Terence Grant Training Day 3
Training day is an incredible movie. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. The primary focus of the movie was the relationship between crooked narcotics officer Alonzo Harris, and rookie cop Jake Hoyt. You learn quickly as you're watching the movie Alonzo isn't your average rank-and-file police officer. He's street smart and grimy in his approach to police work, but he is somewhat likeable because of his Charisma. Jake Hoyt on the other hand, is the opposite of Alonzo in character. He has an idealistic outlook on the purpose of his job, he thinks of the cops as the good guys. The more time he spends with Alonzo, he begins to see that ideal doesn't apply to every cop. Under the influence of Alonzo Jake struggles to maintain his moral compass throughout the movie. He is stuck between a rock and a hard place because Alonzo is a master manipulator. Alonzo is the kind of individual who has no conscience when it comes to influencing a person to carry out his agenda. The ultimate slime character, he knows how to put people in difficult situations, that force you to commit to a decision that favors him. Jake was compelled to do things he wouldn't have done otherwise due to Alonzo's manipulation tactics. An example of this is the infamous laced marijuana scene. Alonzo offers Jake a smoke and he declines to take a hit of the joint. Then Alonzo proceeds to draw his gun on Jake scolding him that "you can get killed for turning drugs down in the street!" This scene illustrates Alonzo's manipulated nature perfectly, because Jake begrudgingly smokes the laced marijuana even though he didn't want to initially. The great thing about the movie is although Jake constantly wrestles with whether he can handle the immoral elements of policing he manages to stay true to himself. He perseveres in the end by defeating Alonzo without stooping to Alonzo's level....
