With all the hoopla surrounding "Harsh Times" and it being marketed as a sort of "Training Day" clone my guess is that many people might be fooled into thinking that this film is something it's not. In one sense the two films are almost totally unrelated, but on a literal note "Harsh Times" is David Ayer's "Training Day" in that it's the first film in which he's sat in the director's chair. As a writer we've seen Ayer both hit (Training Day and Dark Blue) and miss (S.W.A.T, TFATF and U-571). So how do things pan out when he writes and directs? In terms of the plot Ayer gives us a pretty simple story but it's mixed in with complex characters who face complex decisions. Army Ranger returns from Afghanistan and faces the decision or moving forward with his career, taking up a simple life with his girlfriend in Mexico, or returning to his old gang banger ways.
To tell you the truth this film is nowhere near as explosive as "Training Day" was. I was expecting a lot of "pop pop, bang bang" but instead I was given something deeper. Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez both gave outstanding performances and while Bale is more likely to get most of the attention Rodriguez's performance should not go unnoticed. The two complemented one another on screen and their character's contrasting personalities made for some excellent "good brother, bad brother" chemistry. After this film I'd hope that Rodriguez gets the attention he deserves. Eva Longoria also gave a good performance but her role here was much smaller than I had thought it'd be and her name was probably used to draw more fans into theaters. Bale on the other hand once again demonstrates that he truly is one of Hollywood's most versatile and focused actors. Here Bale gives us a horrific look at what war can do to a person. At times he's focused and disciplined willing to do anything for his dream job. Other times he's madly in love with the girl of his dreams and her simple way of life in Mexico, sometimes he's just plain psychotic and toward the end of the film we see a man beginning to break down. The amazing thing is that he gives us such a complex character and all the while we still see him as one man and realize how messed up his life must be for him to go from being madly in love with her, to sticking a gun in his girlfriend's face. Whereas Alonzo in "Training Day" just plain didn't care about anyone but himself and you begin to hate him, Bale's performance here makes certain that you never stop caring about Davis despite the fact that he goes off the deep end on more than a few occasions. One scene where he throws a beer bottle at an elderly man's car had my eyes wide open. Powerful stuff and just plain great acting.
As for Ayer's direction, well it's not always a smooth transition when you go from writing to directing but for a directorial debut this is a pretty solid film. If there's anything he needs to work on it's the pacing and some of the dialogue. There were times when the story dragged on and slowed too much even for me, and I'm generally a fan of directors who include "unnecessary" scenes that give us additional almost excessive insight as to what motivates or drives a character a la Michael Mann films. The pacing would pick up and I'd think "here we go" only to be dragged down as Ayer took me in a completely different direction. As much as I dislike Fuqua as a director, his only good film (Training Day) demonstrated that he had more experience behind the camera than Ayer. As for the dialogue, the overuse of the word "dude" annoyed me at times. Authentic yes, but there comes a point where being too authentic can become a bit annoying. Expanding the character's vocabularies might kill a bit of the realism but it'd probably help on the big screen.
These two flaws however are no match for everything Ayer gets right. The character development in this film is rich and deep. The cinematography immerses you in Los Angeles and gives L.A. that "afternoon dirty orange sky" gritty feel. The shots of the city Skyline inserted into the film here and there really set the scene and the tone of the film. The flashes and filters employed when Bale goes off the deep end really wake you up and put you on the edge of your seat. While the action is spread thin throughout the film when Ayer wants to hit you he hits hard. The opening scene in Afghanistan set to a hip-hop score knocks you back into your seat and lets you know that you're in for a ride. And the extremely well shot shootout at the end uses some stylish slow motion effects and keeps you guessing as to where the bullets are going to end up. Seeing the progression from "Dark Blue" to "Training Day" and now "Harsh Times" is proof of Ayer's progression as a writer. But while Ayer learned to grab your attention as a writer, as a director he must now learn to keep a hold on it. Harsh Times isn't a perfect film but it's a great one nonetheless coupled with outstanding performances from the two leads and a pretty solid first outing for writer turned director David Ayer. Up the pacing, expand the character's vocabularies and give us more of that showy cinematography in the form of a bit more action and the next one could very well be a perfect 10. For now 7.5/10 rounded up to an 8. He didn't score a perfect 10, but Ayer definitely passed his Training Day.
