"The Killer" and "Hard-Boiled" are among my favorite action films. Watching Chow-Yun Fat dive through the air with a pair of pistols are almost iconic. It was with great anticipation that I went to watch his American action film "Face/Off" featuring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. I hoped to see some of the same magic that made many of his Hong Kong films classics. Nicolas Cage is a man that is more than believable shooting a pistol and although I was less than excited with Travolta´s performance in the unimpressive "Broken Arrow," I thought the pairing was a good one. Sure, "Broken Arrow" took away some of my admiration for John Woo, but the film did have some undeniably good action sequences and the trailers for "Face/Off" showed both Travolta and Cage performing pistol packing stunts.
For me, "Face/Off" was another disappointment from John Woo, but not nearly as much as "Broken Arrow." The film lacked the strong storytelling of so many of Woo´s Hong Kong classics. The "A Better Tomorrow" films, "The Killer," and "Hard Boiled" are far superior to anything Woo has crafted in America. I´m not sure if the big budgets are the problem, or if it is Woo trying to take a more ´American´ approach to filmmaking. Whatever it is, Woo doesn´t have the same magic when financed by American studios and with American stars. "Face/Off" had an intriguing plot device in the face-changing, but it never played out as strongly as it could have and after a while felt stale and uninteresting. Thankfully, the gunplay that was shown so heavily in the trailers was done incredibly well and while "Face/Off" isn´t as stellar in the storytelling department to Woo´s more classic pictures, it at least can rival the other titles in action and bullets.
The film was originally intended to be a Science Fiction adventure by John Woo. However, some economic decisions were made and the screenplay was pared down to be more of a human drama, but with a little science fiction to create the film´s interesting plot-twist. The plot twist is simple. The antagonist slips into the protagonist´s skin and visa versa. So the title "Face/Off" pertains to the fact that both stars´ characters had their faces off and swapped. It also pertains to the face-off between the two characters and their attempts at using each others identity to their own advantage and brings each other down by taking on the identity of the other. If it sounds confusing, it would be if you started to watch the film partway through it. In fact, it often comes off as being more silly than captivating and I´ve been about as enthused with the plot of "Face/Off" as I was with "Broken Arrow."
John Travolta is Sean Archer, an FBI agent who works to bring down international terrorists. His favorite target is Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). Troy gunned down Archer´s young son a few years earlier and Archer wants nothing more than to bring down the man who caused his family so much pain and robbed him of his son. A dramatic encounter at an airport lands Castor and his brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) into FBI captivity. Castor is hurt and put into a coma, while Pollux is sent to a high security prison. Before Castor loses consciousness, he boasts to Archer that he has planted a bomb that will bring about massive loss of life to Los Angeles. Further evidence proves to Archer and his team that the bomb threat is very real and that Archer is going to have to find where the bomb is and diffuse it. With Castor in a coma, this proves problematic.
The world of science fiction introduces a series of surgery techniques and technology that allows Sean Archer to take on Castor Troy´s identity and infiltrate the prison and find out from Pollux the location of the bomb. This requires Castor´s face to be removed from his body and placed onto Archers. Of course, Archer needs to have his face removed as well. A few other incredible technologies are involved and before long, the physically larger Sean Archer is soon an exact double for Castor Troy; even taking on his vocal attributes. Unfortunately for Archer, Troy wakes up and realizes his face is missing. He discovers Archer´s and takes on the FBI agent´s identity.
Castor pays himself a visit in prison and works to free Pollux from prison, but placing Archer under tight security after the two fight. Castor becomes free to take part in Archer´s family and his FBI operation. Although others notice he behaves differently, not too many questions are asked. Meanwhile, Archer stages a dramatic escape as Troy and somehow lands back in Los Angeles from the oil-rig converted prison. He surrounds himself with Castor´s girlfriend and those Castor formerly worked with to create havoc. Archer is also introduced to Castor´s son; as it is believed Castor is Archer. Over at the Archer household, Castor has taken a liking to Archer´s wife and daughter and after diffusing the bomb to appear as a hero, begins to take out his enemies and plots to bring down the man in his skin by using the FBI´s force.
Without going too much deeper into the thin plot because of the difficulty of keeping Archer and Castor less confusing by explaining things, I´ll simply jump to the end of the story. Archer and Castor face off against each other in an explosive gunfight in a little church after Archer´s boss dies. The family becomes confused as to who is who and the wrong person is wounded. This leads to an entertaining and explosive boat chase where the two finally come to blows with fists and not pistols. Archer as Castor defeats Castor as Archer and he finds himself back with his family and the father of Castor´s son. The plot is simple, it is just hard to describe because of the identity twisting of the film.
