Analyzing Evil: Alonzo Harris, From Training Day

hello everyone and welcome to episode 25 of

evil

analysis with

alonzo

harris

from

training

day

alonzo

is a masterfully written character and, along with a standout performance from denzel washington, this makes him a character that captivates us viewers with his charisma and bravery from the beginning. wow, but this fascination quickly turns to disgust and hatred as the film progresses, watching him work throughout the film gives us insight into a world of hardship, crime and corruption that many have witnessed and experienced in this video. I'm going to capture every inch of what makes Alonzo such a terrifying yet charming villain who left a huge mark on the crime drama genre.

I'll start with a quick overview of Alonso as he appears to us at the beginning of the film, but I'll jump ahead after that. We have taken many turns to help streamline the topics that I am going to discuss in this video. Now, without further ado, let's go to the office with Alonso. Our first impression of Alonso is that of a man who is his own boss and who takes nothing. bowl of anyone who is clearly shown from his first scene as a my-way-or-the-highway kind of guy, this in itself is in some ways stereotypical of the tough police officer archetype we see in some movies, but aside Of course, Alonzo is not at all stereotypically dressed. all in black and adorned with jewels, he certainly does not give us the impression of a police officer, but rather gives us the impression that he is someone who is among a man on the street who works for the law from the road.

He watches and talks to Jake in his first scene, it is evident from the beginning that Alonso is someone who really likes toying with people and he revels in the discomfort he is causing Jake and the opportunity to one-up him at every turn. . He is definitely sadistic as he is very condescending and cynical and loves to condescend and humiliate people whenever he gets the chance. We can see this psychological sadism on numerous occasions when he talks to Jake and also when he bullies the college kids and after he stops Blue, but not Alonso. stop at the psychological sadism, he also really enjoys the physical pain he causes in others.

We see this several times throughout the film, such as when he punches one of the men who tried to rape Smiley's cousin, but the most frequent moment is the sheer amount of joy we can see playing on his face as he tells him Roger to breathe after shooting him. The smile he has on his face speaks of a man who can easily find pleasure in the most horrible aspects of life and his desire to play with them. people stay with him even as his victims die. This sadism is just one of Alonzo's many traits that we will discuss in this video that make him such a brutal villain, but I would like to point out a couple of things before we continue to delve into his more detailed characteristics.

First I would like to point out that this film It definitely deserves a second viewing, as there are many small details that you may have ignored on your first viewing as insignificant or normal for a man in his position, which is particularly interesting. What to keep in mind when watching this movie a second time is the look Alonso gives Jake as he talks to him during the film's opening run. When Alonso talks to Jake, it seems like he's sizing him up and trying to gauge if he's made of the right stuff to be part of his unit, but with our knowledge of how Jake fits into Alonso's plans, we can see that after imagining that Jake is an integral part of his plan to save his own skin, these appearances become much more sinister.

We can see Alonzo giving him looks and statements that show us the gears that are no doubt turning in his head as he contemplates the next steps of his plan. We can see it in his eyes when Jake tells Alonso that he doesn't know what to think about. Alonso's methods or when Jake tells Alonso that he will do anything to be part of his unit. Now this plan, as well as Alonso's behavior and corruption, greatly influence why he is a villain and what makes him

evil

, but there is something else to consider when watching. In his character and those are his ideas of justice and the way he enforces the law, based on what we see in the movie, we have to keep in mind that all the actions he takes when it comes to enforcing the law are in service of his plan, but These moments still show us what he would do in similar situations in all of these cases.

Furthermore, he basically uses fear, intimidation, or deception to get his point across, intimidating people into submission and punishing them in a way that serves as a reminder to give. he either confronts crime or turns them loose and has other criminals deal with them as a form of street justice. Now I'm not here to tell you if your path is right or wrong as it honestly depends on your interpretation of the US justice system. They fail in many ways. Yes, there are advantages to the way Alonzo handles criminals. There are advantages to almost anything when you get down to it, but it is not my place or in my scope of understanding of the subject to tell you whether one or the other has a higher percentage of saving lives and stopping crime.

