Review of Face/Off (1997) by Robbie B — 18 Jan 2014

Nicolas Cage and John Travolta are two actors who have been known for putting on over-the-top performances which have ultimately led to mixed results. Some of their movies have been good, but others, especially in the more recent years, have been laughably bad at best. Because of this, both men have gotten somewhat of a bad rep in the last few years and some might find it hard to believe that they are actually capable of putting on a legitimately good performance. They might be especially shocked to find out that Cage and Travolta were actually in a good movie together. Not only that, but they also wind up having to play each other. This is Face/Off.

An FBI special agent named Sean Archer (played by John Travolta) loses his son to a sniper wielding terrorist named Castor Troy (played by Nicolas Cage). Archer becomes obsessed with catching Troy and six years after the death of his son, he finally manages to do so. However, Troy has planted bombs somewhere in Los Angeles and is now in a comatose state so he cannot reveal the exact location. The police have Troy's brother in custody, but he refuses to reveal anything to anyone except Troy himself. Desperate for answers and with time ticking away quickly, Archer goes through a face transplant surgery that removes his own face from his skull and it is replaced with Troy's. Archer now has the appearance of Troy and ends up getting thrown into prison with Troy's brother. He manages to get the bombs' location, but things then take a turn for the worst. Troy awakens from his coma, takes Archer's face for himself, and destroys all evidence of the surgery leading everyone to think he is the real Archer. It is at this point that there is a role reversal as Archer is now being played by Cage and Troy is now being played by Travolta. Troy then takes over Archer's life while Archer is left stuck in prison unknown to his colleagues and family.

The premise sounds pretty confusing to follow when reading, but trust me it is not as complicated to follow when you actually watch it. Overall, Face/Off is very solid movie. The action scenes are pretty well done and a real joy to watch. There is a lot of shooting, a good amount of blood, plenty of fists thrown, and even a boat chase and it all looks great. When it comes to performances, Cage and Travolta both deserve praise for playing both characters. When the movie begins, the audience gets a clear idea of the two lead characters' personalities. The acting style of these two actors allows them to easily become both characters. Cage manages to be the smooth and crazy Troy in the movie's beginning, but he also manages to portray the broken Archer as the character's position couldn't be any worse thanks to the insane style that has made Nicolas Cage an Internet meme. Travolta also does well in portraying Archer, an FBI agent who wants his son's killer brought to justice, but also manages to play a convincing Troy as things seem to be getting better and better as he takes over Archer's life. Travolta's crazy laughs especially work well here.

However, the other thing about the characters that really makes this movie work is that they are both equally likeable. Yes one is clearly good and one is clearly evil but neither one is the image of perfection. We are not supposed to root for Troy because he is a total scum bag. He is the bad guy after all. Troy kills a guy's son and uses that to taunt him. On top of that, he takes over that same guy's life which includes being intimate with his wife. However, it is the way that Troy goes about doing it all that makes him so likeable. He loves what he is doing and even though he has morals no decent human being should ever exhibit, the fact that he has so much fun with it makes it hard not to like him. He is also pretty smart when it comes to planning, at least for the most part. He even teaches Archer's daughter self-defense and beats up on a guy trying to get touchy with her if you know what I mean. In a way, you almost want to root for him, but at the same time you don't because he's taking over another guy's life. Some might find it hard to watch because of these mixed feelings, but I think that's what makes it so interesting. At the same time, Archer is not entirely likeable either. He is so obsessed with catching his son's killer that he neglects his wife and daughter for years. At the same time though, can you really blame him? He lost his son in one of the most gruesome ways possible. If that were me, I'd want to beat down the killer myself, wouldn't you? Well, maybe not everyone would, but you get the point. He also gets stuck in a rough spot when he cannot tell his family what is going on and a bunch of people's lives are at stake. He might not make the best decisions all the time, but then again he is under quite a lot of pressure and it can be hard to think clearly in those times. Overall, both main characters have a balanced amount of likes and dislikes and it works so well because it shows how they are both human even if one is technically "good" and the other is technically "evil." They could have made Troy a total jerk with no likeable qualities whatsoever, but then it would not have been as interesting. It would have been the same clichéd douchebag bad guy that we have seen in every other movie. These are the kind of guys who are nothing but jerks, have no likeable traits or redeeming qualities whatsoever, and are just a cheap way to get the audience to side with the protagonist regardless of how likeable he is. On top of that, Archer most likely would have wound up being bland and boring. It would feel like we are being forced to like Archer because he doesn't like Troy and we don't like him either. There's nothing interesting about that. We're being told to like this guy whether there's reason to or not. That's not a good character. Luckily, Face/Off doesn't do that.

Another thing that makes this premise so interesting is that the two characters are both in positions that are farthest away from their norm. Not only are they both stuck in a completely different lifestyle that they have never been a part of, but they now have to ally themselves with the most unlikely people. Troy, a wanted terrorist by the FBI, ends up working with the FBI to try to gain more power and kill Archer. Archer ends up having to seek help from Troy's gang of thugs which include people that Archer himself has previously arrested. It's actually pretty unique for an action film. There have been times in movies where a character ends up being a spy for one side, but I do not think it has ever been done to this degree where both main characters are spies due to such unusual circumstances.

One more thing I should point out is the movie's symbolism. Apparently director John Woo, has a thing for using doves in his movies as symbols of peace. It really isn't that special here, but there are other forms of symbolism that work really well. There is one scene where Troy and Archer meet up after switching faces and they are in a shoot-out. At one point, both men end up on opposite sides of a mirror with their backs against it. Eventually, they decide to go all out and they turn around and face the mirror and see the reflections of their archenemies and proceed to shoot through mirror. I got to say, it was pretty clever and really cool. Even some of the smaller forms of symbolism work such as during the boat chase scene. In this scene, each man is riding in his own boat with Troy's being red and Archer's being white. Get it? I'd say it's subtle, but others might say it's obvious. Either way, it's small, but worth pointing out.

At 2 hours at 18 minutes, Face/Off actually didn't feel too long. It was just the right length, had great actors, an interesting presentation, and some clever and subtle symbolism. I give it a not perfect but very favorable 4/5 stars.