Part of the reason for the plot´s silliness lies in the fact that the film is not what it was originally meant to be. This was supposed to be John Woo´s big science fiction epic. Instead, it is a character study of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Through portions of the film, each actor takes on the traits of the other. This makes for some fun storytelling and both Cage and Travolta did well in portraying the other. However, by the time the film ended, these little traits were lost and the effect wasn´t as effective. It was a neat premise, but didn´t play out as well as it could have. I was pulled into the performances throughout the first half, but found the actors moving back into their skins by the end of the film.
Regardless of how silly the plot is, "Face/Off" is a ton of fun because of the high octane action and great gunfights. John Woo loves slow motion and stylish angles to show his action and "Face/Off" is full of the director´s trademarks. This is one of those movies where I enjoy watching it, but simply do not care much for the story. "Face/Off" would have been an incredible film with just a little plot work, but as it sits now, it is simply my favorite John Woo action film that was filmed in America. Two veteran and talented actors took on a challenge and mostly met that challenge. Woo was back on top of his game when it came to style and action, but substance was lacking. Not every movie is perfect and we don´t watch every movie for just the story. This is a movie where you just forget about story and relish in its action sequences. They are great action sequences.
For me, "Face/Off" was another disappointment from John Woo, but not nearly as much as "Broken Arrow." The film lacked the strong storytelling of so many of Woo´s Hong Kong classics. The "A Better Tomorrow" films, "The Killer," and "Hard Boiled" are far superior to anything Woo has crafted in America. I´m not sure if the big budgets are the problem, or if it is Woo trying to take a more ´American´ approach to filmmaking. Whatever it is, Woo doesn´t have the same magic when financed by American studios and with American stars. "Face/Off" had an intriguing plot device in the face-changing, but it never played out as strongly as it could have and after a while felt stale and uninteresting. Thankfully, the gunplay that was shown so heavily in the trailers was done incredibly well and while "Face/Off" isn´t as stellar in the storytelling department to Woo´s more classic pictures, it at least can rival the other titles in action and bullets.
The film was originally intended to be a Science Fiction adventure by John Woo. However, some economic decisions were made and the screenplay was pared down to be more of a human drama, but with a little science fiction to create the film´s interesting plot-twist. The plot twist is simple. The antagonist slips into the protagonist´s skin and visa versa. So the title "Face/Off" pertains to the fact that both stars´ characters had their faces off and swapped. It also pertains to the face-off between the two characters and their attempts at using each others identity to their own advantage and brings each other down by taking on the identity of the other. If it sounds confusing, it would be if you started to watch the film partway through it. In fact, it often comes off as being more silly than captivating and I´ve been about as enthused with the plot of "Face/Off" as I was with "Broken Arrow."
John Travolta is Sean Archer, an FBI agent who works to bring down international terrorists. His favorite target is Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). Troy gunned down Archer´s young son a few years earlier and Archer wants nothing more than to bring down the man who caused his family so much pain and robbed him of his son. A dramatic encounter at an airport lands Castor and his brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) into FBI captivity. Castor is hurt and put into a coma, while Pollux is sent to a high security prison. Before Castor loses consciousness, he boasts to Archer that he has planted a bomb that will bring about massive loss of life to Los Angeles. Further evidence proves to Archer and his team that the bomb threat is very real and that Archer is going to have to find where the bomb is and diffuse it. With Castor in a coma, this proves problematic.
The world of science fiction introduces a series of surgery techniques and technology that allows Sean Archer to take on Castor Troy´s identity and infiltrate the prison and find out from Pollux the location of the bomb. This requires Castor´s face to be removed from his body and placed onto Archers. Of course, Archer needs to have his face removed as well. A few other incredible technologies are involved and before long, the physically larger Sean Archer is soon an exact double for Castor Troy; even taking on his vocal attributes. Unfortunately for Archer, Troy wakes up and realizes his face is missing. He discovers Archer´s and takes on the FBI agent´s identity.
