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Face/Off

Face/Off

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Could possibly be the Best American Action flick ever made!
Review: Possibly is. The only other American action movie that is equal is possible "The Rock" also w/ Nicholas Cage. This is probably better though. Micheal Bay is nothing compared to Woo in the action department. This movie rules. It sad i missed it in theaters, goddam summer camp. I saw it on video and rented it a rediculous amount of times. THis movie is amazing. This is what made me the die-hard Woo fan i am today. Far better then anything else he made in America, though Broken Arrow and M:I 2 were cool. Hard Target just plain. THe plot is one of the more original and not just the 20th die hard rip off which is what most action films are these days. not that i am against die hard rip-offs its just nice to see an original plot. The movie has a great opening shoot-out that truly dazzles. The rest is history. This movie has all the Woo stuff. Complex characters. A character who studies the nature of good and evil. Doves flying around. A church. 2 guns. Lots of action. Truly cool. The action is amazing and blows away anything American action directors have thus far produced. Stunning and beautifull sequences of mayhem and destruction that only Woo could do. Cage/Travolta were amazing. Both should have been nominated for Oscars. Of couse the academy would look bad giving nods to people in an action flick but i think they did better then the other people nominated that year. Travola is the coolest bad guy like in Broken ARrow. Cage is cool too but is an awesome good guy as well. See this movie. You will be amazed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Too much HYPER!
Review: If you can accept the exaggeration of the story, both John Travolta, Nicolas Cage did a great job. Plus the actions in this movie are very rich and breath taking.

But when combining both the exaggerated story with the super action scenes it will conclude into an unrealistic film. To enjoy this film is to take it as is with no analysis or plot!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: We haven't seen an action movie this good in a long time
Review: Face/Off

Score: 85/100

Face/Off is not only a gun-blasting, emotionally charged piece of cinema, but one that truly delivers and ensures that Hollywood still knows how to fire away a good bullet of an action movie. The film is violent and disturbing, but action master John Woo makes sure this is all part of the plot. It's not very often we get such a good piece of action cinema like this film, so don't delay your viewing of it any longer.

FBI Special Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) tries to find a biological weapon placed in Los Angeles by a sadistic terrorist-for-hire and criminal mastermind named Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). Archer has hunted Troy for the last 8 years, and is consumed by revenge because Troy is responsible for the death of Archer's son. To do this, Archer must "borrow" Troy's face using a surgical procedure to go undercover as Troy, but things go wrong when Troy assumes the identity of Archer.

The story is visually complex but screenplayed masterfully and simply, the idea of taken the face off has been hanging around cinemas for a few decades now, but John Woo has finally put it to rest with this stimulating and exciting action thriller. The film has explosive and ear-catching sound that never lets up, and while all the gun-firing and blow-em-up scenes are happening (some tire, but all are intriguing), there is also some dramatic and emotionally involving acts, most coming from the scenes with Archer's wife, played beautifully but Joan Allen. Travolta and Cage are fantastic as they slow-motion leap from prisons and helicopters with intensity. You never know whether they're good or bad, and both play each character's evil/dark "face" with stunning appeal.

