Training Day

"Training Day" has a problem with tone. I liked the film, which has a gritty feel to it and an unrelenting drive to a dramatic climax. The television show, on the other hand, gives us the same two characters--the rookie and the grizzled veteran--but shifts from tone to tone. It seems to start as a serious, intense action film, then morphs into a semi-silly sequence where the veteran (Bill Paxton) takes out a house full of bad guys with a grin on his face and wise cracks at the ready(reminiscent of "Die Hard"), then a tragic occurrence, followed by a clichéd visit to a drug dealer (who has a pet baboon).

Clichés run rampant in the first episode which is further ruined by dialogue that leaves nothing to the imagination of the viewer, spelling out the conflicts, anxieties, and doubts of the two main characters.

Bill Paxton does a good job of playing the irreverent smart aleck, and a film like "Guardians of the Galaxy" would suit him well. Justin Cornwell, who is the cop in training, plays the earnest detective well. But the show lacks a consistent focus.