To tell you the truth this film is nowhere near as explosive as "Training Day" was. I was expecting a lot of "pop pop, bang bang" but instead I was given something deeper. Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez both gave outstanding performances and while Bale is more likely to get most of the attention Rodriguez's performance should not go unnoticed. The two complemented one another on screen and their character's contrasting personalities made for some excellent "good brother, bad brother" chemistry. After this film I'd hope that Rodriguez gets the attention he deserves. Eva Longoria also gave a good performance but her role here was much smaller than I had thought it'd be and her name was probably used to draw more fans into theaters. Bale on the other hand once again demonstrates that he truly is one of Hollywood's most versatile and focused actors. Here Bale gives us a horrific look at what war can do to a person. At times he's focused and disciplined willing to do anything for his dream job. Other times he's madly in love with the girl of his dreams and her simple way of life in Mexico, sometimes he's just plain psychotic and toward the end of the film we see a man beginning to break down. The amazing thing is that he gives us such a complex character and all the while we still see him as one man and realize how messed up his life must be for him to go from being madly in love with her, to sticking a gun in his girlfriend's face. Whereas Alonzo in "Training Day" just plain didn't care about anyone but himself and you begin to hate him, Bale's performance here makes certain that you never stop caring about Davis despite the fact that he goes off the deep end on more than a few occasions. One scene where he throws a beer bottle at an elderly man's car had my eyes wide open. Powerful stuff and just plain great acting.
As for Ayer's direction, well it's not always a smooth transition when you go from writing to directing but for a directorial debut this is a pretty solid film. If there's anything he needs to work on it's the pacing and some of the dialogue. There were times when the story dragged on and slowed too much even for me, and I'm generally a fan of directors who include "unnecessary" scenes that give us additional almost excessive insight as to what motivates or drives a character a la Michael Mann films. The pacing would pick up and I'd think "here we go" only to be dragged down as Ayer took me in a completely different direction. As much as I dislike Fuqua as a director, his only good film (Training Day) demonstrated that he had more experience behind the camera than Ayer. As for the dialogue, the overuse of the word "dude" annoyed me at times. Authentic yes, but there comes a point where being too authentic can become a bit annoying. Expanding the character's vocabularies might kill a bit of the realism but it'd probably help on the big screen.
These two flaws however are no match for everything Ayer gets right. The character development in this film is rich and deep. The cinematography immerses you in Los Angeles and gives L.A. that "afternoon dirty orange sky" gritty feel. The shots of the city Skyline inserted into the film here and there really set the scene and the tone of the film. The flashes and filters employed when Bale goes off the deep end really wake you up and put you on the edge of your seat. While the action is spread thin throughout the film when Ayer wants to hit you he hits hard. The opening scene in Afghanistan set to a hip-hop score knocks you back into your seat and lets you know that you're in for a ride. And the extremely well shot shootout at the end uses some stylish slow motion effects and keeps you guessing as to where the bullets are going to end up. Seeing the progression from "Dark Blue" to "Training Day" and now "Harsh Times" is proof of Ayer's progression as a writer. But while Ayer learned to grab your attention as a writer, as a director he must now learn to keep a hold on it. Harsh Times isn't a perfect film but it's a great one nonetheless coupled with outstanding performances from the two leads and a pretty solid first outing for writer turned director David Ayer. Up the pacing, expand the character's vocabularies and give us more of that showy cinematography in the form of a bit more action and the next one could very well be a perfect 10. For now 7.5/10 rounded up to an 8. He didn't score a perfect 10, but Ayer definitely passed his Training Day.