Review of Face/Off (1997) by Petros T — 05 Feb 2017

Nicolas Cage and John Travolta star in John Woo's Face/Off. Travolta (Sean Archer) and Cage (Caster Troy) are both archrivals particularly after Caster has killed Archer's son. Several years later the feud is over when Archer finally catches Caster and puts him in a coma. Soon after this however, they find out that Caster's brother has a bunch of bombs hidden somewhere, and the only who he would possibly tell the location of them would be his brother.

A new surgical procedure comes out that allows Archer to put on the face of Caster. The police try and get Archer to undergo this procedure temporarily so that he can try and learn the location of the bombs. Although he is reluctant at first, Archer soon believes this is the only way for them to truly get the information needed. Archer puts on Caster's face and goes undercover in prison to obtain the information. In the middle of it however, Caster wakes up for his coma and forces the plastic surgeon to get Archer's face. He then uses his police connections to keep Caster in prison and help his brother out. This leaves Archer no choice but to bust out of prison and claim back his life.

Face Off is a relatively entertaining action movie with a clever enough premise. The two leads undergoing the transition of their new roles in the film was a funny premise. In one instance Troy (With Archer's face) is upset about his bother being killed and a cop asks him why is he upset, only to get shot in the head was quite funny. The stunts are as you would in a typical John Woo film, slow one on one double pistols being shot constantly in slow motion, with plenty of unnecessary flips and dives in the process. There is quite a ridiculous stand down scene where about 7 different people all have guns pointed at each other based on their history with the two leads. Travolta does a decent job as a villain as he does in most of his films and Cage puts on one of his typical performances. The two are given a decent surrounding cast with Joan Allen as Archer's wife, and Dominique Swain and Gina Gershon put on sexy performances as Archer's daughter and Castor's sister respectively. Face Off is not Woo's best film, but most fans will find it entertaining enough.

-2.5.2017.