Washington is a good bad guy

One of the many favorite heroic actors in Hollywood history, Denzel Washington, has turned over a new leaf in acting. Washington is finally playing the bad guy in "Training Day," a movie jam-packed with action, suspense, thrill and an exciting, unexpected ending.\n"Training Day" was supposed to be released on Sept. 21 but was pushed back after the Sept. 11 attacks. There is a lot of violence in the movie, but nothing any more extreme than a typical cop movie. \nI wasn't sure how I would feel about seeing Washington's character and not liking him, but he does an amazing job at portraying Detective Sgt. Alonzo Harris. Harris is a tough narcotics cop for the LAPD who plays by the street rules, not the police rules. The movie always has you asking whether or not Harris can be trusted. Washington pulls the character off perfectly by giving an A-plus performance.\nThe big surprise is Ethan Hawke. Hawke, who we haven't heard from in a while, plays Jake Hoyt, the cop in training to be a narcotics officer, with high hopes of someday being named Detective. Hawke does an outstanding job of playing the aggressive yet mostly scared Hoyt. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Macy Gray have short, yet powerful cameos in the movie. \nI was on the edge of my seat, often wondering what would come next, who could be trusted and who worked for whom. There were a few times when I thought the movie was over but there was still more to be figured out.\nI have no complaints about this movie. I was entertained for the entire two hours it lasted. "Training Day" means exactly that, the entire movie spans Hoyt's training day to be a narcotics officer. \nWhat could possibly be said badly about a movie with Denzel Washington? "Training Day" shows Washington's versatility and also that Hawke actually can act and pull off a good character. Check the movie out if you're up for some action and a change from Washington's normal heroic characters.