Face/Off Is Above All An Action Thriller

Has there every been a film with a title that almost makes you want to laugh at it? Well, of course there have been, but I think Face/Off beats them all. Sure, the title is awkward, but does it really matter? Absolutely not! Face/Off is full of so many radical ideas that anything it does makes sense. This is one of those films with hugely improbable concepts, but using skillful direction and taking itself slightly seriously, these concepts seem to be possible. Of course, it doesn't take itself completely seriously or it would have been ridiculous. The director, John Woo, takes the audience on a fantastic ride filled with as much action as possible, but also stopping to do something films like The Rock didn't do: it lets us into the emotional aspect of the hero and the villain.
　　
That exchange of faces and identities is the inspiration for "Face/Off," the new John Wooaction thriller, which contains enough plot for an entire series. It's a gimme, for example, that as gravely injured as he may be, Troy will snap out of his coma and force a doctor to transplant Archer's face onto his own bloody skull - so that the lawman and the outlaw end up looking exactly like the other.
　　
This is an actor's dream, and Travolta and Cage make the most of it. They spend most of the movie acting as if they're in each other's bodies - Travolta acting like Cage, and vice versa. Through the plot device of a microchip implanted in his larynx, Travolta is allegedly able to sound more like Cage - enough, maybe, to fool the terrorist's paranoid brother, who is in prison and knows the secret of the biological weapon.
　　
The movie is above all an action thriller. John Woo, whose previous American films include "Broken Arrow" with Travolta, likes spectacular stunts in unlikely settings, and the movie includes chases involving an airplane (which crashes into a hangar) and speedboats (which crash into piers and each other). There also are weird settings, including the high-security prison where the inmates wear magnetized boots that allow security to keep track of every footstep.
　　
Face/Off stars two of Hollywood's best actors. While I am not the biggest fan of Nicolas Cage, I respect him and I think he is very good. John Travolta is one of my favorites, and he gives the best line of the film. Travolta and Cage together, and you have a powerhouse cast. Add them to a Woo film, and you have a powerhouse, blockbuster film. Woo is well known in Hong Kong, and he is gaining popularity in America. He directed 1995's terrific Broken Arrow which also starred Travolta, but as a villain. In Face/Off, Travolta plays the protagonist, while Cage takes on the antagonist.
　　
On top of the film, however, is the cast. Travolta steals the film, even though Cage is the hero throughout most of it. Both of them together make a solid team and it played with the audience's mind because we didn't exactly know who to root for. In one of the most powerful scenes of the film, almost every cast member in the opening credits of the film has a gun pointed at them. It's reminiscient of Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and the following battle is nail-bitingly tense. Travolta gives the best line of the film during this moment, and I'm not going to spoil it by writing it here. Cage, on the other hand, doesn't quite have as much fun as Travolta does, but how can you when you are the hero? Not to be outdone are Joan Allen as Archer's wife, Eve. Allen gives a wonderful performance which is slightly overshadowed by the two top-billed stars. Gershon is just as good as Troy's ex-girlfriend. Dominique Swain gives a terrific performance as Archer's rebellious daughter, and she actually seems genuine. But Travolta and Cage dominate the film, as they do in almost any film that they are in. Oh yeah, that's Harve Presnell from Fargo as Archer's superior.
　　
Face/Off is rated R for bloody and gruesome violence, plenty of gore (both surgical and not), some nudity from a cartoon, and language. While the film is a little predictable (who couldn't have guessed what the daughter was going to do with that knife?) the powerful performance and wonderful directing are easily able to jump over them. This is one action picture which will be sure to rake in the money, most likely from word of mouth (because, let's face it, it would have to be coming out against Hercules). I'm pretty sure I will see it again, and again. And I can't wait!
　　
It's a fascinating film in so many ways. For example, both Travolta and Cage invest their dual roles with physical subtleties that reflect the other actor's character. John Woo's smart direction makes you really care for the good Sean Archer trapped in the bad Castor Troy. Added to this is a plot that is strikingly imaginative, preposterous, and yet strangely convincing - the actual mechanics of the identity swap have a superficial credibility built on convenient, simplistic explanations. But the film succeeds in overcoming its implausibilities because director Woo offers such a tantalising package. He seems to be saying "accept this and I'll give you one hell of a ride."
　　
You see what thickets this plot constructs; it's as if Travolta adds the spin courtesy of Cage's personality, while Cage mellows in the direction of Travolta. Better to conclude that the two actors, working together, have devised a very entertaining way of being each other while being themselves.