he accidentally slips down an aquaduct and injures his knee in the process, as the robber gains distance, Utah takes out his gun and aims at the robber but can't bring himself to pull the trigger and fires his gun into the air instead, yelling in frustration.

Later that night Bodhi and his gang reveal that they are indeed the ex-presidents, but Bodhi's motivation was to rebel against the system and not to gain profit.  With Bodhi's gang scared and wanting out, Bodhi refuses to back down and he insists that he knows what to do with Johnny.  Meanwhile Tyler discovers that Johnny is in fact an FBI agent as she finds his badge and gun in his apartment, furious with Johnny for lying, Tyler runs out.

The next morning Bodhi turns up at Johnny's front door and insists he goes skydiving with his gang, which Johnny reluctantly obliges, but in doing so gets a real kick out of it.  After they land Bodhi takes Johnny into a van and plays a tape showing Tyler tied up to a chair with one of Bodhi's gang, Rosie (Lee Tergesen) holding a knife to her throat.  Bodhi reveals that he knows that Utah is an FBI agent, and tells him that Tyler will be fine as long as he gets a certain place in time first, and he forces Utah to go along on their last robbery with them, which brings the film toward its hectic climax....

THOUGHTS

Even at 30 years onward, Point Break is still a very enjoyable action thriller and while it is at times somewhat cheesy in its depiction of the surfer community and of the robbers it nonetheless has plenty of high octane action that keeps an audience gripped.  The relationship between Utah and Bodhi also helps drive the film's story pretty well as Utah is sucked into the world of surfing and he is drawn to Bodhi's charisma, and in the end even as Utah pursues Bodhi so relentlessly, he at the end of the film still has a lot of respect for him.  And the film certainly says a lot for adrenaline junkies and the rush and the need for it, and even shows how fanatical Bodhi's crew are as they even willing to die to find that ultimate rush (or killer rush being more like it!).  

And at the time of the production, neither Reeves, Swayze or Petty hadn't any real surfing experience and they ended being taught by a surfing instructor over a two month period with Swayze and Reeves both being drawn towards surfing, and Reeves who continued to keep it up as a hobby afterwards.  It was also later revealed that Swayze did his own aerial stunts during the skydiving scenes, as well as during the fight scenes and of course surfing, and Swayze himself felt that he had a strong kinship with Bodhi's character as the wild guy.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains strong language and spoilers!!) 

Moving onto the film's performances things are mainly pretty good here.

And to start off with Keanu Reeves, who while he is not the best actor in the world, does give a good account of himself here as the ambitious young FBI rookie, Johnny Utah, who gets drawn into the world of surfing and makes a connection with the surfing gang leader, Bodhi.

Reeves also has his share of good scenes also get's some good dialogue as he delivers plenty of glib one liners.

And Keanu's notable scenes include the one where Johnny has it out with Pappas to find out what his theory on the ex-presidents are but Pappas is reluctant to tell him. So, Johnny says "Right, if you can't solve it with your years of experience, its impossible to conceive I might have something to offer, right? Well, maybe I can do better than some over the hill burnout!" which angers Pappas who says "Watch your mouth!". Johnny then teases Pappas more "Maybe you should retire and get some renta-kill job, tell Nam stories!" which infuriates Pappas who grabs Johnny by the jacket and he shouts "Listen you little shit, I was taking shrapnel in Khe Shan, when you were crapping in your hands and rubbing it IN YOUR FACE!!". 

Johnny then asks him "You mad?!" and Pappas yells "YEAH!!" and Johnny shouts back "Good and mad??!" and Pappas yells "YEAH!!". Johnny then yells back "Its feels good like your still alive, doesn't it?!" and Pappas yells again "YEAH!!" and Johnny yells "Well since you're still alive and not in the box just yet, why don't you tell me your theory and we can go and GET THESE GUYS!!!". Pappas then sighs and says "OK hotshot! You wanna nail robbers and be a big hero?" and Johnny grins and says "Definitely!" and Pappas "OK, so here it is...the ex-presidents are surfers!". Johnny looks at him sceptically and asks "Surfers?" and Pappas confirms "Surfers!".  

and even takes the piss out of his character Ted, from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, when he scopes out surfers on a beach and tries to get a hair sample from one of them and pulls off a piece of hair by saying to the guy "Watch out, you've got a big sucker going right for your ear!" and tears off a piece of the guy's hair and says "Saved your life, bro, close one!".

Also after he get's chewed out by his superior, FBI Agent Harp who says "Now has any one of you got anything even remotely interesting to tell me???!" and Reeves sarcastically replies "I got my first tube this morning... sir!" (a tube being surfers term that refers to a tunnel like shaped wave, which surfers can ride in the middle of).

Then there is the scene where Utah discovers that Bodhi has had Tyler kidnapped and he is forced to go along with Bodhi and his crew as they carry out their last robbery and he angrily says to Bodhi who wants Utah to go into the bank with them "Bodhi this is your fucking wake up call, man!  I'm am an  F....B....I agent!!!".

Another good scene is when Utah turns up at near the end at the airfield to negotiate with Bodhi to try and find out where Tyler is being held.  And as Bodhi is not prepared to really listen to him, Utah says regarding the botched robbery where Bodhi (SPOILER) is forced to kill an off-duty cop, "The guy you killed was an off-duty cop!  They'll nail your wherever you land!  There's a new thing called radar! Maybe you've heard of it!".  

And Utah continues saying to Bodhi "I know you, man, when shit goes down, you won't back down!  They'll have to burn your ass to the ground!" and Bodhi says "Yeah? And shit happens!" and Utah says "Look, you've got a deathwish a want to ride to glory?! Fine, but don't take Tyler with you!  I'm begging you! Tell me where she is and I'll walk away!".  And Bodhi looks almost convinced and says "You'll walk away?" and Utah says "I walk away!" and Bodhi says "That is beautiful, Johnny!" but they are interrupted by Roach opening fire on Pappas from afar and a quick gunfight ensues.

And lastly there is the scene where Johnny finally catches up with Bodhi in Australia at Bells beach, where he is waiting to ride out the 50 year storm. And Johnny walks up to Bodhi and throws his Ronald Regan mask down infront of him on the beach and asks him "Lose something, bro?!" and without looking, Bodhi says "Special agent Utah. I knew I could count on you!".   

And Utah tells Bodhi "You've gotta go down!  People trusted you and they died" and Bodhi says "Yeah, it went bad, real bad!  Life sure has a sick sense of humour, doesn't it?".  And Utah says to him "Look, Bodhi, you're gonna have to come back with me" but Bodhi just laughs and says "Sorry, my friend!" and Utah starts fighting Bodhi and as the two of them struggle, Utah manages to latch a handcuff on Bodhi's wrist.  

And Utah smiles and says "I told them!  You'd go quietly!" and Bodhi enraged shouts "NO!!!  There's no way I can handle a cage, man!" and Utah says "I don't care!  You gotta go down!  Its gotta be that way!".

But in the end (SPOILER!!!) Utah decides to let Bodhi go and surf the lethal waves, knowing he most likely will not survive them and Bodhi pleads with Utah "Come on, compadre.  This is what my whole life has been about, Johnny.  Come on!" and Utah looks at the ferociously huge waves and Bodhi angrily shouts "COME ON!!" and Utah finally relents and uncuffs Bodhi and tells him "Vaya con dios" (Spanish for "Go with God") and let's him go.  

And just as the Aussie police arrive and one cop (with a ridiculously bad Australian accent no less!) shouts at Utah "What the fuck, Utah! You let him go!!" and Utah says "No, I didn't" and he looks out at Bodhi surfing the huge waves and he is soon consumed by them.  And the cop says "We'll get him when he comes back in!" and Utah walks away saying "He's not coming back". And in his final moment, Johnny looks at his FBI badge, now disillusioned with his job, he throws it into the ocean.   

