Denzel Washington adlibbed one of Training Day's most famous lines, "Kong Kong ain't got s*** on me!" Training Day is a 2001 action thriller starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, with the latter playing a rookie narcotics officer working with Washington's veteran Detective Alonzo Harris. Over the course of the day, Harris forces Hawke's Jake to cross more and more moral lines, and the latter starts to realize that Alonzo is more of a monster than the criminals they're supposed to be chasing.
Training Day - which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2021 - received near-universal praise upon release, with the kudos focused on the sterling work of both Washington and Hawke. Washington is no stranger to receiving great reviews, but he's since admitted Harris is his favorite character while his turn later earned him an Oscar. Hawke is just as important to Training Day, however, as his naiveness is slowly swept away as he realizes the depth of Harris' corruption. The movie also boasts a great screenplay from future Suicide Squad helmer David Ayer and energetic direction from Antoine Fuqua.
Training Day gifts Washington with some fantastic dialogue and scenes. Throughout the very quotable Training Day, it's revealed Harris has been setting Jake up and testing how far he's willing to go. When he realizes there Jake will never be fully onboard with Harris' brand of policing, he sets him up to be killed, but Jake escapes and confronts his mentor. After their vicious fight spills out onto the street, the entire neighborhood - which has lived in fear of Alonzo for years - refuses to help him. Jake takes the money that was intended by Alonzo to pay off a large debt to the Russian mafia, Harris launches into an epic rant against the neighborhood, cumulating with Denzel Washington's adlibbed "Kong Kong ain't got s*** on me!" line.
Of course, this Training Day moment is the one that proves that Alonzo has finally lost. After so many years of wielding and abusing his power, this is the moment he's realized he's lost his grip on power. Despite his raving, he comes across almost like a pathetic figure, made all the worse by the fact his young son is there to witness his fall. Denzel Washington's adlibbed "Kong Kong ain't got s*** on me!" is especially inspired at this moment because it's a clash between how he wants to be seen - an unstoppable monster - and how the people he once terrorized now view him.
Washington loaded his Training Day performance with these nuances, and his adlib shows he had a complete command of Alonzo's mindset. Given the ending of the movie, Washington won't be returning for a sequel, though a Training Day TV series did arrive in 2017. It was canceled after one season when star Bill Paxton tragically died following complications from surgery. There's also talk a Training Day movie prequel, set to follow a young Alonzo Harris during the L.A. riots.