It's Rookie cop Jake Hoyt's (Ethan Hawke  Gattaca, Great Expectations) first day on the job and he must now meet up with a seasoned professional the charismatic cop Harris (Denzel Washington  John Q, Malcom X, Glory) who takes a liking to him and decides to take him on a ride along to show him the ropes of the inner city, but what he has to show young Jake is beyond anything he ever learned in Police Academy. In probably Denzel Washington's best performance in years, he is phenomonal as the dangerous and sly Harris. This movie won his an Oscar for Best Actor. Fact: He is the second African American actor in history to win for best actor, the first being Sidney Portier. That night was a history making night, and after watching this movie, I can see why he won the Oscar. Usually, the versatile Denzel has played good guys for most of his career; Look at "John Q", "Glory", "The Bone Collector" and many more. In this we see a completely different Denzel as he sheds his good guy image and turns into Mr. Hyde. Immediately we can smell the charisma from his character as he gives off an ere of bad-ass about him. He gives an unbelievable performance as the crooked cop of the inner city who rules over the underbelly of drug dealing with an iron fist. There's only so much I can say about his performance. Antoine Fuqua directs this radiantly with a great view of the inner city with excellent character depth. We also get an excellent screenplay as the characters are each excellent in their own ways with rapid fire witty dialogue. Ethan Hawke is excellent as the reluctant hero of the movie as he must sit back and watch all the mayhem and madness happen around him and decide whether to leave it behind or face Harris once and for all.

There's really nothing I can say bad about this film, but I'll try. Unfortunately, the plot does tend to drag with occasional scenes that make the movie feel sluggish. Impatient movie renters might find it hard to tolerate, but in the end the execution is worth it. We also have occasional cameos from major rap and hip hop stars which might seem cool to fans of the genre, but it drove me crazy; especially a vomit inducing small role by Macy Gray as she plays a crack fiend. Eck.

All in all, this is a surprisingly excellent movie with Incredible performances by Mr. Denzel and Ethan Hawke. This is a thrill to watch, and is highly suggested.