Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day knew the assignment when it was released in 2001: Entertain, thrill, and deliver a defining modern crime thriller. Competing with blockbusters like Black Hawk Down, The Fast & the Furious, and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Fuqua’s gritty, crooked-cop gem was just ranked the very best action film of 2001.
“Starring Ethan Hawke as a rookie cop [named Jake] who is taken under the wing of Denzel Washington's Alonzo, a crooked detective with a mean streak, Training Day is one of the most groundbreaking, truly modern action flicks of the last thirty years,” Comic Book Resourceswrites.
Set over 24 hours in Los Angeles, the narrative charts Jake’s first day with the narcotics force. Trained by Alonzo, he’s forced into a series of morally corrupt situations, from smoking PCP to dodging bullets in South Central L.A. The “gangster” part of the narrative, Washington shares, was added to David Ayers’ screenplay by the film’s director.
“I don’t think it was written for a Black guy,” Washington tells The Hollywood Reporter, explaining that the film was originally scripted as a Lethal Weapon-type movie. “It was more like a plaid-shirt [wearing] guy with beer bottles in the back. Antoine was the one that brought gangster to it.”
Beyond the film’s evolving screenplay, the film also went through a major casting makeover, Mental Floss shares. An early version had Samuel L. Jackson and Matt Damon in the lead roles, with David Guggenheim initially directing.
For the role of Jake, a long list of pretty-boy contenders reportedly included Eminem, Tobey Maguire, Ryan Phillippe, Paul Walker, and Freddie Prinze Jr. In the end it was Washington who signed on first, and insisted on Fuqua helming. It was also Washington who received the most acclaim, winning an Oscar for his performance.
“Washington is utterly electric in the role of Alonzo,” CBR writes. “It's an unforgettable experience packed with tense shootouts, harrowing showdowns, and enough twists and turns to keep anyone and everyone locked in.”
The white-knuckle storyline is definitely action-packed and wrought with tension, but another element of surprise comes from the film’s music-star cameos. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Macy Gray all make memorable appearances, adding to the world Fuqua built and cementing themselves serious character actors.
Meanwhile, Washington proved himself a master of improvisation, famously coming up with the film’s most iconic line — “King Kong ain’t got nothing on me” — on the spot. It’s just one of the many moments and reasons that explain why, even in a stacked year, no film hits quite like Training Day.
Related: 1971 Bittersweet Classic With Soulful Soundtrack Ranked Among Greatest Rock Movies
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