Review: Face/Off Is Exactly What It Looks Like
- May 22, 2017
- 2 min read
From John Woo, the man who redefined action films as we know them, has had a long and somewhat tumultuous career. While his days in Hong Kong were almost universally perfect, his move to Hollywood left something to be desired. Hard Target, Mission Impossible 2 and Broken Arrow were, well, less than Stellar. But at least he brought Face/Off with him.
Sean Archer (John Travolta), an FBI agent, holds a long grudge against master criminal Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). When he's finally caught, Troy reveals something terrifying, there's a bomb planted somewhere in LA, one that will kill thousands. Determined to stop Troy at any cost, Archer undergoes surgery in which his face is removed and Troy's is put in its place. But when Troy wakes up and discovers what has happened, he takes Archer's face for his own. With each being the other, the long time rivals must make do with the newfound resources at their disposal in their attempt to eliminate each other.
Face/Off isn't what I would consider to be a good movie. Almost all the acting is bad, the plot is bizarre to say the least and outside of the action, there isn't a lot to see. But my god is it a lot of fun. Nicolas Cage is his trademark crazy and fits perfectly into John Woo's directing. Slow motion, dual wielding and doves are all on display and Cage manages to elevate it all through the simple fact that he is very possibly insane. Even John Travolta. when he's playing Cage's character anyway, is entertaining.
Woo's action is unsurprisingly excellent, though it always has been. A fight scene in a church is a highlight though every shootout is a blast to watch and the final confrontation between Cage and Travolta playing Cage might just be the single most enjoyable moment of any John Woo movie.
Face/Off is weird, its cool and its wonderful. While it's hardly an award worthy film and its far from Woo's best, it is nigh on impossible to to have fun while watching it. There's no deeper meaning, no emotional centre, it's just stupid fun, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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