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  Synopsis:
Face/Off is the story of FBI Agent Sean Archer
(Travolta) and the elusive criminal Castor Troy
(Cage). An FBI agent with a cross to bear,
Archer's personal vendetta against Castor Troy
has consumed his life to the point of obsession.
After an initial confrontation between the two
of them, Archer figures out a new way to trap
all of those who conspire with Troy...by
becoming Troy. Undertaking an experimental
procedure of swapping faces with another, Archer
suddenly becomes Troy. Waking from the
medical coma the lab put him under, Troy hijacks
the lab and becomes Archer.
The Freak's
Rating: A : There
are a few action movies I can't wait to watch
again once they hit Blu Ray. When an
action movie has the right sound editing, bullet
shells sound like they hit the floor of my
theater and that gives me all the glee of a boy
opening his first bike on Christmas morning.
Paramount pictures cancelled their release of
Face/Off just before they jumped ship to HD DVD
last year. Now that they are back in the
fold, I should be able to see it very soon.
Until then, DVD will have to do.
Face/Off sits on my shelf in
the "What?" section. The "What?" section
is a group of movies that have, for one reason
or another, missed mainstream America's taste
buds. Usually they are genre-heavy pieces
such as Touching The Void or a subtitle-laden movie such as
Apocalypto.
Friends and family members often come over to
watch something on the big screen in my theater.
We are often left going through movies to select
what to watch. The "What?" label for these
films comes from my response to hearing from one
of them that they haven't seen one of these
films.
Face/Off is a 1997 action
film done by Chinese director John Woo.
This is where the audience divides during this
review. Those who are familiar with Woo's
work and somehow missed this will stop reading
my review and rush out to get their hands on it
(most likely scolding themselves on the way).
Those unfamiliar may be frightened that the film
is labeled with a style that they don't know.
Let me assure the latter that there is nothing
to fear. It is similar to the first time
you may have said, "Who is Pink Floyd?
I've never heard them." or perhaps "What does a
Monet painting look like?". Not seeing an
art form (and Woo's spin of action style is
nothing short of it) is something to embrace and
take in.
Nicholas Cage and John
Travolta didn't win any awards for this film,
and I'm not pleading for them to receive them.
However, they had the difficult job of
portraying both the good guy and the bad guy in
the same film, which isn't easy to do,
especially to sell it as well as they do.
The action sequences in the
movie are top notch. Woo does go a tad
over the top in some scenes, but it is strictly
eye candy and should be reviewed through those
eyes. Those looking to find holes in the
script, continuity and realism can easily find
them. However, Face/Off stands up as one
of the great action films of the 1990's for me
and is an incredibly entertaining film. It
also has a great trailer (see below)!
Sebastian's Rating: A :
havent seen htis movie in ages but i can still remeber lovin' it!
Jen's Rating: A- :
Great movie, very unique and interesting. A classic worth owning and
watching again. Wonderful acting!
Angie's Rating: A :
Do you ever get tired of an actor imitating another?? Sometimes...
sometimes... not here though. John Travolta and Nicholas Cage pull it off. (hahaha...
literally) I really enjoy this movie. Every time I catch it on TV I stop to
watch. If you haven't seen it, you should. You won't be disappointed. :)
Brian's Rating: A :
Saw this again this weekend. John Woo is awesome. He should go into
the action cinematic Hall of Fame if there is such a thing. The choreographed
gun fights are simply the best there is, and the best there every will be. I
was reminded that I need to watch this more often. Whenever I think I see a
good gunfight, I measure it against this standard. Specifically, a gun
fight in a drug dealers house where a little kid is wearing a headset playing
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow". This is a work of art. It is not quite as
good as Hard-Boiled, but then again, John Travolta will never out trump Chow Yun-Fat
when it comes to kick ass action.
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