MovieChat Forums > Training Day (2001) Discussion > Alonzo isn't even a little surprised to ...

Alonzo isn't even a little surprised to see Jake?

posted 7 years ago by DjokerFan
5 replies | jump to latest

I'd be startled and surprised as hell if I was in a bedroom with a mistress and anybody kicked the door down like that, much less a guy who was supposed to be dead. Alonzo looked like he was expecting Jake all along. Did Alonzo have a hunch that the Mexicans would screw it up? If he had that hunch, is he at all curious about how Jake got in the house?

Alonzo was a guy who seemed to always think a couple of steps ahead, so it seems odd that he wouldn't have warned his son "hey remember that white guy I was with before, well he might try to come in here. Do not let him in the house"

[–] transmentalist 7 years ago

I'd be startled and surprised as hell if I was in a bedroom with a mistress and anybody kicked the door down like that

You're not Alonzo, an egomaniac who thinks he's bigger & badder than King Kong, who walks directly into gunfire at the Sandman's house because he thinks he's untouchable.

He seemed surprised, but not floored, in other words. I think you're right that he considered the possibility, but ...

seems odd that he wouldn't have warned his son "hey remember that white guy I was with before, well he might try to come in here. Do not let him in the house"

Nah, he wasn't that close to his son - heck he wanted to use him as a human shield. Fuqua's DVD commentary (one of my favorites) explains that "kids know," meaning that the son trusts Jake after sitting with him for an afternoon watching cartoons, something Alonzo has never done. Alonzo underestimated his son, just like he did with Jake

[–] DjokerFan 7 years ago

Thank you for your response. You make very good points. I want to respond to a few though:

You're not Alonzo, an egomaniac who thinks he's bigger & badder than King Kong, who walks directly into gunfire at the Sandman's house because he thinks he's untouchable.

Alonzo probably heard Jake's footsteps and anticipated that somebody was about to kick the door down, which is why he was looking right at the door when it happened. I could see him thinking that one of the local hood guys (any of the ones in the King Kong scene) was attempting a burglary of his duffel bag, and didn't care because he was locked and loaded. But the fact that it's the guy who he just paid the Mexican gang to have killed? If there was ever a moment in the movie where Alonzo could have been like "um....uh....holy sh!t..." it was this moment. And no he did not seem surprised, he just carried on like this was all part of the plan. King Kong really didn't have sh!t on him because even King Kong would have sh!tted his pants a little in that moment, wondering how the hell Jake escaped.

Nah, he wasn't that close to his son

True, but he didn't have to be father of the year to tell his son that the guy he just met today is not welcome in the house.

[–] gluiz 7 years ago

I didn't think about that when I watched the movie (which was just now, by the way, can't believe it took me this long!), but I think it's easy to believe that Lorenzo saw it coming, or at least he was open to that possibility. I mean, it is chess, not checkers.

[–] Lootrock (149) 7 years ago

I found that incredibly strange as well. I almost buy Alonzo's bullshit that it was all a part of or at least a probability of the plan. How else would any human being have zero startle factor?

[–] redban (5253) 3 years ago

1). The movie portrayed Alonzo as this guy who didn't get surprised or shaken up. He was tough, seasoned veteran. Remember after the diner, he walks right into oncoming traffic, stopping the cars. The movie implied that he had ice in his veins. He wasn't the type of guy to express shock.

2). Even at that point, Alonzo still figured he could keep Jake under his thumb. He explains, "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove." Jake has PcP in his system, Jake shot Roger, and Jake has no witnesses. When Jake notes that the money is his evidence, then Alonzo realizes he had to fight.