Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Short Review: Face/Off (John Woo, 1997)

"You want to take his face...off? No more drugs for that man." 


Who doesn't love Face/Off? John Woo's infamous 1997 action thriller still holds up really well today. The abundance of frenetic action sequences are spectacular and the face swap between FBI Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) and notorious sociopath and terrorist, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), has both psychological complexity (especially for Archer, who finds himself stuck in a high security prison with Troy's identity with his family threatened) and surprising sincerity. There are some brilliant one-liners, with Cage and Travolta delivering maniacal and demented performances that actually benefit the film they are present in. Cage (as Castor Troy) is especially hilarious. Care for a healthy dose of stylish action? Face/Off delivers. Is the implausible premise too ridiculous for you? Compliment the viewing with some beer. It helps. 

My Rating: ★★★★ (B+)

11 comments:

  1. Excellent cheesy action flick. I read not too long ago that they wanted to do a sequel/reboot with women this time around.

    So many awesome lines in this movie.

    "I'm ready, ready for the big ride baby!"

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  2. You stole my quote! Thief ;-)

    People are always surprised by how much I love this flick. Perfect action film. Still... I would love to see them keep their original roles (crazy Cage, trivial Travolta).

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  3. I'm a huge fan of Face/Off and think it's one example of Woo getting it right in the US. I'm surprised at how many people don't like it, actually. I've heard a lot of negative feedback recently, especially from some bloggers. It might relate to the fact that Woo's output hasn't been great lately.

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  4. I love this movie. It's definitely one of my favorite films of the few that I've seen by John Woo but definitely a top of the line action film.

    Yeah, it's a bit flawed but so fun to watch. My favorite part where Castor as Sean sees that guy from Big Love and he says something. And Castor just shoots him in the head. Having seen that show and being more of a casual fan than a hardcore viewer. I asked myself, "Why didn't Bill do that to that guy?" I forgot his name.

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  5. @ Robert - Of course. Nothing can be left alone. Of the Nicholas Cage 90's action hits I think this is the best, though I am a sucker for Con Air and The Rock too. Yes, you're right, so many classic lines!

    @ Alex - I know. When you first posted that on twitter I was a little confused. I thought I remembered the scene you pulled the quote from, but when it came up I laughed out loud. I think it applies to almost everyone involved in this film - the screenwriters and certainly Cage and Travolta. They are out of control and it's awesome. Even Travolta at the beginning has this menace to him (he is beset on taking down Cage) but I found him more sympathetic as Troy - which is obviously the intention - but it was messing with my head a little bit. Great flick!

    @ Dan - Well, I haven't seen The Killer (Woo's most famous, and best, flick I believe) but Mission Impossible 2 is diabolically bad. I think there is a case for all of the Cage 90's action films - Con Air and The Rock included - as good films. Well, I enjoy them. Face/Off was really well received initially and it still holds up well today, which is pretty rare.

    @ Steven - I remember that part, but I haven't seen Big Love so I didn't recognise the connection. But, it was great revisiting this film again. it's been a while.

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  6. It's absurd but it's kind of magnificent as well. Plus it's the only time in Woo's Hollywood career that he really matched what he'd done in Hong Kong (The Killer is, I suspect, not only his best film but the best action film ever made).

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  7. And by pure delightful coincidence, I finally found The Killer on DVD only a couple of hours after posting the above comment after, what, eight years of searching for it. Life is good!

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  8. Yea I was living the high life back in 1997. Blowing shit up, doing lines of coke 24/7 and blowing people's face with my golden Desert Eagles. Now I'm stuck doing this blogging thing from prison because of Sean Archer. What a tool.

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  9. @ James - I have never seen The Killer though it is notorious for being a superb action film. That's a great story man, glad you were lucky enough to find it :-)

    @ Castor - You sure made terrorism seem fun! One of your famous lines: "Lets blow some shit up...it's more fun!" You ran out of lucky buddy! Top work on the blogging though, amazing what some prison time can do!

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  10. I'm actually not that big a fan of FACE/OFF...the silliness outways the awesomeness a little too heavily. Besides, when it comes to Nic Cage as an action star, CON AIR is clearly the superior film. Amazing cast, badass characters and a legitimately excellent script.

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  11. I love CON AIR too, but the DVD is at my parent's place, so next time I go up there i'll bring it back to Sydney and watch it! I agree, FACE/OFF is silly, but I think there is something so watchable about it...

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