One of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, Denzel Washington won his first Academy Award for 1989’s Glory. For Washington’s second – and to date last – Oscar, we go to 2001’s Training Day.

Young LAPD cop Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) works the streets for a year but wants something else for his career. This leads him to apply to the department’s narcotics bureau.

Jake gets the job and needs to go through a “training day” alongside veteran officer Alonzo Harris (Washington). Alonzo uses effective but unorthodox methods that force Jake to confront ethical issues right off the bat.

After six years in music videos, director Antoine Fuqua moved to feature films via 1998’s The Replacement Killers, a wholly unexceptional action flick. He followed with 2000’s Bait, another wholly unexceptional action flick.

Training Day managed to escalate Fuqua’s profile, though this didn’t occur because he suddenly enjoyed an infusion of acting talent. Killers featured Chow-Yun Fat and Mira Sorvino, whereas Bait starred Jamie Foxx and David Morse. This means the Washington/Hawke duo doesn’t suddenly move Fuqua to the A-list.

Day launched Fuqua’s long-term relationship with Washington, though. Though they didn’t work together again until 2014’s Equalizer, they made three movies from 2014 to 2018.

As noted, Washington won an Academy Award for his work here, and Hawke earned a nomination as well. Those became the movie’s only Oscar credentials, probably because the actors turn into the sole notable aspect of the film.

Not that I think Day offers a bad film independent of its cast, as it brings a serviceable police flick. Granted, it plays less well circa 2023 than it did in 2001 due to changing attitudes toward “rogue cops”.

As I write this review, it’s a couple years after the Black Lives Matter movement’s major impact on US society and the massive protests related to the murder of George Floyd. These shifts make it much more difficult to watch a story of a cop with questionable ethics.

That said, Day doesn’t turn Alonzo into Harry Callahan, the fascistic sort whose methods might go against namby-pamby rules but who works for the greater good. Alonzo exists in a more nebulous state, as we see how his tactics take bad guys off the street but also cross the line into open illegality.

Day eventually turns Alonzo dark enough that the questions disappear, and that becomes a problem. The movie works better when it leaves the audience with the need to decide if the results merit the methods, but once Alonzo leans truly bad, all nuance leaves the tale.

Without an especially strong story, Day gets by mainly due to its aforementioned cast. Did Washington really deserve an Oscar for his work as Alonzo? Probably not, if just because the role lacks great depth.

Alonzo starts off as a shady character and never emerges as much more than that, though as noted, he borders on evil eventually. Washington does great with the role as written, but the script doesn’t leave him enough room to turn Alonzo into anything three-dimensional.

The same goes for Hawke. He gets the thankless role as the semi-innocent neophyte, and he also does fine in the part, but he fails to find ways to bring out material the screenplay lacks.

Day works better than Fuqua’s first two movies, but it doesn’t live up to the talent it puts in front of the camera. Like Fuqua’s subsequent films, Day keeps us involved but it never threatens to become anything creative.

Training Day appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became an appealing presentation.

Sharpness worked pretty well, as most of the movie offered solid delineation. A few slightly soft interiors occurred, but the majority of the film looked well-defined and concise.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and edge haloes failed to appear. Grain felt light but natural, and I saw no signs of print flaws.

Colors went with a stylized feel that emphasized teal/green and orange/amber. The tones felt strong and became one of the best aspects of the image. HDR added impact to the hues.

Blacks felt dark and shadows showed good clarity. HDR brought power to whites and contrast. All in all, this became a fine image.

As for the film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack, it showed the scope I expected from a cop movie. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, this meant a lot of street ambience and occasional bursts of action.

Music displayed appealing stereo presence, and the environmental information related to the police on patrol showed appropriate involvement and engagement. Occasional gunfights and car chases brought useful movement as well and they gave the mix some oomph.

Audio quality seemed fine, as speech seemed natural and concise, without edginess or other issues. Music sounded rich and full.

Effects offered appropriate fidelity and brought accurate tones. This became a perfectly solid track for a cop flick.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2006? Audio showed a step up, as the 4K’s Atmos provided higher quality as well as a more engaging soundscape that the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on the Blu-ray.

The 4K came with obvious visual upgrades as well, for it seemed better defined and more dynamic than the semi-flat Blu-ray. Actually, given it came out during Blu-ray’s formative period, it holds up better than most of its era-mates, but it can’t compare to this remastered 4K.

Note that the palette of the 4K appeared to differ somewhat from the Blu-ray. The latter leaned more blue versus the teal/green of the 4K and more amber than the amber/orange of the 4K. I only know Training Day from home video so I don’t know which color choice better reflects the original screenings, but I thought I’d mention the differences.

On the 4K disc, we get an audio commentary from director Antoine Fuqua. He delivers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, sets and locations, influences, cast and performances, photography, music, and related domains.

For the most part, Fuqua brings us a decent commentary, as he touches on a good array of topics. However, he works a little too hard to convince us how authentic the movie is, and that gets old. Nonetheless, we learn a reasonable amount about the production.

More extras appear on the included Blu-ray copy. Crossing the Line runs 15 minutes, three seconds and provides notes from Fuqua, producers Jeffrey Silver and Bobby Newmyer, writer David Ayer, technical advisor Shiheed “Bone” Sloan, and actors Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Macy Gray.

“Making” looks at story/characters, cast and performances, shooting in LA, and Fuqua’s impact on the production. A few decent notes emerge, but “Making” mainly offers a promo piece.

Five Additional Scenes span a total of 12 minutes, 34 seconds. Most of these offer additional exposition for the two leads and show us more of their time together, though the last one comes late in the movie and helps develop a supporting role a bit more. All are interesting to see, though I’m not sure the movie needed any of them.

We also find a four-minute, 48-second Alternate Ending. It presents the same fate for Alonzo but adds follow-up for Jake. It feels too on the nose and unnecessary.

In addition to the movie’s trailer, we get music videos from Nelly’s “#1” and Ppharoahe Monch’s “Got You”. The former mostly mixes lip-synch footage with movie clips, while the latter tries a little harder to create its own story. Both songs seem dated but decent, and the videos are watchable but unexceptional as well.

Note that the included Blu-ray offers the remastered image and doesn’t just replicate the original 2006 BD. Also, “Crossing the Line” was just called “The Making of Training Day” on the prior disc, but it’s the same featurette.

More than 20 years after its release, Training Day remains remembered due to Denzel Washington’s Oscar-winning lead performance. I can’t find much else to keep the film in the public consciousness, as it mostly feels like a fairly generic “rogue cop” tale. The 4K UHD brings solid picture and audio along with a good roster of bonus materials. Day becomes a watchable but not memorable effort.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of TRAINING DAY