Review of Face/Off (1997) by Calum R — 19 Jun 2012

Directed by John Woo and starring John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, Face/Off follows the story of an undercover agent (Travolta) who undergoes a revolutionary medical procedure, to take the physical appearance of a major criminal (Cage) in order in infiltrate his organisation.

Hailed by critics and audiences alike, Face/Off has gained some what of a reputation for being 'Possibly the best action movie of all time'. With this in mind, I was expecting BIG things from Face/Off, and while it most certainly wasn't the 'best action movie of all time' it was still very enjoyable.

The totally ridiculous and silly plot, is tackled surprisingly well, with the single reason for it's triumph being that this film does not take it's material seriously. Every scene contains a corny quote, with totally outlandish acting being presented, that would, in any other film, deter me from the story. However in this film the corny lines and sub-par acting are NEEDED in order to make this film a success, I found myself 'fist-pumping' to the scenes of totally ridiculous action and laughing hysterically at some of the many absurd lines that are delivered throughout this film. John Woo knew his material was totally ridiculous, but he made it work, by not only producing a captivating story, but by also matching the characters, to fit into the insanity of the film.

Contrary to many, I've always been a big fan of Nicholas Cage, I believe that in the correct role, he can produce some absolutely fantastic characters which completely immerse the audience into the films story. Face/Off is a perfect example of Nicholas Cage at his very best, as for me he steals the film. To portray two completely different characters within the same film, while maintaining that insanity of one, and the goodness of the other, I thought was absolutely fantastic. John Travolta is also brilliant, however whilst playing 'Castor Troy' I never really felt that same level of insanity that I experienced when 'Cage' played the same character.

However, although I felt that the plot was tackled very well throughout the film, I did find it hard to get over periods of lazy dialogue, scenes of extreme stupidity and ridiculous characters. I felt that particularly the scenes within the family home were poorly executed, for many reasons, the main being, these are the moments when the film begins to go completely 'over the top'. This seems to especially happen whenever 'Jamie' (Travolta's daughter) is around, producing some awful scenes of nonsensical 'drivel'. 'Dominique Swain' who plays 'Jamie', delivers a totally incoherent and unrealistic performance which was irritating and frustrating throughout, the film would've been a lot better without her. Furthermore, certain scenes seem completely separate from the rest of the film, it felt like the production team had come up with a pile of action sequences and they were just finding a way to worm each one into the film, whether it made sense or not.

That being said, overall I do think that this is a brilliant action film, despite it's absurd plot and corny characters. Above all this film is exciting, adventurous and very fun, it'll make you cheer, laugh and may even make you cry!?

80%- Has major flaws, but 'Woo' accomplished what he set out to do, create an exciting and furious action film, which will keep you enthralled throughout, thanks to Cage's performance.

Calum. Russell.