Training Day (2001)

Training Day is a recent classic in the genre of crime thrillers. You could say it's because of Antoine Fuqua's super directing in which he spans an entire day under 2 hours with extreme ease. You could say it's because of David Ayer's rich screenplay. But I say, it's because of the unforgettable character study of Alonzo Harris. When we first meet him, we consider him as an expert narc. He's really good. Perhaps too good at his job. He's no stranger to the role as the "bad cop" and is willing to take his apprentice, Jake Hoyt, to the limit of his comfortability on his first day. What Jake realizes is that either he's way in over his head as a trainee narcotics officer, or Alonzo Harris is up to no good. We see him unravel in front of our eyes and soon enough, the cop becomes the ultimate criminal. He roars his final monologue. "King Kong ain't got shit on me!". Denzel has never been better. Is Training Day a masterpiece? Maybe that classification is too kind, but there are too many indications that would suggest it should be.