Patrick Swazye is excellent as Bodhi, the charismatic gang leader who is more into the spiritual side of surfing and life in general!  Swayze plays Bhodi pretty much as an almost spaced out guru, who get's his thrills out of adrenaline rushes such as robbing a bank, skydiving or surfing, but also develops special connection with Utah as the film progresses.

Swayze as Bodhi has some good scenes such as when he is about to a bank at the start of the film, wearing his Ronald Reagen mask he says "The little hand says its time to rock and roll!".  Also in the first bank robbery scene he has some good lines such as "Hello helllo hello ladies and gentlemen we are the ex-presidents!  We need just a few minutes of your time, and we've been screwing you for years for a few more minutes shouldn't matter, should it???!".  And as they are about to leave the bank he turns to the customers and says "Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen and please don't forget to vote!!".

Another good scene is where the rival surfing gang beat up Johnny and Bodhi stops them and shouts "Back off he's with me!" and one of the gang says "Kiss my ass, Bodhi!" and Bodhi warns him "Back off, Warchild, seriously!" and they let him go. And after Bodhi and Johnny kick the gang's asses they make to leave and Bodhi tells them "This is stimulating but we're out of here!" and he tells Johnny quietly "Go on, keep walking" as they move. 

And this is followed with Bodhi and Johnny walking together and Johnny asks him "Who are those guys?" and Bodhi says "Nazi assholes! The big one you dropped is Bunker Weiss, and the other one is Warchild aka Lupton Pitman! And the other two I dunno". Johnny asks "What's their program?" and Bodhi says "Their heads are wired wrong and they are into some bad shit" and Johnny asks "Ilegal shit?" and Bodhi says "I dunno, that's not what I mean, they only live to get radical. They have any understanding of the sea, so they'll never get the spiritual side of it". Johnny then asks "You aren't gonna start chanting are you?" and Bodhi laughs and says "I might!". Bodhi then asks Johnny "You never figured out the waves have you? Its that place where you find yourself and lose yourself. I say you with those guys, you're a pitbull! You didn't hesitate and they didn't back you down an inch and that is very rare in this world!".

And then there is the scene where Bohdi reveals his willingness to sacrifice his life to do what he loves the most in doing his surfing and he wishes to surf at Bells Beach in Australia, where an alleged 50 year storm is set to come around. And Bodhi tells his gang and Johnny "And it when it comes it will turn itself into the biggest surf this planet has ever seen and I will be there!". But then he says "If you want the ultimate, you've gotta pay the ultimate price.  Its not tragic to die doing the thing you love."

Another good scene is when the gang discuss what to do with Johnny after they discover he is an FBI agent when Johnny chased them at the scene of a robbery. So, Bodhi tells his gang "This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human sprit is still alive!". And as his gang look at him, Bodhi asks them "So you trust me?" and they all nod and Bodhi smiles and says "Then don't worry about this guy, I know exactly what to do with him".

Then there is the scene where Bodhi plays Utah the tape of Tyler tied up screaming "Fuck you!" at the camera while she is being held captive by Rosie (Lee Tergesen) and Bodhi turns off the tape and says "She is a wild one, isn't she, special agent Utah?".  And all of a sudden Utah grabs hold of Bodhi and slams him against the inside of the truck and shouts "You're a fuckin dead man!!" but Bodhi pleads with Utah to hear him out, which he does.  And Bodhi warns Utah "But if I don't make it to Rosie by 3pm, he will get her like a pig and try not to get any on shoes.  So I guess that makes us partners, as we both need to get me where I need to go" and Utah then says "We're wasting time!" and Bodhi just smiles and says "Oohh, that's what I love you about you, Johnny!  You are just as sharp as a razor!".  

Then we have the following scene where Bodhi and his gang get dressed up as the ex-presidents as they drive to rob their last bank.  And Bodhi says to Utah re Tyler's kidnapping "All I'm asking for is 90 seconds of your life, Johnny. That's a small price to pay for someone who loves you.  She does you know.  Its not her style to fall so hard, I don't think she did with me".  Bodhi then throws the president masks to his crew and he says to Utah "Well, Johnny....looks like you don't get to be president!" and he puts on his Ronald Regan mask.   

Another good scene worth mentioning comes when Bodhi forces Utah to join him on the plane as Bodhi prepares to do his skydive to reunited with Rosie.  And just as Bodhi is about to do his jump he says to Utah "I know its hard for you, Johnny. I know you want me so bad it's like acid in your mouth. But, not this time!" and Bodhi chucks his gun aside and says to Utah "Adios amigo!" and he jumps out the plane, leaving Utah furious, who simply decides to go after Bodhi and he grabs the gun and shouts "FUCK IT!!" and dives out the plane. 

Then in the next scene, Utah dives through the sky and catches up with Bodhi and holds him at gunpoint and tries to force him to pull the chord on the parachute but Bodhi defiantly says "Nah, you pull it!".  And after they finally land, they writhe around painfully as Bodhi attempts to get up he says to Utah "Goddamn!  You are one radical son of a bitch!".  And as Bodhi moves away from Utah, who has injured his knee again he says to him "That knee again, huh?  Too bad.  Looks like this time you won't be getting your man.  This game we both lose!".  And as Bodhi reunites with Rosie, who let's Tyler go, just before Bodhi drives off he shouts to Johnny "Yo, Johnny!  I'll see you in the next life!".

WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP RE: THE END OF THE FILM!

And last of all is the scene where Johnny finally tracks Bodhi down to Bells Beach in Australia where await his final surf and date with destiny. So, in the scene the two men fight each other and even though Bodhi gains the upper hand, Johnny manages to cuff him.

So, in the scene, Bodhi yells "NO!!! There's no way I can handle a cage, man!" and Johnny tells him "I don't care! You gotta go down! Its gotta be that way!". So, Bodhi after a long pause smiles and says "OK, man! OK, I'm screwed! I'll go to jail and I'll pay and Johnny Utah gets his guy! You're gonna be a big hero now. Good for you". However, Bodhi then pleads with Johnny "But look at it, Johnny. LOOK AT IT!!! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, man! Let me have just one wave before you take me in! One wave! Where am I gonna go man?! Cliffs on both sides, I'm not gonna paddle to New Zealand! My whole life has been about this moment, Johnny. Come on, compadre! Come on". Johnny however just stares at Bodhi as he thinks it over and Bodhi yells "COME ON!!" and Johnny relents and uncuffs Bodhi and tells him "Vaya con dias!" and Bodhi smiles and walks off to surf one last time. 

Gary Busey is also really good as Utah's veteran FBI partner, Pappas, who comes up with the surfer theory for the ex-presidents.  Busey who is no stranger to being manic (and let's face it in real life he does have more than one screw loose!) plays Pappas with a hyperactive quality (or at least a bloated agent who has had one coffee too many and a few doughnuts!) and he quickly develops a good rapport with Utah.

Busey also get's plenty of good moments, such as when he argues with Utah who goads him by saying he is an "over the hill burnout" and he Pappas replies "Listen you snot nosed little shit!  I was taking hits in Khe Sang, while you were still crapping in your hands and rubbing it in your face!".  And Utah shouts back "Well since you're not quite in the box yet, why don't you tell me this great theory of yours and we'll go get the guys!!".  And Pappas sighs and says "OK, hotshot!  You wanna nail the robbers and be a big hero?" and Utah says "Definitely!" and Pappas says "Definitely!  Then here it is....the ex-presidents are surfers!" and Utah looks at him incredulously and says "Surfers???" and Pappas says "Surfers!". 

And also in the scene where Utah tells Pappas about his theory of trying to get a hair sample from surfers to try and locate the beach where the ex-presidents might surf. So, Johnny says to Pappas "If we can get a hair sample from one of these surfers, we can find out which break the ex-presidents surf" and he leans toward Pappas and asks "So, are you buying this?" and Pappas says "No.  But let's do it anyway!  It will bug the shit out of Harp!".  