Castor pays himself a visit in prison and works to free Pollux from prison, but placing Archer under tight security after the two fight. Castor becomes free to take part in Archer´s family and his FBI operation. Although others notice he behaves differently, not too many questions are asked. Meanwhile, Archer stages a dramatic escape as Troy and somehow lands back in Los Angeles from the oil-rig converted prison. He surrounds himself with Castor´s girlfriend and those Castor formerly worked with to create havoc. Archer is also introduced to Castor´s son; as it is believed Castor is Archer. Over at the Archer household, Castor has taken a liking to Archer´s wife and daughter and after diffusing the bomb to appear as a hero, begins to take out his enemies and plots to bring down the man in his skin by using the FBI´s force.
Without going too much deeper into the thin plot because of the difficulty of keeping Archer and Castor less confusing by explaining things, I´ll simply jump to the end of the story. Archer and Castor face off against each other in an explosive gunfight in a little church after Archer´s boss dies. The family becomes confused as to who is who and the wrong person is wounded. This leads to an entertaining and explosive boat chase where the two finally come to blows with fists and not pistols. Archer as Castor defeats Castor as Archer and he finds himself back with his family and the father of Castor´s son. The plot is simple, it is just hard to describe because of the identity twisting of the film.
Part of the reason for the plot´s silliness lies in the fact that the film is not what it was originally meant to be. This was supposed to be John Woo´s big science fiction epic. Instead, it is a character study of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Through portions of the film, each actor takes on the traits of the other. This makes for some fun storytelling and both Cage and Travolta did well in portraying the other. However, by the time the film ended, these little traits were lost and the effect wasn´t as effective. It was a neat premise, but didn´t play out as well as it could have. I was pulled into the performances throughout the first half, but found the actors moving back into their skins by the end of the film.
Regardless of how silly the plot is, "Face/Off" is a ton of fun because of the high octane action and great gunfights. John Woo loves slow motion and stylish angles to show his action and "Face/Off" is full of the director´s trademarks. This is one of those movies where I enjoy watching it, but simply do not care much for the story. "Face/Off" would have been an incredible film with just a little plot work, but as it sits now, it is simply my favorite John Woo action film that was filmed in America. Two veteran and talented actors took on a challenge and mostly met that challenge. Woo was back on top of his game when it came to style and action, but substance was lacking. Not every movie is perfect and we don´t watch every movie for just the story. This is a movie where you just forget about story and relish in its action sequences. They are great action sequences.
"The Killer" and "Hard-Boiled" are among my favorite action films. Watching Chow-Yun Fat dive through the air with a pair of pistols are almost iconic. It was with great anticipation that I went to watch his American action film "Face/Off" featuring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. I hoped to see some of the same magic that made many of his Hong Kong films classics. Nicolas Cage is a man that is more than believable shooting a pistol and although I was less than excited with Travolta´s performance in the unimpressive "Broken Arrow," I thought the pairing was a good one. Sure, "Broken Arrow" took away some of my admiration for John Woo, but the film did have some undeniably good action sequences and the trailers for "Face/Off" showed both Travolta and Cage performing pistol packing stunts.
For me, "Face/Off" was another disappointment from John Woo, but not nearly as much as "Broken Arrow." The film lacked the strong storytelling of so many of Woo´s Hong Kong classics. The "A Better Tomorrow" films, "The Killer," and "Hard Boiled" are far superior to anything Woo has crafted in America. I´m not sure if the big budgets are the problem, or if it is Woo trying to take a more ´American´ approach to filmmaking. Whatever it is, Woo doesn´t have the same magic when financed by American studios and with American stars. "Face/Off" had an intriguing plot device in the face-changing, but it never played out as strongly as it could have and after a while felt stale and uninteresting. Thankfully, the gunplay that was shown so heavily in the trailers was done incredibly well and while "Face/Off" isn´t as stellar in the storytelling department to Woo´s more classic pictures, it at least can rival the other titles in action and bullets.
The film was originally intended to be a Science Fiction adventure by John Woo. However, some economic decisions were made and the screenplay was pared down to be more of a human drama, but with a little science fiction to create the film´s interesting plot-twist. The plot twist is simple. The antagonist slips into the protagonist´s skin and visa versa. So the title "Face/Off" pertains to the fact that both stars´ characters had their faces off and swapped. It also pertains to the face-off between the two characters and their attempts at using each others identity to their own advantage and brings each other down by taking on the identity of the other. If it sounds confusing, it would be if you started to watch the film partway through it. In fact, it often comes off as being more silly than captivating and I´ve been about as enthused with the plot of "Face/Off" as I was with "Broken Arrow."
