Review of Face/Off (1997) by Accrue4 — 03 Nov 2021

The third attempt was the charm for director John Woo in Hollywood, as his 1997 blockbuster Face/Off reached the passionate intensity of his best Hong Kong works.

Face/Off is a fascinating film in so many ways. A dedicated FBI man (John Travolta) has his face replaced by a terrorist's (Nicolas Cage) in a desperate bid to find a deadly bomb ticking away somewhere in Los Angeles.

Travolta and Cage play ruthless rivals and then each other as this ambitious thriller goes for broke. It just about comes off amid some spectacular John Woo-trademark violence, though it can also be viewed as ludicrously, riotously funny. It was the first Hollywood film in which Woo was given complete creative control and was acclaimed by both audiences and critics as a result. Eventually grossing $245 million worldwide, Face/Off was a financial success.