And also in the scene when he confronts Utah over not shooting Bodhi and he says to him "Johnny, I wanna see you in my office right now!". So, they go into Pappas's office and Pappas tells Johnny "I want you to know something. When you shoot, you don't miss" and Johnny says "I missed" and Pappas irritated tells Johnny "No, I believe you're either scared or your getting too goddamn close to this surfing guru buddy of yours!" And Pappas leans into Johnny's face and says to him "I don't believe your scared!" and then tells Johnny "I want you to go home and get some rest you look like hammered shit! And if I see something resembling your boy, I'll beep you. Now go home!".

And also later when he says to Harp "Let me tell you something, Harp.  I've been in this bureau while you were still popping zits on your funny face and jacking off to the lingerie section of the Sears catalogue!".  And in the scene Pappas continues "And in all these years I've learned something you still haven't got!" and Harp scornfully says "Yeah?  Why don't you astonish me, shitface?!" and Pappas then punches Harp, knocking him to the floor saying "Respect for my elders!  Plain and simple!".   

Lori Petty also makes a good impression as Utah's love interest, Tyler Endicott, and she is quite defensive and obnoxious at first as she grudgingly saves Utah from drowning and she insults him and his crap surfboard. So, Tyler drags Johnny to shore, she shouts at him "Crazy son of a bitch! You wanna kill yourself, go do it someplace else!" and she looks at his surfboard and says "Look at this pigboard piece of shit!  You've got no business out here whatsoever!". Tyle then heads back out to surf and Johnny calls after her saying "Hey my name's Johnny Utah!" and she says "Who cares???!" as she paddles into the water. 

Then there is the scene where Johnny meets Tyler again where she works at a diner and she looks irritably at him and asks "What do you want?" and Johnny says "Shrimp and fries" and Tyler says "No, I mean what are you doing here?!". Johnny then asks her "I need you to teach me how to surf. I'm serious!" and Tyler says "I can see that you're serious. Forget it! Stick to tennis!". Johnny however manages to persuade as he tells a fake story about how his life goals were wrong as he did what his parents wanted him to do but they died in a car wreck. So, Tyler sighs and says "Alright. Tomorrow, here, 6 am. If you are one minute, I am gone! Listen, stud, I didn't take you on to raise, so I'll teach you a few things and after you're gonna be on your own, okay?".

Then there is the scene at Bodhi's party where Bodhi admits to willing to die for his thrill ride lifestyle as does the rest of his gang and Tyer get's up and says "There's too much testosterone here!" and walks off and Johnny follows her. So, as Johnny finds her inside Bodhi's house she says to him "I hope you aren't buying into all this bonzai bullshit like the rest of Bodhi's moonies".  And Johnny asks her "What are you talking about?" and Tyler says to him "You've got the kamikaze look, Johnny, I've seen it.  And Bodhi can smell it a mile away.  He'll take you to the edge and past it."

And lastly there is the scene (SPOILER!!) where she finds out he is an FBI agent and he tells her he lied about his parents. And in the scene, Tyler fires a shot at a bed pillow where Johnny, prompting him to leap up and Tyler yells "A lawyer??!! You lied to me!" and she throws his FBI ID down at him. Tyler then points the gun at Johnny and shouts "I bet you lied about everything! I bet you lied about your parents! Just tell me if you're parents died in a car accident, Johnny? DID THEY??!!". Johnny finally admits "My parents are alive and live in Colubmus, Ohio. I work bank robbery and I need you for the guys but after that..." and Lori cuts him off and shouts "FUCK YOU!! Don't you have a soul?!" and she drops the gun in disgust and says quietly "Goddamn you to hell" and runs out. 

John C. McGinley is also great in his role as the arrogant FBI agent, Harp, who takes a real dislike to Utah throughout the film. 

And his first scene is really good one where Johnny and Harp walk together as Harp fills him in on what his department. And Harp tells Johnny "I know you might be the hotshot back in training room but out here you have absolutely no experience in the field. You know nothing! In fact you know less than nothing! If you knew the fact that you don't know nothing that would be something but you don't!". 

So, as he finishes his spiel, Harp asks Johnny "Special agent Utah, are you receiving my signal?!" and Johnny, having taken a doughnut says cockily "Zero distortion, sir! I love these things". So, Harp laughs and tells Johnny "I see you're a real blue flame special, son.  Young dumb and full of cum, I know!  But what I don't know is how you got assigned out here with us.  I mean hell, I guess we must just have ourselves an asshole shortage, huh?" and he winks at Utah and walks away with Utah saying to himself quietly "Not so far".

Also McGinley's best line in the film comes when he berates Utah and Pappas for their lack of progress in the case with Utah in undercover surfer gear and a big surfboard in Harp's office. And Harp says "Special agent Utah. This is not some job flipping burgers at the local drive in.  Yes the surfboard bothers me, yes you're whole goddamn approach to this case bothers me, and yes YOU BOTHER ME!!  And over the last two weeks you have produced exactly SQUAT! SQUAT!!".  Harp then continues shouting "And in the meantime, the ex-presidents have robbed three more banks!! Now for Christ sakes, has either one of you got anything even remotely interesting to tell me!!" and Utah says "I got my first tube this morning, sir!" (a surfing term of course!).  

And last of all is the scene where Harp has Johnny arrested at the scene of the ex-president's final robbery and Pappas turns up to see him. So, as Pappas turns up and says about Johnny, who has been cuffed "Can we take those cuffs off him?!" Harp yells "Leave em on! You're partner's an accesory to murder, Pappas. Three people are dead. One's a police officer!" and he grabs Johnny and shows him the dead police officer "There! How does that sit in your stomach?!" and Johnny angrily says to Harp "Take your hands off me right now!".

Pappas then grabs Harp aside and says "Harp, look at me! Look at me! Don't ride him in with a blank and white like some punk, let ME ride him in!". Harp takes a moment and then scornfully says to Pappas "Yeah, sure Angelo, why not?! That's why I put you two screw-ups together in the first place, you deserve each other! You're just as bad as he is...only you're a little slower, little fatter and more pathetic! Christ, its like the blind leading the blind with you!". Pappas then angrily puts Harp in his place and says "And after all these years I still have something you haven't got!" and Harp asks "Oh yeah? Why don't you astonish me, shit face?!". So, Pappas turns and punches Harp right in the face and he goes down on the floor and Pappas tells him "Respect for my elders! Plain and simple!". 

Tom Sizemore also gives a brief but good account of himself as an agent working for the DEA who's cover is blown when Utah and Pappas raid the wrong surfers.  

And Sizemore who is always good with explosive dialogue delives another bit of stern dialogue to Utah when he says to them regarding his hair "You think I like this hair, man?!  You think I like these clothes?!  My wife wants me to move out to Ramada!".  And he contines angrily "I've been working on these fuckers for THREE MONTHS!!  THREE MONTHS!!  Now I've got them playing the wheel of fortune, so I can find out who their suppliers are and you fucking cowboys show up!".  And he asks Johnny "All I wanna know smart guy, how could these guys have robbed the 3rd National bank on August 2nd, when they were Fort fuckin Lauderdale on August 2nd, how did you figure that one out?!". The agent then shoves the packet of coke right at Johnny and says "You fuckin jerks!" and storms off leaving Johnny frustrated.

Oh and last, last of all its worth mentioning the performance of the Red Hot Chili Pepper's lead singer, Anthony Keidis who appears in the film as one of the Nazi surfer gang members, Tone.  And Keidis's two most notable scenes in the film are when the Nazi surfers confront Utah on the beach after he accidentally knocks into one of them while surfing.  And as the gang surround Utah and he says to them "I know.  This is where you tell me that locals rule and the yuppie insects like me shouldn't be breaking your waves, right?" and Tone says to him "That would be a waste of time!".

And later on there is of course the scene where Utah and Pappas raid the Nazi gang's hideout and as Tone tries to run through the house one of the agent's open the door behind him, causing Tone to shoot himself in the foot!    

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Getting onto the director Kathryn Bigelow (who also directed Strange Days, Near Dark and The Hurt Locker) who does an excellent job here, proving to be one of few female directors known for directing Hollywood action films.