John Travolta is Sean Archer, an FBI agent who works to bring down international terrorists. His favorite target is Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). Troy gunned down Archer´s young son a few years earlier and Archer wants nothing more than to bring down the man who caused his family so much pain and robbed him of his son. A dramatic encounter at an airport lands Castor and his brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) into FBI captivity. Castor is hurt and put into a coma, while Pollux is sent to a high security prison. Before Castor loses consciousness, he boasts to Archer that he has planted a bomb that will bring about massive loss of life to Los Angeles. Further evidence proves to Archer and his team that the bomb threat is very real and that Archer is going to have to find where the bomb is and diffuse it. With Castor in a coma, this proves problematic.
The world of science fiction introduces a series of surgery techniques and technology that allows Sean Archer to take on Castor Troy´s identity and infiltrate the prison and find out from Pollux the location of the bomb. This requires Castor´s face to be removed from his body and placed onto Archers. Of course, Archer needs to have his face removed as well. A few other incredible technologies are involved and before long, the physically larger Sean Archer is soon an exact double for Castor Troy; even taking on his vocal attributes. Unfortunately for Archer, Troy wakes up and realizes his face is missing. He discovers Archer´s and takes on the FBI agent´s identity.
Castor pays himself a visit in prison and works to free Pollux from prison, but placing Archer under tight security after the two fight. Castor becomes free to take part in Archer´s family and his FBI operation. Although others notice he behaves differently, not too many questions are asked. Meanwhile, Archer stages a dramatic escape as Troy and somehow lands back in Los Angeles from the oil-rig converted prison. He surrounds himself with Castor´s girlfriend and those Castor formerly worked with to create havoc. Archer is also introduced to Castor´s son; as it is believed Castor is Archer. Over at the Archer household, Castor has taken a liking to Archer´s wife and daughter and after diffusing the bomb to appear as a hero, begins to take out his enemies and plots to bring down the man in his skin by using the FBI´s force.
Without going too much deeper into the thin plot because of the difficulty of keeping Archer and Castor less confusing by explaining things, I´ll simply jump to the end of the story. Archer and Castor face off against each other in an explosive gunfight in a little church after Archer´s boss dies. The family becomes confused as to who is who and the wrong person is wounded. This leads to an entertaining and explosive boat chase where the two finally come to blows with fists and not pistols. Archer as Castor defeats Castor as Archer and he finds himself back with his family and the father of Castor´s son. The plot is simple, it is just hard to describe because of the identity twisting of the film.
Part of the reason for the plot´s silliness lies in the fact that the film is not what it was originally meant to be. This was supposed to be John Woo´s big science fiction epic. Instead, it is a character study of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Through portions of the film, each actor takes on the traits of the other. This makes for some fun storytelling and both Cage and Travolta did well in portraying the other. However, by the time the film ended, these little traits were lost and the effect wasn´t as effective. It was a neat premise, but didn´t play out as well as it could have. I was pulled into the performances throughout the first half, but found the actors moving back into their skins by the end of the film.
Regardless of how silly the plot is, "Face/Off" is a ton of fun because of the high octane action and great gunfights. John Woo loves slow motion and stylish angles to show his action and "Face/Off" is full of the director´s trademarks. This is one of those movies where I enjoy watching it, but simply do not care much for the story. "Face/Off" would have been an incredible film with just a little plot work, but as it sits now, it is simply my favorite John Woo action film that was filmed in America. Two veteran and talented actors took on a challenge and mostly met that challenge. Woo was back on top of his game when it came to style and action, but substance was lacking. Not every movie is perfect and we don´t watch every movie for just the story. This is a movie where you just forget about story and relish in its action sequences. They are great action sequences.
For me, "Face/Off" was another disappointment from John Woo, but not nearly as much as "Broken Arrow." The film lacked the strong storytelling of so many of Woo´s Hong Kong classics. The "A Better Tomorrow" films, "The Killer," and "Hard Boiled" are far superior to anything Woo has crafted in America. I´m not sure if the big budgets are the problem, or if it is Woo trying to take a more ´American´ approach to filmmaking. Whatever it is, Woo doesn´t have the same magic when financed by American studios and with American stars. "Face/Off" had an intriguing plot device in the face-changing, but it never played out as strongly as it could have and after a while felt stale and uninteresting. Thankfully, the gunplay that was shown so heavily in the trailers was done incredibly well and while "Face/Off" isn´t as stellar in the storytelling department to Woo´s more classic pictures, it at least can rival the other titles in action and bullets.
