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Face/Off

Face/Off

List Price: $14.99
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Stupid, Stupid, Stupid
Review: I've talked to people whose opinion I respect about why they like this movie. I still can't see it. It was; stupid, predictable, and unbelievable - not just the face switching stuff - everything. The relationships are stupid and unbelievable. The plot is predictable and poorly executed.

I'll give you a couple examples (spoiler):

After the bag guy steals the good guy's face, he has sex with his wife. How identical in other ways can two people be? Voice?Smell? Sexual preferences? Identifying marks?

There's a relationship between the good guy and the bad guy's kid. When he gets his face back and the movie is about to end, the kid show's up in the front door. He looks at his wife with a "Hey, how about we adopt this kid" look and she thinks about it for two milliseconds and smiles back.

Whatever. I normally like movies with either of these actors. Not this time. Maybe it's a Woo thing.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The who's who of who's who... or something like that
Review: Lemme tell ya's, I found 'Face/Off' a little difficult to follow, with all that identity-changin' and stuff. Hopefully I can keep track of who's who while I'm puttin' this review together for your perusal. Here goes...

First and foremost is the big gimmick, the hook, the selling point: the ol' eye-dee switcheroo, a tried-&-true offshoot of the classic "evil twin" formula. Nicholas Cage has himself surgically altered to resemble John Travolta. Or is it the other way around? Actually, it's a little bit of both, isn't it...? Anyway, Cage (AKA Travolta) has to chase Travolta (AKA Cage), 'cause he's the bad guy and Cage is the good guy. Or is Travolta (Cage) the good guy, and Cage (Travolta) the bad guy? Well, anyway, both of them engage in the action-flick/suspense staple of the 'cat & mouse' gambit, with the cat played by Travolta played by Cage, and- no, wait, that's not right...

Now, where was I... oh yes, you get the kinds of action sequences you've come to expect from a John Woo shoot-em-up (thankfully, with John Woo playing John Woo). It all culminates in a speedboat chase between ... um... the two guys playing each other (AKA each other playing the two guys), and Cage (Travolta) finally takin' out Travolta (Cage) at the big climax... I think. As far as I know, it could be vicey-versey here too. Then at the end Cage (Travolta) becomes the original Travolta (Cage) again, and... or was it Travolta (Cage) that got changed back into-ah, forget it. I think I'll just plop down on the La-Z-Boy and watch Abbott & Costello's "Who's On First?" sketch; it's a lot easier to follow than this perplexing actioner.

'Late

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The dumbest plot I've ever seen!
Review: "Face/Off" was so stupid that I didn't even care what happened to the characters.....if one killed the other that would've been good but if they both committed suicide then that would've been MUCH BETTER......When in society do you take the risk of being someone "else" in order to catch a killer.......the guy was in prison but he wanted to "trade places" what a stupid plot! This was surely a waste of my money!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Travolta rules!
Review: What a marvellous performance by Travolta! From being the good, moral Sean Archer to being the evil, villanous Castor Troy, no one could have done a better job than Travolta. Nicolas Cage is not bad, but he pales in comparion with the Travolta magic. John Woo's direction deserves to be praised, the action scenes are mind-blowing and the film oozes class, in spite of an incredulous storyline. Needless to say, one of the best action films ever.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: John Woo's last good film
Review: After making two horrible films in America("Broken Arrow" and "Hard Target"), I thought Woo was over with and sold out to Hollywood but then came "Face/Off." Remember when you see a John Woo film, you really have to suspend your disbelief. Yes, the plot is tacky, yes the acting is cheesy, yes all the action scenes are unbelievable. You have to enjoy Woo's films at Art. No one else in Film can make a violent action scene look so beautiful and arty. With "Face/Off," Woo goes back to his Hong Kong action film roots. Though not as good as the classics like "A Better Tomorrow" and "The Killer," "Face/Off" still is better than his previous American films and what Woo is doing now. This film is worth your time and remember to find all John Woo's Hong Kong films at your video store.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Woah! One of Cage's best!
Review: JOHN WOO (Windtalkers, M:I-2, Broken Arrow, Hard Target) brings together JOHN TRAVOLTA (Swordfish, Broken Arrow) and NICOLAS CAGE (The Rock, Gone in 60 Seconds, Windtalkers) as Sean Archer and Castor Troy, the enemies of eachother. After Troy (Cage) kills Archer's (Travolta) son, for six years, Archer had been on Troy's case. After capturing him, Travolta learns that there is a bomb, somewhere, but doesn't know where. Now he has no other option than to enter a federal prison as Troy, so he has a surgical operation and switches faces with Troy. But soon, Troy awakens from his coma and the action electrifies!