Bigelow also skillfully paces out the action and the bank robberies, car chases, sky diving and surfing scenes are all done really well and you do get a sense of the adrenaline rush the characters are getting.  Bigelow also skillfully directs the big chase scene with Utah chasing Bodhi on foot through a neighbourhood as a hand held camera follows them, which for me is one of the best chase scenes seen in recent years on screen.

As for the music it features a pretty good score by Mark Isham which is a mixture of synthesizers and orchestral compositions and it is pretty well suited to the tone of the film.  It also features a notable and memorable track during the scene where Utah goes sky diving with Bodhi and his crew, which is quite an atmospheric track that really captures the scene itself pretty well.

In addition to Isham's score the film also features tracks from various different artists such as Jimi Hendrix who's track "If 6 was 9" is used, Public image ltd "Criminal", Ice-T's "Original gangster", Wire Train's "I will not fall" and Sheryl Crow's "Hundreds of tears".  So overall the film has a pretty good soundtrack.    

FLAWS (Warning may feature spoilers!) 

So getting onto the flaws, does Point Break have some worth mentioning???  Well yeah it does.

And to kick off while it is very entertaining it is also quite cheesy at times and one scene that sticks in my mind that is really silly is when Bodhi and his gang playball American football with Utah, as it just seems a bit macho and naff.  And what is even more daft about that scene is that Utah isn't even formerly introduced to Bodhi and his crew until Bodhi twigs who he is himself, realising that Utah was once a quarterback football player! 

It also has to be said that Bodhi as a character is also up his own arse and while he has the charisma to engage his gang and Utah, he is also somewhat delusional and lives in his own dreamworld.  And Swayze's corniest line in the film comes when Bodhi says to his gang "What's the matter with you guys? This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human sprit is still alive!". Shut up, Bodhi!     

It also seems strange that such an inexperienced FBI agent as Utah would be put on a high profile case in the first place, as he is just signed up with his older partner in Pappas and off they go!  But then again perhaps that's how it works down there! ;-).  I also think its a bit silly how Utah and Pappas suss out that the ex-presidents are surfers purely from videotape footage of one of the robber's mooning their ass!  So the case was in a way eventually unravelled thanks to an ass! Literally! Well that and a ponytail hair from one of the other robbers, so an ass hair and a ponytail was the ex-president's undoing!  So if it wasn't for that robber mooning his ass and for the surfers having ponytails they would have gotten away with it scot free!!   

And another issue I have is the whole sub-plot of Utah and Pappas doing a raid on the wrong surfing gang only to find an undercover DEA agent was already on the gang's case.  Now surely to God if this man was an undercover FBI agent they would have checked with the other departments of the FBI that someone was already working on the case of this gang in the first place!!  But instead Utah and Pappas are allowed to go ahead with the raid and screw things up but realistically this is something that should have been checked by their superior, Harp, before it even went ahead! 

I also found the whole concept of Utah still bonding with Bodhi and his crew and going for a sky dive AFTER finding out they are in fact the ex-presidents was a bit daft to say the least!  I mean its almost like after they share the amazing experience of skydiving and bonding together as they do it, is enough for Utah to let things slide!

But of course in the end Bodhi brings it all crashing down to earth when he shows Utah the tape of Lori tied up and being held at knifepoint.  Now that I can almost buy that bit but the whole bonding experience before it just makes it all that more stupid!  It would have made more sense for Bodhi just to try and summon Utah to drive along with him to the van to show him the video rather than go through a whole elaborate skydirve in the first place!  But perhaps Bodhi did the sky dive to gain Utah's trust before landing him in it.       

There is also some inconsistency in continuity where Johnny is supposed to have injured his leg and we see him limp in some scenes but in others he doesn't limp at all. As an example, we see Johnny limp when Bodhi drops by to take him skydiving and then also after he exits the van when Bodhi shows him the blackmail video of Tyler. However during the bank robbery, we never see Johnny limp nor do we see him limp when he confronts Bodhi at the airfield as he even runs over to Angelo with ease after he is shot. So, there is definitely some continuity issues with Johnny's injury to be found here. 

I also found it a bit silly how during their last robbery that Bodhi suddenly wants his guys to rob the vault of the bank when they should know full well that it burns more time and increases the risks of them being caught. Even Bodhi's man, Roach says that its a bad idea and they never go to the vault, so why start now and we see how it all turns out as a result! I guess greed got the better of Bodhi in that moment but it was still a pretty dumb decision. 

Then we have the ridiculous moment where Utah jumps out of the plane after Bodhi, who already dived out wearing his parachute, only for Utah to catch up with him and hold a gun to his head and threaten him to pull the rip chord but Bodhi refuses to and insists that Utah do it and Utah pulls it out just at the last second before they impact and land on the ground!  Now surely to God there is no way in hell they would have survived the impact with Utah having opened the parachute maybe just merely maybe 50 feet from the ground!  And in this case in reality they would have been what Bodhi said just before they landed "meat waffles!" instead!  

It also highly debatable if Johnny could have even been able to skydive out the plane after Bodhi WIHOUT wearing a parachute pack on his back! However, there is a known form of skydiving known as banzai diving, where a diver will jump out of their plane without their chute and it is thrown out to them and there has been some incidents of skydivers surviving without a parachute but these are very rare I'd imagine.

And last of all I find it bizarre how the FBI would allow Utah to stay on the case to find Bodhi when he had in fact been framed earlier by Bodhi and his gang for robbery and arrested by Harp.  I guess Utah either has amazing powers of persuasion that let him stay on the case or maybe he cut a deal with them to capture Bodhi and then after that his career would be over, which might have been possible given that we see Johnny throw his badge away at the end.

Anyway so that's it for the flaws. 

SUM UP

So to finally sum up, Break Point is still a very entertaining action film that is packed with some exciting action sequences and some good performances from the lead cast, particularly Swayze and Busey and even if Reeves struggles with the film's more dramatic moments at times.

The film however of course is pretty ridiculous and cheesy aswell as over the top at times and its whole plot is far from solid and is simply more fantasy than anything else and is hardly realistic.  But if you can forgive all this then there is still much to enjoy with Point Break and after 30 years its still worth checking out.

And I will give Point Break:

8.5 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will return soon with another post or two before Christmas. 

Until then its bye for now!  

 

Training Day Review Revisited "You in the office, baby!"

 

 

 

 

So, its finally December and with it being the last month of the year, I figured I will try and get a few more posts before 2021 is over and I thought I would start with another revisitation and this one will be on my review of the crime thriller, Training Day.

So, after 20 years (and its amazing to think it is that old!) how does Training Day still fair??  Well, let's do the usual and find out! 

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!! 

STORY

So the film begins with rookie cop, Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) who is to be evaluated by a narcotics officer, Detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington).  Alonzo is a highly decorated cop and he has a rather unorthodox way of doing things as Jake soon finds out after they carry out a drugs bust, they confiscate the drugs sold to some young kids, and Alonzo tells Jake to be an effective narcotics agent that he should smoke the marijuana.  When Jake initially refuses, Alonzo points a gun at his head and tells him if he turned down an actual drug dealer he would be dead, which forces Jake to smoke it, only to later find out from Alonzo that it was laced with PCP. Along the way Alonzo pays a visit to a local drug dealer, Roger (Scott Glenn) who was a former police officer.

After they drive on, Jake soon after notices a young girl being sexually assaulted by two crackheads as they drive by an alley way, Jake runs out and stops the attackers.  However Alonzo is not interested in reporting the crime as he believes justice is better served on the streets and to let the lowlifes just wipe each other out. 

Later on Alonzo tries to follow the lead of another drug dealer called the Sandman, which eventually leads to the Sandman's house, but the dealer isn't there and Alonzo has to deal with the dealer's wife (Macy Gray) where he uses the excuse that he has a search warrant in order to search her apartment for drug money.  Alonzo in the process steals money during the search and on leaving, the Sandman's wife realises she has been robbed and sets the local gang bangers on Alonzo and Jake, who barely make it out of there in one piece.

