Face/Off

Rating:
Summary: Travolta&Cage makes a dream team
Review: This was definitely one of the best action movies ever with wonderful scenes and dialogues. "Peaches, I can eat peach for hours." "-You're not the only one in the family with the brains.
-No, although now I am the only one with the looks." "I hate to see you go, but I LOVE to watch you leave."

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining, but hardly the best action film ever.
Review: Easily John Woo's most acclaimed Hollywood film to date, Face/Off is often mentioned among lists of the top action films of all-time. But I can't say I agree, I didn't even think it was the best action film of 1997; that honor belongs to Wolfgang Petersen's nail-biter, Air Force One. What Face/Off has going for it is an ingeniously silly premise and Woo's expert hand at crafting mayhem. Both aspects work well enough to make this a fitfully enjoyable thrill ride, but never quite as satisfying as it should have been.

John Travolta stars as Sean Archer, an FBI agent whose son was killed by a terrorist named Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). After years of exhaustive search, Archer tracks down Troy and his brother, and captures both siblings after a violent shootout. But his brother, Pollux, reveals that a bomb is set to detonate somewhere in Los Angeles, and the FBI have little clue as to the whereabouts of the explosives and when its set to go off.

So one agent comes up with a wild idea, and shares it only with Archer and his partner. It appears there's a secret laboratory that has enhanced technology capable of removing a person's face and placing it on another "patient." The plan is to place Archer uncercover secretly in prison as Castor, but everything goes wrong when Troy awakens from his coma and takes Archer's face and identity, and even his family life, leaving the real Archer stuck in prison. Knowing this isn't a prison drama, you can guess what's going to happen from there.

John Woo is an adept action director and his work in Face/Off is superb. The action rolls at a breakneck pace, mostly with bloody shootouts, much of them employed in balletic slow motion, adding a graceful touch that somehow feels appropriate. There are also exciting fights and even a pulse-pounding boat chase in the finale.

Human drama is actually quite effective here, with Joan Allen giving us a solid and likable character who's caught in this whole mess, wondering who to trust and how to escape this nightmarish situation. Nicolas Cage is just as good in creating a likable character in Archer, which is all the more amazing when you consider that he begins the film as a psychotic villain. Even the sexy Gina Gershon brings humanity in a role as a protective, but crime-prone mother. Woo also plays on the whole good vs. evil concept, and it works just fine; there are the requisite doves and, uh, face/offs.

With great action and characters, what's wrong with the movie?

Right off the top of my head, it's John Travolta that bugs me the most. Not only is he an overrated actor, he doesn't make a particularly convincing action star. Overweight as he was at the time, watching him perform so many flips and death-defying stunts (obviously done by stuntmen) is too difficult to believe, perhaps even moreso than the silly premise of this film itself! And when the transformation occurs, Travolta's performance doesn't match what Nicolas Cage gave us in the opening. Sure, he's equally off-the-wall and insane, but he's actually just giving us another rendition of his villain from Broken Arrow.

The opposite can be said for Nic Cage, who actually improves upon Travolta when he becomes Archer, displaying frantic emotions with more urgency and believability. As an action star, he's more physically cut for this kind of stuff. Watching Cage perform balletic flips and outrageous stunts provokes an adrenaline rush, rather than an unintentional laugh.

The whole concept behind the movie is highly improbable, and the film manages to make it seem even more unlikely! As far as dramatic intentions go, the premise works, particularly in a scene where Cage as Archer tries to convince Allen that he's her husband and another scene where Archer's daughter holds a gun toward both men, not knowing who to shoot.

But, man, this story is filled with plot holes. The most noticeable right off the bat is the FBI agent whose ear is shot off in the opening gunfight. When Travolta visits the lab, he sees the scientists and technicians rebuilding this man a new ear. As stated before, this lab is meant to be secret to even the FBI, so how the hell would this agent explain to his co-workers how he got this new ear? Castor (when played by Cage) is a fairly thin man. Archer (when played by Travolta) is a fairly chubby guy. I'd like to know how these scientists made the relatively thin Castor into a chubby guy. Whose idea was it to keep this whole undercover plan secret to the FBI? Sure, I see the need to keep it from leaking to the prisoners, but shouldn't at least the head of the FBI be aware of what's going on, so just in case the unthinkable happens, they'll know how to deal with it. For that matter, how can such a laboratory, full of the latest in high-tech equipment AND holding the world's most dangerous terrorist, be left with absolutely no guards at night? And why the heck did Nick Cassavetes kiss Gina Gershon (who plays Cassavetes' sister) full on the lips from just out of left field (okay, I realize he was a thug and was dying, but how many people do you know would give such a sleazy kiss to their sister as a farewell?).

With so many infuriating plot holes, Face/Off annoys almost as often as it thrills. Admittedly, I had a higher opinion of it before repeat viewings, but the best action films still hold up in spite of implausibilities (Indiana Jones, Speed, Air Force One, The Mummy) because they possess a certain magic that keeps them above the rest of the crop. Face/Off has style to burn and action that gets more exciting as it moves along, but by the end, I just didn't feel that much-needed movie magic that would have attained this masterpiece status.

Rating:
Summary: INSPIRES CHEERS & HIGH-FIVES!
Review: This Travolta classic does for hockey what Stallone's ROCKY did for boxing. A WINNER!

Rating:
Summary: Edge of your seat action!
Review: This is one of my all time favorite movies. I never get sick of it no matter how many times I watch it. Nicolas Cage and John Travolta give outstanding performances, and the story keeps you hooked from beginning to end. A must see for any action fan!