What I would like to highlight is how this line of thinking has affected Alonso on a personal level. Alonso has been doing this job for several years and as Roger said in his introductory scene. Alonso was like Jake when he started. There's actually a quote from Antoine Fuqua from a behind-the-scenes segment that perfectly sums up exactly what Alonso's justice did to him. He's a guy who probably did something good when he started and realized it. what do you know, if you just move this an inch like this, you can make a case stay put and then you start moving it a foot in a yard and the next thing you know you're on the other side and now I can't.

Let's just say that every person who has ever sought this kind of justice has ended up as corrupt as Alonso, but this philosophy certainly helped shape Alonso into the ruthless, power-hungry man we see in the film. The slow corruption of Alonzo's character over the years is what has brought him to the point where we see him in the film, told by Smiley Alonso, beat a member of the Russian mafia to death in Las Vegas and now He has the obligation to provide the Russians with a million dollars or his life. It is partly due to the influence of alcohol, as many situations like this tend to be the reason why I think this is probably the case due to his obvious enjoyment of the substance throughout the film and his anger, for what we see in the movie. the film is generally directed and used with a purpose rather than coming out as a result of blind rage.

The smiley describes him as a hothead and he is certainly quite volatile, but again his anger, as we see, is shown with a purpose, which makes alcohol a likely catalyst for his beating of this Russian this is just a theory of my part but it fits however there is another component to why alonzo felt so comfortable beating a man to death and that is his perception of himself as an untouchable man in the city i'm sure is similar. A number of consequences would have arisen if he had killed a gang member there, but there are a number of variables in that potential scenario that could have made it much easier for Alonso to do something like that in his hometown, but he still would have done it. or not.

Suffering consequences is irrelevant since Alonso has the idea that he is untouchable locked in his mind after so many years of being a leader, he seems to be quite careful with the way he handles his criminal enterprises, but when it comes down to it, Alonzo is the kind of person who believes that he has reached a point where he can solve anything if necessary and someone who can walk among people like a man who cannot be touched, now that all that is out of the way, now we can move to events. that happen in the movie, the two main things we see in Alonzo that make him such an effective villain are his excellent manipulation and masterful planning.

His confidence in the execution of his plan is astonishing, as this entire plot hinges on his ability to mold a new recruit, whoever he may be. Could be the perfect scapegoat for their plan almost from the beginning, Alonso is simultaneously boosting Jake, praising him and admiring his skills in handling criminals and assessing situations, while challenging his preconceived notions of the law, changing Jake's worldview. Alonzo knows exactly what a person wants and knows how to get what he wants out of them, sometimes solely through intimidation and punishment, but usually through a combination of threats and coercion. This is manipulation 101, giving the victim a sample of what he wants while he cuts the fruit. of their desire a little further away from them with each bite they take, it is not just Jake who is subject to this manipulation, since one of Alonzo's phrases is do you want to go to jail or do you want to go home?, which typically asks people he has detained after beating them into submission, offering them a chance at redemption when in reality he is bending them to his will and pushing them to do exactly what he wants, manipulation is the key to everything Alonzo has achieved in his life, the fact that he has managed to place himself at the top of a hierarchy of gang members in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles, is a testament to this ability, as well as the fact that it is not just about this neighborhood, but that its power extends to a wide network. of gang members on his payroll or under his influence that he can take advantage of at any time, as we see when he has to sell lace marijuana to college students so he can arrest them and drug Jake or when he pays Smiley and his team to kill Jake.

These moments of manipulation, intimidation, and extreme trust in her abilities show us not only Alonso's power in Los Angeles, but also his love for her. Everything about Alonso is a display of confidence and power. He walks down a busy street with no regard for anyone but himself. his car in the middle of a four-way intersection to point a gun at his partner, standing there in front of everyone while he makes him smoke a pipe and walks through a neighborhood full of gang members as if he owned the place the amount of both Fear and The respect that Alonso has managed to instill in the people he is supposed to serve and protect are so high that these people still shy away out of fear of his threats or what will happen to them if they are found guilty of killing. a police officer, although it's also possible that the reason no one really moves to kill Alonzo in his penultimate scene is because they already know he's a dead man and thus save themselves the trouble of murdering him;