Alonzo later pays a visit to his Salvadoran mistress, Sara (Eva Mendes) and their young son.  Afterwards Alonzo meets with a group of high ranking police officials, dubbed the "three wise men" (Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin and Raymond J.Barry) who agree to give him an arrest warrant in exchange for the drug money he stole from the Sandman's wife.  This is because Alonzo owes a debt to the Russian mafia and he uses the warrant to arrest Roger and seize his millions stashed underneath the floor of his kitchen.

Alonzo along with Jake and a few other corrupt police officers take their share of the money, but Jake on moral grounds, refuses to take his.  Alonzo tells Jake to shoot Roger, but Jake again refuses and Alonzo kills Roger himself, leaving Jake shocked and angry at being used by him, and he angrily takes the gun off Alonzo as the other officers get involved in a stand off, which is soon diffused by Alonzo.

After this Alonzo convinces Jake to go along with their story that as they entered Roger's house, Roger shot first and Jake killed Roger in defence, to which Jake reluctantly agrees to go along with.  Later on Alonzo takes Jake out to another gang neighbourhood where he runs a personal errand for a gangster named Smiley (Cliff Curtis).  

However as Jake awkwardly plays cards with Smiley and his gang members, Jake soon realises that Alonzo has abandoned him and that he has payed off Smiley to kill Jake. Smiley however does at first explain that Alonzo had beaten a Russian mafia mobster to death in Vegas and if he doesn't show up with 1 million dollars at midnight, he will die. Jake then tries to flee the scene and assaults Smiley but he is subdued and dragged into a bathtub where Smiley prepares to execute him but on searching Jake, they find wallet belonging to Smiley's cousin, Leti, the girl who Jake rescued earlier. Jake pleads with Smiley that he rescued her and on calling Leti, Smiley finds out that Jake is telling the truth and let's him go out of gratitude. 

And its from here Jake takes it upon himself to confront Alonzo and make him pay for what he has done...  

THOUGHTS  

Training Day after 20 years still is a very effective crime drama and its funny how in the underworld of drugs that the cops are just as dirty as the dealers, something which is mirrored in Alonzo although given the state of police in the US its no big surprise I guess!  And while the premise of police corruption is nothing new, the set up of the story being told over the space of one day helps keep Training Day fresh as a film.  The film also works well mainly because of Alonzo's character as he is a charismatic cop who uses his charisma and smart talk to manipulate the naive and clean cut Jake into doing his dirty work.  And its Alonzo's ability to use what Jake wants most and his ambition as a weapon against him when he needs to in order to see just how far Jake is willing to go.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and will have strong language!)

Which brings me onto the performances which are great all round.

So to start there is of course the film's star, Denzel Washington who is simply superb in his role as the charismatic and manipulative narcotics officer, Alonzo Harris, who toys with Jake and gets him to do what he wants (well to an extent).  Washington himself won the Academy award for best actor and its easy to see why as it is easily one of his best performances and Washington has so many highlights in the film.

As for some of his best scene there is for starters his first scene where he meets with Jake while he tries to read his paper without interruption until Jake gets his attention and he tells Jake to tell him a story.

And Jake proceeds to tell Alonzo about an incident involving him and and a female assessment officer as they carried out a random drunk stop, and Alonzo listens and says "You know its amazing, that you could be out there with a fine bitch for a year and the most entertaining story you can come up with is a drunk stop!" and this leads to an awkward pause. Alonzo then breaks the pause and grins and says to Jake "But I think you tapped that ass, didn't you?!" but Jake insists "Hey man, I have a wife" and Alonzo bluntly says "Yeah and you have a dick! You have a dick, don't you?!" and Jake somewhat embarrassed says "Yeah". So, Alonzo then says to him "Right either side of the dick are pockets, look in either one of them and pay the bill!". 

And later on when they get in Alonzo's Monte Carlo car, Jake says to him "This car is NOT from the motor pool" and Alonzo grins and says "Yeah but its sexy aint it?" and Jake asks him "So, where is the office? Back at division?" and Alonzo smiles and says "You in the office baby!" and he starts up his car. 

Alonzo then tells Jake "Today's a training day, Officer Hoyt. Show you around, give you a taste of the business. I got 38 cases pending trial, 63 in active investigations, another 250 on the log I can't clear. I supervise five officers. That's five different personalities. Five sets of problems. You can be number six if you act now. But I ain't holding no hands, okay? I ain't baby-sitting. You got today and today only to show me who and what you're made of. You don't like narcotics, get the fuck out of my car. Go get you a nice, pussy desk job, chasing bad checks or something, you hear me?" and Jake smiles and says "I hear you".

Another good scene is when after Alonzo and Jake do a drug bust and take some drugs from some young kids in a car, Alonzo insists that Jake smoke them. So, in the scene Alonzo says to Jake "To be truly effective, a good narcotics agent must know and love narcotics. In fact, a good narcotics agent should have narcotics in his blood!". Jake then asks "What are you gonna smoke that?" and Alonzo says "No, you are!" and Jake laughs nervously and says "Like hell I am!" and Alonzo asks him "What are you a mormon?! Are you a Jesus freak?".

However as Alonzo continues to push Jake to take a hit of the drugs, Jake refuses and Alonzo suddenly halts his car and points a gun to Jake's head. And Alonzo angrily tells Jake "Yeah, right. If I was a drug dealer, you'd be dead by now, motherfucker! You turn shit down on the streets, and the chief brings your wife a crisply folded flag! What the fuck's wrong with you?! You know what?! I don't want you in my unit. I don't even want you in my division. Get the fuck out the car. Go back to the Valley, rookie!". Jake after a beat however tells Alonzo to give him the drugs and he smokes it but coughs and splutters as he does and Alonzo laugh and says "Oh, virgin lungs! Man up, nigga! Man up! Take all that shit!" which Jake does and Alonzo laughs and says "Let's go, nigga, let's go!".  

Then there is the scene where Alonzo parts his wisdom to Jake and he says "To protect the sheep, you need to become a wolf" and he makes some wolf noises and insists that Jake do the same, except he does his more like a rooster and Alonzo laughs saying "I said a wolf not a rooster!".

Another scene that stands out is where Alonzo along with Jake and some corrupt cops raid Roger's home and steal his drug money, which is 4 million dollars worth. So, in the scene Alonzo at first jokes with Jake to shoot Roger but get's serious as the scene goes on. So, in the scene Alonzo tells Jake "Shoot him" and Jake says "You want me too shoot him? OK, I'll shoot him" and he holds up his shotgun and pretends to and says "Pow!". However it soon becomes apparent that Jake won't shoot Roger, so Alonzo takes the shotgun instead and says "Hell, if you want something done you need to do it yourself!" and he shoots Roger in the chest much to Jake's horror and as Roger gasps his last breaths, Alonzo with a little sense of guilt says to him "Breath...breath dawg!" and after Roger dies, he says coldly "Yeah, he's finished!".

After this, Jake is shocked at Alonzo's drastic change in personality as Alonzo plans with the others what happened before the cops arrive and they insist that Jake shot Roger instead as they came in. However as Jake refuses to play ball, Alonzo turns on him with the shotgun aimed he says "A Los Angeles Police Department Narcotics officer was killed today serving a high-risk warrant in Echo Park. LAPD spokesperson says the officer is survived... by his wife and infant child. Shit gets deeper. You get the picture?!". 

WARNING: BIG SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!

Then there is the scene where Jake having been spared by Smiley after the gangster learns that Jake rescued his young cousin, who was attacked earlier, returns to Alonzo's mistress's apartment where he finds him counting his money. So, as Jake demands that Alonzo puts his money and guns into a pillow case, Alonzo tries to bluff Jake.