The film was originally intended to be a Science Fiction adventure by John Woo. However, some economic decisions were made and the screenplay was pared down to be more of a human drama, but with a little science fiction to create the film´s interesting plot-twist. The plot twist is simple. The antagonist slips into the protagonist´s skin and visa versa. So the title "Face/Off" pertains to the fact that both stars´ characters had their faces off and swapped. It also pertains to the face-off between the two characters and their attempts at using each others identity to their own advantage and brings each other down by taking on the identity of the other. If it sounds confusing, it would be if you started to watch the film partway through it. In fact, it often comes off as being more silly than captivating and I´ve been about as enthused with the plot of "Face/Off" as I was with "Broken Arrow."
John Travolta is Sean Archer, an FBI agent who works to bring down international terrorists. His favorite target is Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). Troy gunned down Archer´s young son a few years earlier and Archer wants nothing more than to bring down the man who caused his family so much pain and robbed him of his son. A dramatic encounter at an airport lands Castor and his brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) into FBI captivity. Castor is hurt and put into a coma, while Pollux is sent to a high security prison. Before Castor loses consciousness, he boasts to Archer that he has planted a bomb that will bring about massive loss of life to Los Angeles. Further evidence proves to Archer and his team that the bomb threat is very real and that Archer is going to have to find where the bomb is and diffuse it. With Castor in a coma, this proves problematic.
The world of science fiction introduces a series of surgery techniques and technology that allows Sean Archer to take on Castor Troy´s identity and infiltrate the prison and find out from Pollux the location of the bomb. This requires Castor´s face to be removed from his body and placed onto Archers. Of course, Archer needs to have his face removed as well. A few other incredible technologies are involved and before long, the physically larger Sean Archer is soon an exact double for Castor Troy; even taking on his vocal attributes. Unfortunately for Archer, Troy wakes up and realizes his face is missing. He discovers Archer´s and takes on the FBI agent´s identity.
Castor pays himself a visit in prison and works to free Pollux from prison, but placing Archer under tight security after the two fight. Castor becomes free to take part in Archer´s family and his FBI operation. Although others notice he behaves differently, not too many questions are asked. Meanwhile, Archer stages a dramatic escape as Troy and somehow lands back in Los Angeles from the oil-rig converted prison. He surrounds himself with Castor´s girlfriend and those Castor formerly worked with to create havoc. Archer is also introduced to Castor´s son; as it is believed Castor is Archer. Over at the Archer household, Castor has taken a liking to Archer´s wife and daughter and after diffusing the bomb to appear as a hero, begins to take out his enemies and plots to bring down the man in his skin by using the FBI´s force.
Without going too much deeper into the thin plot because of the difficulty of keeping Archer and Castor less confusing by explaining things, I´ll simply jump to the end of the story. Archer and Castor face off against each other in an explosive gunfight in a little church after Archer´s boss dies. The family becomes confused as to who is who and the wrong person is wounded. This leads to an entertaining and explosive boat chase where the two finally come to blows with fists and not pistols. Archer as Castor defeats Castor as Archer and he finds himself back with his family and the father of Castor´s son. The plot is simple, it is just hard to describe because of the identity twisting of the film.
Part of the reason for the plot´s silliness lies in the fact that the film is not what it was originally meant to be. This was supposed to be John Woo´s big science fiction epic. Instead, it is a character study of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Through portions of the film, each actor takes on the traits of the other. This makes for some fun storytelling and both Cage and Travolta did well in portraying the other. However, by the time the film ended, these little traits were lost and the effect wasn´t as effective. It was a neat premise, but didn´t play out as well as it could have. I was pulled into the performances throughout the first half, but found the actors moving back into their skins by the end of the film.
Regardless of how silly the plot is, "Face/Off" is a ton of fun because of the high octane action and great gunfights. John Woo loves slow motion and stylish angles to show his action and "Face/Off" is full of the director´s trademarks. This is one of those movies where I enjoy watching it, but simply do not care much for the story. "Face/Off" would have been an incredible film with just a little plot work, but as it sits now, it is simply my favorite John Woo action film that was filmed in America. Two veteran and talented actors took on a challenge and mostly met that challenge. Woo was back on top of his game when it came to style and action, but substance was lacking. Not every movie is perfect and we don´t watch every movie for just the story. This is a movie where you just forget about story and relish in its action sequences. They are great action sequences.
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