MY REVIEW:

"One of the biggest blow-out action films ever made! There is more action, plot and great acting in this film than you can handle! This is JOHN WOO's best yet! Travolta and Cage make a great team! FACE/OFF is the bomb! Buy this film on DVD today!"- MJV & the Movies.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Face / Slightly Off
Review: Er, it's not *that* good. At the time, the critics went a bit mad and proclaimed this as the greatest action movie of all time, but it isn't. Essentially, John Woo is a superb director of action sequences, but pretty lousy otherwise, and 'Face / Off' suffers from having lots of 'otherwise'. There are only two or three proper, 'Hard-Boiled'-style action setpieces, and for the rest of the film there's an awful lot of talking. Both Cage and Travolta are fine, although the latter seems to be starting to bulge out of his suit,. but the plot is ludicrous, the talky bits go on too long and don't add a great deal to the film, and there's the sense that, even today, Woo is being held back by Hollywood convention. I mean, the last half of 'Hard Boiled' was essentially a long action sequence with no plot, and it worked; but here, there's lots and lots of plot but surprisingly little action. It's influenced a generation of rap videos, though, what with the flapping coats.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Possibly the best action movie made!
Review: Usually when we go to see an action movie, we keep in mind that the movie may not have the best acting or story line, but we will have the opportunity to see numerous gun fights, explosions, chaos, and so on. Well, I have news for you. All of the above WAS true, until a movie called "Face/Off" came out.

This is unlike any action movie ever made. The story is so deep, and the characters are portrayed in realistic manners. There are memorable quotes in this movie, but they are in no way corny. The story has to be what sticks out most in this movie.

Travolta is an FBI agent, who wants to take out the villian, played by Cage, once and for all. The main reason is because Cage is responsible for the murder of his son. Travolta is able to take care of Cage, or so he thinks, and it seems like everything is fine.

Until it is learned that Cage had planted a deadly bomb somewhere in L.A.

Now, Travolta's only hope is to undergo brutal surgery to transform his self into Cage, in order to get the location out of Cage's brother. Who could've imagined that the real Cage woul wake up and trasform himself into Travolta?

This movie has it all; suspense, action, and drama. There are great gun fights which will take your breath away. The action is intense, but the story is even better.

The only thing I had a problem with in this movie was that Travolta and Cage could never hit each other when they were in the brutal gun fights. Sure, they could hit the janitor, innocent bystanders, and the other baddies, but never each other!! Oh well, I guess you have to have that element to make the movie last longer.

This is one of the best action movies ever made, and I would advise people to view this wonderful flick if they haven't already. The movie is so good, that it is an almost guarentee that you will watch it a second time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not your average action film...
Review: When you think of an action movie, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Blood, bullets, bad acting, and above all, lots of 'splosions. Well, most of those things are here, but there is one thing that sets it apart from the Steven Seagal bloodbaths of yore: the acting. I have never before seen an action movie with acting this superb. Everyone in here does a great job, but I think Nicolas Cage is the one that really shines. This guy can act! He goes effortlessly from psycho criminal to "the nice guy", doing very believable dramatic scenes. While the main drawback of this movie is that it's pretty farfetched (drive-thru surgery, immediate recovery of the surgery, the magnet-shoes thing), it's still very well-written and very enthralling. And hey, you gotta feel sorry for the parents that had not one, but two criminal mastermind sons. I guess if you name your kids Castor and Pollacks, you're asking for trouble!

Anyway, if you're looking for a good action movie, forget about the Seagal and Van Damme movies where the fight scenes are the only things that make them worth it, get something that is well-written and never misses a step. This is not only the best action movie I've seen, it's one of the top ten best movies I've ever seen. "Con Air" is a good choice as well.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Face/Off
Review: Director John Woo's famous big-budget action-packed flick.This is the film that put John Woo on the map in America.Packed with guns, bullets, bombs, explosions and action scenes that are so original there choreographed like a ballet or a dance routine.

FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta)has been trying to apprehend terrorist, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) ever since he murdered Sean's son six years ago.Sean apprehend's Castor during a violent shoot-out in an airport and as a result of this puts Castor into a deep comma.Sean then undergoes new surgery involving swapping faces with Troy.He does this to try and find out where Castor has planted a deadly bomb hidden somewhere in L.A.Castor awakes from his comma, with Sean's identidy and takes over his life.Sean(really Castor) disarms the bomb which he planted and becomes an instant hero.Meanwhile Castor (really Sean) is a high-tech prison trying to find information about the bomb from Castor's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola).Since Sean(Castor) has destroyed all evidence about the surgical swap, Castor has to try and break out of prison.Not only does he have to fight for himself but for wife Eve (Joan Allen) and daughter Jamie.

This is a superb film with enough plot to become a series.It does sound far-fethced in places but John Woo makes it believable and real.Great performances all around including the two main stars, Joan Allen and the sexy tough female Gina Gershon.


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