However, Alonzo enjoys the power he has and is very satisfied with holding the reins of so many people along with his lust for power comes greed and hedonism, as we can see, Alonzo appreciates good cars, fine spirit jewelry and even With a wife and four children at home, Alonzo has a lover he can turn to. Whenever the need arises to satisfy his sexual desires, corrupt to the core, Alonzo has become so absorbed in his own position that he embodies the life he has built on the misfortune of others now, as I said before, all of these traits, The advantages and actions Alonzo takes are integral to carrying out his plan to save himself and without even one of them he would be far from successful in his efforts, from using Netto to sell drugs to college students to killing Roger to secure funds for his shame, almost every step that alonzo takes.

It is directly related to his plan and it succeeds because of the terrible traits he harbors within himself, even in the scene after Roger's murder, if you listen to what Alonso says when he is on the phone, he says to the man on the other end. probably with a smile make sure he keeps the bathtub clean, showing that he is always knee-deep in his malicious plan, even when he smiles at you and pats you on the back. The fact that he can execute this plan in just the span of a day with almost no problems is indicative of a man who has a mind built to handle complex situations and who possesses the ability to utilize available resources to the fullest.

The last two alonzo traits that we haven't discussed yet also help tremendously in the execution of this plan. Being is the lack of remorse and your absolute bravery in the face of danger. This lack of remorse is paramount not only to his plan but to who Alonso is as a whole, as he would not have gone as far as he has with a sense of guilt. he can make a man he barely knows torment him for an entire day while holding a carrot in front of his face and is willing to sacrifice almost everything to save his own skin.

His bravery is impressive as it is the only time we see a hint of The fear on Alonzo's face appears towards the end of the film when he realizes that Jake will not give him the money, but it is still minimal, in the Best case scenario, he casually walks into the line of fire after taking money from theSandman's house and during his confrontation and shootout with Jake at his lover's apartment, he still projects that confidence that we see flowing from him throughout the entire film. In the end, the only reason Alonzo doesn't succeed is because of an unforeseen twist in his plan, sometimes called a plot, but in this case we'll call it Jake Saving Smiley's Cousin If this had never happened, Jake would be the one who He would be buried in an unmarked grave and Alonso would continue to walk free as lord of the city of Los Angeles, but as is common with most men who follow a life of crime and corruption, Alonso ends up getting what is coming to him and must pay the price. price for the sins he has committed, so in the end, who is alonzo

harris

?

He is a man who probably started out like any other police officer wanting to do good in his community by bringing peace. law and order for the people who inhabit his city but over time he has delved too deep into the abyss pushing The line further and further forward in his search for justice and finally discovers that he feels quite comfortable sitting in a position of power and that this new Power slowly corrupts him as he finds himself capable of doing whatever he wants and taking whatever he wants. the worst in a man and with Alonso he has brought out the greed, lust and sadism that have fueled his transition into a fearless and manipulative man whose masterful use of the people and resources at his disposal make him a terrifying adversary to the that anyone must face the one who is so in tune. the minds of others that even with a basic knowledge of what you need from a person, you can find a way to push their buttons and pull them towards your train of thought, corrupting them for your own purposes, whether they are aware of it or not. .

Hardened, trusting, relentless, narcissistic and corrupt to the core, Alonzo is a man who seeks to charm and placate a person while slowly sticking a knife under his neck in search of a vein while smiling at you making you believe that he has what he has in mind. better for you. he can show you the path to redemption towards what you want in life or towards a reality that he has manufactured and fostered among a sea of ​​crime; Ultimately, he is working for himself and himself alone as he seeks to nurture and maintain a life of wealth, prestige, and power.

By crushing the lives of others under his feet, all of these things make Alonso Harris a diabolical and despicable villain and a man who is most comfortable curled up in a bed of evil. Thank you all for tuning in to this evil analysis episode and I hope you do. I enjoyed it, what is your opinion about Alonso? Did I miss something? Let me know below and leave a suggestion for a villain you'd like to see appear while you're at it if you liked this video and want more like it to appear. in your feed, click the subscribe button to stay up to date with the latest episodes and feel free to leave a like while you're at it.

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