So, in the scene Alonzo applauds Jake and says "Congratulations son, you passed the test you're a narc put the gun down before you give my girl a heart attack!". Jake however isn't buying it and repeats his order for Alonzo to give up his money and weapons. So, Alonzo relents and says "Alright. So you're going to hook me and book me? You're the one that was smoking the dust, you're the one who ran out like a maniac and you're the one who shot Roger!". Alonzo then continues and says to Jake "You got one problem though, you got no witnesses, who are your fucking witnesses? Roger? Smiley? You think my troops are going to help you? What can you prove? Where's your evidence?!" and as Jake points to the pillow case and says "Its right there" Alonzo flicks his cigarette at Jake's face and the two of them get into a gunfight.  

And last of all is the scene where the local gang bangers in the neighbourhood all gather round as Jake confronts Alonzo and stops him from his getaway and one of the gang, Bone, leaves a gun for Alonzo to pick up as he refuses to intervene.  So, as Alonzo goads Jake to shoot him, Jake refuses to but as Alonzo goes for the gun, Jake shoots him in the ass and Alonzo groans in pain and says "You motherfucker! You shot me in the ass!".  

And as Jake leaves with Alonzo's money, Alonzo shouts after him "JAKE! I need my money! JAKE!". Alonzo then looks at the neighbourhood gang members with disgust and says to them "You disloyal bitch-ass fool made punk! OK! I'm putting cases on all you bitches!  Shoe program, nigga!  23 hour lockdown!  You don't own shit, I run this place, you just live here!  King Kong ain't got shit on me!". However the gang members simply walk away from Alonzo in disgust as he is left on his own and he emotionally says to himself "What a day! What fuckin day!".

Ethan Hawke also provides a fine performance here as well as the clean cut rookie cop, who is pretty much Alonzo's opposite in every way and throughout the film he is pushed and manipulated by him until Jake can no longer tolerate it.

And Ethan his own share of good scenes in the film that include the one where Jake first meets Alonzo, who insists he tell him a story since Jake keeps interrupting Alonzo while he was reading his newspaper. So, Jake tells Alonzo a story involving a DUI (driving under the influence) and he says "It was a quiet night we were rolling on Van Nuys I'm driving this Acura comes out a side street all over the median in excess I light it up hit the whaler guy drives on like I'm invisible for ten blocks before he pulls over plates were unclean so I'm watching from our unit and she's tossing the Acura she calls me over to the vehicle a snub 38 two shotguns fully loaded so she calls our supervisor and I keep searching and I find five hundred grams of meth turns out this DUI is on bail for distribution and is on his way to smoke his ex-partner before trial so we prevented a murder". However Alonzo after pretending to be impressed then says who after being with his female officer for a year that the most entertaining story he can tell is a "drunk stop!".

Then there is the scene where Alonzo manipulates Jake into smoking the confiscated drugs they took earlier from some youngsters. So, as Jake begins to feel the effects of the drugs, Alonzo tells Jake what he took "Sherms. Dust. PCP. Primos. P-Dog. That's what you had. That's what you were smoking". So, Jake suddenly panics and says "Oh, shit! Oh, shit! I'm gonna get piss tested and I'm gonna get fired!". Jake then asks "Why did you do this to me?!" and Alonzo grins and says "Nobody told you to smoke that thing. You made the decision. Live with your decision. Ain't like I put a gun to your head".

Another good scene from Ethan is when Alonzo and Jake pay a visit to Roger with Jake still feeling the effects of the PCP. So, as Roger tells Jake a joke, Jake laughs at it and says "That's not funny! That's not funny at all!" and Alonzo laughs and "Then why are you laughing?!". So, Roger says to Jake "You figure that joke out, you'll figure out the streets". However, Jake then says "You know, I already figured them out. Its all about smiles and cries" and Alonzo mocks Jake and says "Put the drink down, man! Motherfucker's out his mind!". Roger however is intrigued and wants to hear Jake's theory, so Jake says "Yeah. You gotta control your smiles and cries, because that's all you have and nobody can take that away from you".

Then there is the scene where Alonzo and Jake along with four corrupt officers raid Roger's house and steal his drug money. So, in the scene Alonzo taunts Jake to shoot Roger but he refuses and at first Alonzo is jokey and Jake plays along and says "You want me to shoot him? I'll shoot him". So, he holds up the shotgun and aims it at Roger and pretends to fire and says "Pow!" and Roger says "Boom!". Alonzo, however then says more seriously "Shoot him" and Jake says "Naw, man" and Alonzo laughs and says "He ain't gonna shoot him!" and he then proceeds to shoot Roger himself, which causes Jake to jump and shout "OH, SHIT!!".

So, as Alonzo plans out what supposedly happened during the warrant search, which involves Jake supposedly shooting Roger on entry as Roger went for his gun, Alonzo says to Jake "Congratulations, son. You'll get a medal for this". Jake however looks at Alonzo and says "But I didn't shoot him, you did" so Alonzo turns on Jake and threatens him by saying how he could end up being a victim himself of the warrant as he suggests he could kill Jake and make look like he died in the line of duty. So, as Alonzo says to him "This shit get's deeper. You get the picture?" Jake says to him "Yeah, I get it!" and he grabs the shotgun off Alonzo and points it at him and he shouts "That's the second time you pointed a gun at me, there will NOT be a third!" which creates a stand-off between Jake and the other officers. However, Alonzo diffuses it and Jake relents but then turns to one of the cops, Paul (Dr Dre) who threatened to kill him and says "Hey, Paul" and he punches him and walks out.

WARNING: SPOILER COMING UP IN THE NEXT FEW PARAGRAPHS

Another good scene is when Alonzo and Jake go to Smiley's house and as Alonzo appears to have went to the bathroom, Smiley tells Jake to sit down and play some cards with him and his two gangbanger friends. So, one of Smiley's friends, Moreno (Noel Gugliemi) asks Jake "So, how long have you been a pig?" and he laughs and says "I'm sorry my bad! I mean long have you been a police officer?". So, Jake as he plays cards says "I've been a pig for 19 months!" and Moreno asks "You like it?" and Jake says "I should have been a fireman!".

However as Jake realises that Alonzo has abandoned him and left him for dead, he attacks Simley and he is beaten and dragged into a tub where Smiley points a double barrelled shotgun at him but before he does Jake, Moreno searches Jake's pockets and finds the diary belonging to the girl Jake rescued earlier.

So, Smiley looking at the diary looks confused and angrily asks Jake "Where did you get this?!" and Jake panicking lying down in the bathtub shouts "I found it! I found it!" and Smiley asks "Where?!" and Jake shouts "McArthur park! McArthur park!". So, Jake gasps as he explains to Smiley "Now, listen to me, that girl was being raped. I saw these two fuckin' drug addicts attacking her, and I stopped 'em...!". Smiley then jabs the shotgun against Jake's cheek and shouts "You lie to me!" and Jake shouts back "I'M NOT LYING!!! I swear to God. She was being raped, and I stopped 'em, man. And please man, I HAVE A LITTLE GIRL!!". However after Smiley calls his cousin, she verifies what happened and that Jake did rescue her, so Smiley relents and let's Jake go and says thanks for getting his cousin's back. Smiley then also says to Jake "You know this shit was just business, right?" and Jake looks at him and says "Right".

Then there is the scene where Jake fights with Alonzo on a rooftop and after Alonzo tries to escape in his car, Jake dives ontop of it and he causes Alonzo to crash his car. So with Alonzo reeling from the crash, Jake punches Alonzo and grabs his money bag and Alonzo begins to taunt Jake. So, in the scene Jake points his gun at Alonzo and says "Its no fun when the rabbit has the gun is it?!" and Alonzo wearily says "My nigga!".

So, as Alonzo tries to persuade the local gangbangers (who have gathered round at this point) to kill Jake for him for money, they don't react and Jake looks disgusted with him and says "They're not like you! You know what else I learned today? I'M not like you!". So, as Alonzo taunts Jake to shoot him, he puts on his police badge and as Alonzo says "Do it!" Jake does nothing, so Alonzo says "You can't do it!". However, after one of the gang, Bone puts down a gun for Alonzo to pick up, Alonzo goes for it but Jake shoots him in the ass and Jake warns him "The next one WILL kill you!". Jake then disgraces Alonzo further as he removes his badge from him and looks at Alonzo in disgust and says "You don't deserve this!" before he walks out of the neighbourhood with Alonzo's money.

