Review of Face/Off (1997) by Karen T — 21 May 2012

An amazing thriller directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage in which they both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another. It was the first Hollywood film in which Woo was given complete creative control and that was the smart move - critics loved it and grossing $245 million worldwide, Face/Off was a financial success.

The story of a terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) and a FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Archer (John Travolta) was made to involve the viewer fully from the start to the end. Years earlier, Castor, in an attempt to kill Sean, accidentally killed the agent's young son, Michael - and the two have been obsessed with each other ever since ... the real skill of Woo was to immerse everyone else into it! Of course that would be impossible without the spec script which writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary tried to sell to a studio from as early as 1990. It took numerous studios, producers and rewrites before John Woo became attached several years later.

Originally the film was to be set in the far future and was to star Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in the lead roles. At one point John Woo considered Jean-Claude Van Damme whom he had worked with in Hard Target to play Sean Archer while Steven Seagal would play Castor Troy along with them learning each others fighting abilities. Other pairings that was considered was that of Harrison Ford and Michael Douglas as well as Alec Baldwin and Bruce Willis, and Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

I didn't expect much from Cage - Woo combination because the last movie I watch with them working together (Windtalkers) was a disappointment. I am glad this one wasn't in that category, and that Woo set the movie in the present so he could focus on the psychological elements of the story.

Face/Off is a movie you cannot resist - it's like someone launched you in a rocket and while you're holding fast every single bit of you is filled with a thrill and every possible emotion you could imagine! I'll have to say that in some parts some of the scenes could be interpreted as an overkill, and that some of the action sequences dragged out too long... but that's Woo... sometimes work, sometimes doesn't - this time definitely DID!