Rating:
Summary: Great action movie
Review: This is one of John Woo's best Hollywood movie. Great story, great action and lots of gun-play. My only gripe is the actress playing Archer's wife. She looked a bit too old for either Travolta or Cage. If only they had casted another better looking actress to play Archer's wife. Other than that, this movie is well recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Great transfers on Video and Audio, few extras.
Review: This is more like 3 1/2 stars due to lack of extras, but the film itself is worth 4 stars. The best sound is the 5.1 Surround, making this loud and exciting movie come to life on the small screen. The Theatrical Trailer is the biggest extra on this DVD, and sadly it nearly ruins a great movie. One of John Woo's best movies too, if not his best movie. Still worth the money to buy the widescreen version.

Rating:
Summary: cool and clever.
Review: One of the most preposterous story concepts in history results in one of the best action films of the past 20 years: What would happen if a terrorist and the agent hunting him surgically switch faces? How can you even make that movie? John Woo (Mission Impossible 2) takes the reigns of the clever screenplay and has a blast. This film has way-cool Woo action and a couple over-the-top performances as well as a wild screenplay filled with twists that always manage to be one-step ahead.

Director Woo fills the screen with slow motion gun battles and even slower motion character reveals. His action is usually immune to things like logic, physics and gravity but that never gets in the way. If you thought it was in the way, a stray bullet'd probably fly off the screen and hit you. Pretentious elements adorn the screen as much as gunfire. From a tremendous battle of good vs. evil to the sound of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' to white doves filling a church during a shootout. He puts a lot of respect toward the films top performances. In doing so, he sorts out the potentially confusing screenplay leaving only the most inattentive behind.

John Travolta has the responsibility of setting up the character of covert agent Sean Archer. Nicholas Cage, the terrorist Castor Troy. Both have to reveal not only the character but also their identifiable quirks, as they will quickly switch roles. Both actors appear to be having a blast at each other's expense. Closing out the confusing triangle is Joan Allen as Archer's brilliant wife. She is willing to allow the story to take its course, only getting involved when she is forced.

The screenplay nicely increases the stakes after the face Switch when both men use each others power to escalate their own needs. Woo's presentation of the final stand-off in the church is sure to bring a smile to your face with it's clever reveals. This is the stuff that elevates the story above most action fodder.

FACE-OFF is a great film with a lot to offer, especially to your sub-woofer. The audio transfer carries it well but the video transfer could use a remaster. There are no special features other than the trailer. Enjoy FACE-OFF.

Rating:
Summary: The Face Off
Review: John Woo, uber director of The Killer (1989), Hard Boiled (1992) and Broken Arrow (1996) proves that even after the move to Hollywood, he still knows how to create fantastic action and Face Off is no exception. The film stars Nicholas Cage as Castor Troy, a villain, and John Travolta as agent Sean Archer, the only man who can stop Castor from unleashing a nuclear device.

Woo's trademarks are all present here: slow-mo gunfights, explosive action and those perennial doves. And both Nic Cage and Travolta are brilliant, especially Cage, whose eccentric performance is one of his most unrestrained and outstanding. One of the best (if not THE best) action films ever made. Excellent.

Rating:
Summary: good fun
Review: this is a movie where you can't be a stuck-up cinema junkie and still enjoy it. if you're looking for substance, profound developments, deep symbolism and ground-breaking avant-garde film art, no this is not it. its an action movie, for gods sake. action movies are bad when the action is bad. the action in this film is straight-up awesome, making it a very good action film. the crazy plot is but icing on the cake.

granted, switching faces is pretty ludicrous, but who cares? go along with it and enjoy the ride! no one ever complains about cyborgs and warp drives and laser guns and The Force in sci-fi movies. the fact is, it is a cool, if unrealistic idea that makes for a more-complex-than-usual action movie. i loved the way travolta picked up cage's original character. cage didn't make much of a switch, he's usually sullen and depressed and manic and all, but he still did a good job. i dig his style.

so my favorite parts of this movie are the action sequences. the cinematography and production in general is absolutely awesome. the best ones are the shoot out in Castor's pad (the part with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" playing in the background is sweet) and the standoff in the chapel. someone complained about the doves and all. i love that stuff, man, it gives a very artistic, surreal vibe that is very cool. i am a big fan of that scene.

i have more to say about the bad parts. first off, the script is nothing spectacular. a few too many one-liners and a little too much annoying melodrama. and that freakin hand thing that Sean's family does. aaagh!! its so annoying. they must do it about thirty-seven times a minute during the last one or two scenes. i hate garbage like that, its a blatant and sloppy attempt at creating a connection between characters, like when people in other movies say stupid things like "just like i taught you, joe!" or an exchange like "you're not eh man you were back in blah blah blah, jack!" and the other guy goes "that was a long time ago, bill!" so phony and stupid. so the essence of that short rant: [bad]script, in general.

also the boat scene at the end is pointless and boring. by that point either you want another really amazing climax or you want it to end. but a boat chase just doesn't cut it. in fact, after everybody's shot each other up in the church, you can just stop the movie, from there on out its pretty much downhill.

so overall: as a movie? nothing too amazing. as and action movie? amazing, probably the best one i've seen. so if you want action with a spicing of funky plot and complexity thrown in, this is where its at. if you're looking for a masterpiece of drama or something to blow kubrick out of the water, no, action movies are not where you want to be.

Rating:
Summary: Die Hard with a Brain
Review: "Face/Off" is an intense, intelligent film that is full of symbolism, explosions, drama, plot twists and funny one-liners with an over-th-top performance by Nicolas Cage and John Travolta holding his own. It loses a bit of steam at the end when you realize there is only one possible ending, but it is everything you could want in an action film - including no increasingly decling-in-quality sequals (so far). Anyone looking for excitement that doesn't insult its audience - put down that copy of 'Tango and Cash' and grab this.
Highly recommended!