In other performances, Scott Glenn is excellent as the drug dealer and ex-cop, Roger, and his scenes are pretty good, especially in his first scene where he tells a stupid joke to Jake, who laughs at it in a drug induced stupor and later on where Alonzo raids his house to seize his money.

And I will mention just one of Glenn's scenes where Alonzo and Jake pay Roger a visit and they have a drink. So, Roger tells Jake a joke "Here's a joke, boy. One day this man walks out of his house to go to work. He sees this snail on his porch. So he picks it up and chucks it over his roof, into the back yard. Snail bounces off a rock, cracks its shell all to shit, and lands in the grass. Snail lies there dying. But it doesn't die. It eats some grass. Slowly heals. Grows a new shell. And after a while it can crawl again. One day the snail up and heads back to the front of the house. Finally, after a year, the little guy crawls back on the porch. Right then, the man walks out to go to work and sees this snail again. So he says to it, "What the fuck's your problem?!". Jake then suddenly burst out laughing (still stoned from the PCP Alonzo gave him) and says "That's messed up. That's not funny!" and Alonzo asks him "Why are you laughin then?!" and Roger tells Jake "Figure that joke out and you'll figure out the streets".

Cliff Curtis is also excellent in his role as the gangster Smiley who is paid off to kill Jake, but unlike Alonzo, Smiley does have honour and he decides to spare Jake when he realises that he saved his young cousin.  Curtis is also such a chameleon character actor that there are times when you see him in a film you can scarcely believe it is him (although he is recognizable here!).

Curtis also get's some good lines of dialogue as Smiley, especially where he tells Jake about how Alonzo owes money to the Russian mafia and he says "Alonzo pulled off a miracle. Times are tight, he jacked up a lot of cash from Roger, he blasted the fool, that's why I never shake his hand he don't respect nada. You know what the money's for? Alonzo's a hot head, last week in Vegas some Russian starts talking shit, Alonzo just snaps beat that guy to death, turns out that Russian is a somebody, now his into the Russians for a million they gave him until tonight to pay up. his name is still on the list. Nobody thought he could get cash that quick, good thing he did because there's a crew on standby, if he doesn't turn up downtown with the money by midnight and not a minute after...your vato...he's dead!". 

This is then followed by the scene where Smiley is about to execute Jake and he slaps him first and tells him "You're under arrest! For being a cop, dogging me in the mouth in my own pad. You got the right to be bitch-slapped!". So, as Jake is put into the bathtub, Moreno searches Jake's pockets and finds the diary belonging to Smiley's cousin, Letty. Smiley demands Jake to let him know where he got it and Jake explains he rescued a young girl from being raped by two crackheads.

So, Smiley angrily says to Jake "I'm gonna get to the bottom of your bullshit. She's my cousin, homes. Ain't right involving her. You fucked up. If you're lying to me...I'm gonna blow your fucking balls off!". However as Smiley calls up Letty he get's the truth from her and that Jake did rescue her, so Smiley hangs up and with surprise says to his two friends, Moreno and Sniper "Vato was telling the truth! Life's a trip, que no?!". So, Smiley lifts Jake out of the tub and places a towel around his bloodied head and says "That's for getting my cousin's back. Cover your head. You'll mess up my floor. You know this shit was just business, right?". And as Jake hesitates to answer, Smiley gives him a look as to say again "Right??" and Jake relents and says "Right".  

As for the other cast members, there is the lovely Eva Mendes, who plays Alonzo's mistress, Sara, who is essentially a decent woman who tries to raise her young son in a rough neighbourhood. I won't really mention any of her dialogue as such as her role is quite a small one but she does well with the little material she is given to work with here.

However I will quickly mention the moment where Alonzo turns up at Sara's place with Jake and naturally she and Alonzo will be getting reacquainted. However before they do, Sara says to Jake "This is your home. You can watch any TV channel you like. I'll be right back" and a little later, Sara brings a tray of food to Jake. So, Sara tells Jake "Now, this is all El Salvadorian food" and Jake thanks her and Sara smiles and indicates to Alonzo who is out the room and she says "I have to go" and she leaves.   

Harris Yulin is also really good in his small role as one of the three wise men, Detective Doug Roselli who tells a funny story how a criminal once went up in court and placed some peanut butter in a rathe sensitive place!

So, in the scene Doug tells the story to Alonzo "There's a serial burglar we're chasing him for twelve months, a real slickster and he gave up nothing. His sentencing was today so before the hearing he gets a hold of some peanut butter and he packs his ass crack with it, he's standing tall before the judge and he's ready to give a statement, he shoves his hand down his pants and it comes out with a glob of extra chunky Jiff, bailiffs won't come near him. Now he's looking at the judge in the eyes and licks his fingers clean!". Doug then tells the others "I swear, if I find this guy on the street, I'll do him myself!".
 
Tom Berenger also does well with his very brief role as another one of the three wise men, Stan Gursky, who warns Alonzo that he does not want to see him wind up dead as a result of his altercation with the Russia mafia.  

So, Stan says to Alonzo "You sure had an expensive weekend in Vegas. How could you have screwed this up so bad?!". Alonzo then tries to reassure Stan "Its fixable, all I need to do is cash in an accoun that's all" and Stan asks "Which one?" and Alonzo says "My first". And Stan takes a moment and says "Well, its your call. But I do not want to see you screw this up. I do NOT want to see you end up on TV like those other assholes!" (i.e. cops that have died in the line of duty).

Noel Gugliani next up is also very good in his role as Moreno, one of Smiley's gangster friends, who is there when Jake is abandoned by Alonzo and Moreno teases Jake throughout the scene while they play cards. And Noel has some good lines in the scene such as the one where he asks Jake "So, how long have you been a pig?" and he laughs and says "I'm sorry, my bad! I meant how long have you been a police officer?" and Jake answers "I've been a pig for 19 months!". And then Moreno teases Jake more as he wants to see his gun as Smiley shows Jake his own gun and Moreno says "See, I've already seen than one but I want to see yours. Come on, ese, I ain't gonna shoot nobody!".

So, Jake relents and takes out his gun and removes the clip and pings out a bullet from the chamber and hands it to Moreno, who holds the gun and says "Nice, you could fuck up a vato with this!". Moreno then jokingly holds the gun to Jake and says "You see what you do is hold it like that!" and after a beat, Moreno laughs and says "I'm just kidding with you!" and hands the gun back to Jake.

And then there is the scene where Smiley is about to kill Jake in the bathtub but Moreno then asks to check Jake's pockets for money. So, Moreno says "Wait, I wanna check his pockets first, holmes!". So, Moreno looks and finds a wallet and looks at it in surprise and says to Smiley "Hey Smiley, you gonna trip out, Holmes. Isn't this your little cousin?".

Raymond Cruz (best known for his role as Tuco in the TV series, Breaking Bad) is also good in his role as Sniper, another of Smiley's gangbanger friends, who is at the card game with Smiley, Moreno and Jake.

And Cruz's most notable lines are when he plays a hand and he boasts "Boo-ya, baby! Two pair! I got two pair!" but Smiley corrects Sniper and tells him that Jake won "Three of a kind beats two pair, you dumb fuckin truck!". And later there is of course the moment where Moreno asks Jake if he ever has had "his shit pushed in?" and he asks Sniper, who crazily says through clenched teeth "Yeah, I've had my shit pushed in! BIG TIME!!" and he laughs madly.    

And finally there are also some smaller performances from the trio of hip-hop stars, starting with Macy Gray who does OK in her role as the wife of the dealer nicknamed the Sandman. And she has some noteworthy lines such as when Alonzo is searching the Sandman's apartment for money, she asks "I wanna see that warrant" and Jake tells her that Alonzo has it. However, she can see right through Jake and that he is a rookie cop, so she tells him "You're a crooked-ass, bitch-ass cop! You're a rookie!".