Face/Off, in short, is amazingly great entertainment from John Woo. The action and thrills are truly new and original, and all the good comments of this movie add up to a thrilling climax - this is a great picture.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Action Movie
Review: This is a great action movie.It has style, it has great action sequences, great acting, and a great director at the helm!I think now that the great Stanely Kubrick has passed away(God rest his soul) the best director is a tie beetween Martin Scorceses and John Woo.If you want to see Woo's best American action movie this is it.John Travolta is great as the villian just as he was in Broken Arrow.And Nicholas Cage is great as the hero.(Sord of).I think Woo could have squeezed a little more action secnes in, but this movie has a billion more actions cenes than Woo's latest film M-I2-wich only had action in the end, wich torally sucked!The best action part was at the begging when Nicholas Cage leaps out of the helicopter golden guns blazing.Anyway if you want a great action movie chock full of action(I mean like action ozzing out of it)this is the ultimate action movie and you should defintiley own it if you are a actio fan or a John Woo fan (whats the differnce,Oh and by the way I am 14 but the scale only goes to 12 and nothin past it and I apoligize for not using paragraphs.)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: NOT MY STYLE...
Review: I accompanied some frenzied, drunk software people on a bus to Whistler, BC, Canada one fine afternoon, and as if their loud, intoxicated musings were not enough, the organiser of the trip decided we all should watch movies since she was so kind and organised to have brought them. She also took the trouble (this was her first week of work as the group's administrative assistant) to make Rice Krispie treats. Most people were thrilled, cheering about what a nice admin she is. I whispered to my friend (he is the one who has to work with these software people everyday, not me), "It's her first week. She is still kissing a**. Of course she made Rice Krispie treats. We'll see how long that lasts." Whatever the case, we had to, just like being back in elementary school again, vote on which videos to watch. We ended up watching Face Off, and oh how I could have done without it. Nicolas Cage is possibly the only compelling thing about the film and even his villain was not very convincing. He seemed more slimy than evil. The whole premise of people surgically switching faces is ridiculous, although I thought it was a nice turn of events when John Travolta's character ended up stuck in prison as Cage's villain after Cage came out of his coma, found himself faceless, and forced the surgeons to attach Travolta's face to his. It is all rather... inane. For an action film it was all right. But Travolta, as usual, overacts. Really not my style. But maybe it is yours. If you like lots of shooting, fighting, explosions, implausible storylines, well, this just might be your bag.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Woo at his best
Review: Face/Off has to be, without doubt, one of the greatest action movies ever made. It's a fact. Anyone can cobble together a half-decent action movie when provided with sufficient budget, but Woo does it with such style and flair that it just takes your breath away. The plot is original, though fairly superfluous, with some face swapping shennanigans. It's basically an excuse for plenty of explosions and awesome combat sequences. There's the usual Woo trademark 'leaping through the air in slow motion with a gun in each hand'. But none of the action is clunky or feels out of place (Broken Arrow). A destructive shootout with Over The Rainbow playing is a particularly memorable scene. Then there's the actors. Charismatic John Travolta basically spends most of the film as the villian, which gives him much more time to have fun and come out with some great lines. "Your son was an accident, I wanted to kill you. But you took it so personally." He has real presence on screen, which sometimes causes him to overshadow his partner, Cage. Nicolas Cage, currently flavour of the month in Hollywood and one of the most versatile actors around, does most of the work playing the good guy, which is just as well since he looks rather uncomfortable as the villain. Still, he's perfect playing an honest man trapped in the body of a criminal, he can look both vulnerable and dominant when the occasion calls for it. Overall, both actors give great performances, learning to copy each others style so that it really does look like they've swapped faces. Basically, Face/Off is everything you could want from an action film. It's got two great main characters, explosions by the bucketload, enough guns to invade a small country, and a climax that blows away the competition (as well as a dozen people, two speedboats, a police boat...)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST ACTION MOVIES EVER MADE!
Review: This is a awesome epic action movie!John Woo is at the peak of his performance!This movie is great.The action sequences-superb, the plot-great,the actors-great acting!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Could have been better
Review: I gave this one 3 stars because beyond the shoot em ups and special effect, there was no story. Cage did a much better job in acting than Travolta, aka, Barbarino. Some movies I would view again but this one, no. Travolta was better in "Broken Arrow" and Cage was better in, what was that movie about the raid in the prison and the lethal poison gas weapon. hmmm., don't remember.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: In Order To Catch Him, He Must Become Him
Review: Sean Archer (Travolta) has been chasing Castor Troy (Cage) to avenge his son's death by the hands of the psychotic terrorist for six years. Now that he killed Castor, Sean must find a biological bomb by assuming the identity of Castor Troy by taking his face and being brought in prison. But Troy, who awakes from his coma, takes Archer's face in order to take revenge on him. Now, Troy turns Archer's life upside down by assuming his identity. Will Archer break free from his prison and get his face back, or will Troy have the last laugh ?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A kicka** movie with action and heart!
Review: Highy suspenseful, original and thrilling, "Face/Off" is not just a play on words for its own storyline: its a grand-action masterpiece! Filled with high-speed thrills, explosions and guns, the pace never slows down, even when you don't hear the sound of gunfire pulsing in your ears. A stellar cast heads the way of this film, which adds to the emotion and heart behind it all, and under the direction of John Woo, famed for action and intensity, the movie is stylish as well as exciting.

Sean Archer, an FBI agent in Los Angeles, has a score to settle with terrorist Castor Troy that is personal as well as criminal. Upon catching Troy, Archer learns that there is an array of bombs hidden inside a building within the city, and only Troy and his imprisoned brother know the whereabouts of the devastating explosives. In an elaborate plan to determine the location of the bombs, Archer agrees to undergo a top secret operation in which his face will be surgically removed and replaced with that of Troy's making him look identical to the villian. Once inside the prison, his mission is complete, until Castor Troy pays him a visit with his face masking his true form. Archer, now trapped in the prison under the identity of Troy, must find a way out and bring the true criminal to justice before he harms his family and takes over his life completely.

This is one of those movies that you must pay strict attention to from the very beginning, or you will miss out on a lot of key elements, such as some of the turns that each character takes under their new identities. One of the best elements of the movie is that you will find you're not inclined to root for the actors as much as you root for the character of Archer himself; the fact that the two actors play both parts makes rooting for one of them difficult, for they each get a shot at playing the bad guy.

The story does have a strong premise behind it that is believable and contains a high level of suspense and action. The intensity begins with a high-octane chase at an airport, lots of explosions and gunfire, all mixed together in the story to create a fast-moving ride of thrilling suspense. The running time of the movie doesn't even seem a problem, because there is never really a dull moment throughout the movie; even the slow-paced scenes with the real Archer and his family have a significance that will play out in later scenes when the characters are switched.

The acting abilities of the two leads are specially showcased here, with each one getting to play different personalities and characters of different lifestyles and backgrounds. John Travolta is superb as the good-guy-turned-bad-guy, matching his performance in "Broken Arrow." We believe that Travolta is an ideal family man in the beginning stages of the film, and his care-free style and wit come right out when his character changes, and Travolta pulls this off in a great fashion. Nicolas Cage takes on the role of bad-guy-turned-good-guy, and his sentiment and emotion when he takes on the role of Archer shine through the entire film that you almost wish he were the good guy from the very beginning.

The supporting cast for the film is also a terrific addition to the story, with powerful performances by Joan Allen, Dominique Swain, and Gina Gershon. Allen plays the wife of Sean Archer, who plays a key part in discovering the secret of the "husband's" identity. When she is required to become emotional and tense, Allen does a great job of conveying the emotions. Dominique Swain, while not having much on-screen time as the daughter of Archer, plays out the rebel teen angst with incredible ease. Gina Gershon is a great asset to the film, as the lone female bad girl with past ties to Castor Troy.

"Face/Off" is one of those movies where I found myself cheering in the end, while also crying when everything comes to an end. The mark of a good action movie is one that has a wallop of emotion behind it, and this one meets that mark. I found myself having fun while staying completely interested and enthralled throughout. Take my word for it: it never stops moving for a second, and it's fun!


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