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"Training Day" (2001)

Boy in blue: Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington)

The case: "King Kong ain't got s--- on me," says Det. Sgt. Alonzo Harris in a movie that could have been a mere formulaic cop picture if not for a spectacularly bad-boy performance by its lead, Denzel Washington... more (who won an Oscar for his role). As Harris, the head of an LAPD undercover narcotics squad, he's a 13-year veteran, used to living above and beyond the law, used to unleashing his own brand of street justice, used to corruption, intimidation and murder, something his new flat-foot recruit (Ethan Hawke) is (in mild understatement) a bit nervous about on his very first training day (especially when his superior Harris has him smoke PCP on the job). It's not just the streets of Los Angeles that are mean and sleazy; it's Harris, a cop who gives Harvey Keitel's "Bad Lieutenant" a run for his money. Cruising the streets in his Cadillac, more a king among his subjects than a member of the LAPD, Harris truly believes, as he says, "You have to be a wolf to catch a wolf." What makes this performance so intriguing is the fun Washington has with his crooked 5-0. Washington uses his formidable likability to bewitch you, but just when you start to find him appealing, he commits another monstrous act. And as much as the movie might become absurd, Washington never does, playing over-the-top with a wonderful blend of charm and menace and terror.

Final report: He's one bad dude.

(Warner Bros. Pictures)