Face/Off 1997, Rated R

Buy it from

Starring John Travolta, Nicholas Cage.

Director John Woo, who has also directed Broken Arrow, Hard Target, and scores of Hong Kong action films including Hard-Boiled, has never been accused of being a director of historically accurate and time sensitive pieces like Ken Burns or Steven Spielberg. With his creation of Face/Off though, Woo has managed to go from dealing with implausible action flicks, to dealing with one of the most far-fetched ideas Hollywood has ever had the opportunity to produce, a distinction up to and including The Truman Show and The Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.

The plot of Face/Off, what with the characters literally switching faces and all, has got to be one of the more difficult story lines to try and explain, but, like Avis, I'm going to try harder. Castor Troy is the epitome of evil. Troy delights in killing people, snorting cocaine, and in having women suck his tongue--a delicacy that looks even better than it sounds. Sean Archer is your normal, straight laced, F.B.I. agent, whose young son was shot and killed by Troy. Archer finally succeeds in capturing Troy, what has been his life's driving goal for nearly 5 years, only to learn that Troy has planted a bomb somewhere in L.A., scientifically described as being "really, friggin', huge". So, Archer has an F.B.I. doctor saw off Troy's face, and put it on his own body, leaving his own face in a lab somewhere, so that he, Archer, can infiltrate Troy's gang with the intent of finding where the bomb is located.

Starring Nicolas Cage, originally as Troy, and John Travolta, originally as Archer, Face/Off is particularly entertaining for two reasons: 1) Woo's command of action, and his stylistic approach toward shooting fight and chase scenes is virtually unchallengeable in today's cinematic society, and 2) the screenplay, despite its unfathomable nature, has two well defined characters who get laughs from the audience simply for being themselves. Troy, being the prince of darkness, is a flashy, loud, obnoxious kind of guy. Archer, being a conservative government official, is not. Thus, when the two switch faces, and identities, they must act oppositely of their own original personalities. And hence, I smiled watching the meek Sean Archer whoop it up and act like a complete jackass, with his portrayal of Troy, and Troy's own take on being a husband and family man.

However, when you pay money to see a John Woo film, chances are good--unless you meant to rent Fanny and Alexander and accidentally picked up this movie--that you don't really care about the characterizations of the main players; you want to see some kickass action, and in this respect, Face/Off delivers in spades.

The last 25 minutes of Face/Off stands out in my mind as one of the best filmed action sequences Hollywood has put out in the last 10 years or so. Archer and Troy finally confront one another in a church, with henchmen and lackeys appearing on the scene, allowing Woo to shoot his staple shot of 9 different bad enemies standing in a circle, point powerful handguns at one another. The way Woo cut this scene inside the church, working hand in hand with his editor and special effects gurus is nothing short of beauty. In between quick takes of bullets being shot out of guns, and blood spla.html>spla.html>spla.html>spla.html>splattering out of torsos, Woo places footage of white doves flying out of opened stained glass windows, and of the surrounding pews, flower displays, and glass displays being shot up something fierce. And thus, we are given action for both our cultured and unrefined sides, allowing film critics to drool at the superb set decoration, and allowing blue-collar, mechanics to drool at the way in which blood flies out the backside of the bad guys' heads.

Face/Off stands out against Woo's other Americanized work as being a fresh and wonderfully well-shot action film. So what if its premise makes The Lion King seem down-to-earth and realistic?