And just as Alonzo has finished searching and discreetly stolen the Sandman's drug money, Alonzo apologises to her and says "I'm sorry. I didn't find a goddamn thing. I apologize and thanks for your co-operation".  So, the wife asks Alonzo "I wanna see that warrant" and Alonzo asks her "What?" and the wife says firmly "I wanna see that goddamn warrant!". Alonzo then gives her a bit of paper quickly and says to Jake "Let's go" however the wife opens  and sees that it is a menu for a Chinese restaurant. So, the wife runs out and yells at Alonzo "You motherfuckers! Give me my money back! You ain't the police!" and then shouts to the local gang bangers "You bangers, don't just sit there all pretty, blast those fools! They stole from me!".

Snoop Dogg also does OK as another dealer, Blue, who is wheelchair bound and in his scene he approaches Alonzo's car and asks "What do you want, man?" and Jake with his hoodie up asks rather feebly "Erm crack?". Blue then sees Alonzo and sees right through Jake and says "Crack? Smell like bacon! Do I look like a sucker to you, nigga? Fuck you, rookie!" and he wheels away but Alonzo then tells Jake to go after him, which he reluctantly does and eventually catches up with him. 

And on interrogating Blue, Alonzo forces him to reveal where Blue stashed his rocks and asks "Where are the rocks at?" and Blue says "I'm telling you, I got nothing, dog!". Alonzo then asks Jake "You gotta a pen?" and Jake gives him one and Alonzo asks Blue again "You got nothing in there?" and Blue says "I got nothing, man!" and Alonzo then forcefully grabs Blue's head and shoves the pen into his mouth causing Blue to throw up the rocks he stashed in his mouth. Alonzo then teases Blue and asks "What's that?!" and Blue gasps and says "Motherfucking crack, man!". Alonzo then forces Blue to give him a name of his supplier and ejects a bullet from his clip each time to threaten a 10 year sentence per bullet and Blue finally admits "Nigga named Sandman! That's all the fuck I know, man! Shit!".

And last of all is Dr Dre, with Dre giving arguably the best performance out of the three as one of the corrupt cops, Paul that aids Alonzo in his robbery of Roger's drug money.  

And Dre gets some great lines such as in the scene when he first meets with Jake for the first time as Alonzo plans to rob Roger and asks "Who the fuck is this?" and Jake tells him "Jake Hoyt. Its my first day". So, Paul teases Jakes and says to him "You are a long way from Starbucks, homie!" and the others laugh and Paul asks Alonzo "Why the fuck do we need him?" and Alonzo says "He's gotta get his cherry popped sometime" and Paul warns Jake "Just stay the fuck outta my way, this is for the big dogs, you feel me?!".

And lastly there is the scene where Jake initiates a stand-off between him, Alonzo and the other corrupt cops just after Alonzo kills Roger. So as Paul holds his gun to Jake's head, he says to Alonzo "We need to kill him now and say Roger got him!" however Alonzo manages to diffuse the situation and Jake puts his shotgun down. So, just before Jake leaves he punches Paul and storms out and Paul shouts after him "You're dead, motherfucker! You hear me?! You're fuckin dead!!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

The director Antoine Fuqua does an excellent job here with Training Day as he keeps the pace of the film going at a good speed and he also cranks up the tension in the film as it moves along toward its dramatic climax.  Fuqua (who sounds exactly like Denzel Washington!) also insisted on making the film in some of the most notorious neighborhoods in Los Angeles where he even obtained permission to enter some of the LA street gangs housing projects, which marked the first time this had ever been allowed.  And for more background info on the film it is well worth checking out Fuqua's director commentary on the DVD or Blu-ray as it is really good and informative.

The film's soundtrack is also worthy of note as the original score which was written by Mark Macina is excellent and it has plenty of dark and dramatic passages that set the tone of the film perfectly.  The film's soundtrack also includes some well known hip-hop tracks from artists such as Cyprus Hill, Dr Dre, Gang Starr and P. Diddy.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

So flaws.... does Training Day have any or many? Yeah it does have some. 

To start with while Fuqua set out to make a dramatic cop film about corruption and the LA gang neighborhoods, it does feel at times with the inclusion of such hip-hop artists as Macy Gray and Snoop Dogg in the cast, that you have wandered into an MTV video rather than an actual crime drama.  And this is reflected in certain scenes in the gang neighborhoods and the extras stand around like they belong in a music video and you can almost expect to see Snoop Doggy Dogg come at you bustin some rhymes!

Another flaw for me is in Jake's character that if he is so goody goody then why would he even consider going to work in narcotics when in the end he sees he is clearly not cut out for it.  If being an undercover narc means having to dabble with drugs and get down and dirty among the dealers in order to expose them, then surely Jake is just too clean cut to get involved in it anyway.  Its if Jake decides he must undergo a baptism of fire for something in the end he realises that he's not meant for, which means while it was one hellish day, it was in a way also a waste of his time! 

And this brings up another issue with Jake's training day: if Alonzo had a big problem with the Russian mafia and had to make a big pay-off to spare his life, wouldn't have been better rescheduling Jake's training day to ANOTHER one when he didn't have all this crap hanging over his head??! But instead having Jake with him on this day is totally his own undoing and of course it would have negated this whole film's existence I guess! 

Also on a plot note, I found it a little strange how Jake didn't recognise that they were returning to Roger's house to do the robbery (or warrant search as Jake knows it!) as he had already been there. However, I guess just maybe because Jake was high when he first went there, Alonzo would be betting that Jake didn't realise he had been there before and they do go in the back door this time (I think!). However, I still find it a bit bizarre that Jake didn't really twig and go "Hang on! Isn't this Roger's place?!".

And further to the robbery scene at Roger's house, in the aftermath of the robbery, its funny how the police never question just why there is a big hole in the middle of Roger's kitchen?! Or perhaps they did and it just happened off screen! However I guess they could just call it a seizure of Roger's assets but its not like Alonzo could just claim it for himself willy-nilly but then again that's where the three wise men come in I guess.

It has to be said that some of the dialogue is also a bit silly here and there especially when Smiley calls his cousin Leti to ask her about Jake rescuing her. And in the scene she finally admits "I was jumped by two crack heads, I think they wanted to like rape me or whatever, I dunno". She also brushes it off like nothing happened to her so I guess these Mexican girls are pretty resilient!   

And last of all is the film's climax, which I have to say is pretty over the top and it does somewhat mar the credibility of what went before with Jake getting into a big fight scene with Alonzo by chasing him over rooftops and diving onto his car.  It almost feels like at this point they had a cop-out (no pun intended!) and that for the sake of things they just had to have a chase sequence before Alonzo finally got his comeuppance.

And last last of all, you have to wonder just what the repercussions of that day will have on Jake as Alonzo had the backings of three high ranking police officials with the wise men not to mention Alonzo's men, who were in favour of taking Jake out. I mean you have to imagine that Jake will be in for a rough time with these guys as they could make his life hell or even could try and kill him themselves to get back at him for Alonzo. However, the film decides not to show any closure for Jake at the end, which I guess is maybe the right way to finish but there are definitely still some troubling questions ahead after the ending that are left unanswered for Jake.  

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up, Training Day is still an excellent action thriller, which features one of Denzel Washington's very best performances for which he won a well deserved Oscar and its good to see him play with his onscreen dark side for a change. Ethan Hawke also puts in a very solid performance as the young rookie cop, Jake and the supporting cast are just as good particularly Cliff Curtis and Scott Glenn. Antoine Fuqua's direction is also excellent and he keeps the film's suspense up very well and his pacing of the film is also very taut throughout.

There are of course some minor issues with the plot and it does appear like we are on an MTV set at times with all the rap/hip-hop stars that appear in the film with Macy Gray, Dr Dre and Snoop, in those moments it gets away from the reality of it all. However despite this it still doesn't detract from what is a very solid crime thriller and one that is still well worth checking out.

So, I will give Training Day a rating of:

8.5 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post of sorts. 

Until then its bye for now!