Face/Off (1997)

"...may be [Woo's] finest moment so far which, by default, puts it in as having a strong claim on the title "best action movie ever made".  Adam Smith, Empire
"...relentlessly exciting, thanks to Woo's operatically staged fight and chase scenes and the bravura acting of the two stars.  Andy Seiler, USA Today
"A delirious mixture of spectacular gun battles, furious explosions and breathtaking stunt work...  Desson Thomson, Washington Post
"...a mega-movie...strong characters, smart plotting, breathless action and a gimmick that hasn't been seen before.  Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times
"...the first to balance [Woo's] visual imagination with the emotional intensity of his Hong Kong films.  Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"...[an] elegant, high-spirited, intensely satisfying production...  Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"Exciting and then some...supercharged images of balletic brutality and spiritual catharsis with an off-the-wall humor...  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"A delirious mixture of spectacular gun battles, furious explosions and breathtaking stunt work...  Desson Thomson, The Washington Post

Editor's Note The ordeal of superheroic, singularly dedicated FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) is only beginning after finally capturing his archnemesis, Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage), an elusive, maniacal terrorist who claimed the life of Archer's son. While Troy languishes in a coma, Archer surgically "borrows" Troy's face in an attempt to gather evidence about Troy's last bomb--which is currently ticking away in a Los Angeles office building. Trouble ensues when Troy wakes up faceless, borrows Archer's visage, and makes a mess of Archer's life; all the while, both men struggle to adapt to their new identities while struggling to blow each other away. Another balletically filmed, thematically complex action-smorgasbord from Hong Kong-vet John Woo. Academy Award Nomination: Best Sound Effects Editing.

	Colm Feore
	Dominique Swain
	Gina Gershon
	Joan Allen
	John Travolta
	Nick Cassavetes
	Nicolas Cage
	Thomas Jane
	Christian Wagner - Editor
	Jeff Levine - Producer
	John Powell - Original Music By
	John Woo - Director
	Michael Colleary - Writer
	Michael Douglas - Executive Producer
	Mike Werb - Writer
	Oliver Wood - Cinematographer
	Steve Arnold - Art Director
	Steven Kemper - Editor

USA Today
"...FACE/OFF is relentlessly exciting, thanks to Woo's operatically staged fight and chase scenes and the bravura acting of the two stars..." -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars 06/27/1997 p.1D

New York Times
"...A mega-movie that actually delivers what mega-movies promise: strong characters, smart plotting, breathless action and a gimmick that hasn't been seen before..." 06/27/1997 p.C1

Los Angeles Times
"...A delicious inside-out double-reverse movie that's as outrageous and over the top as anyone could want..." 06/27/1997 p.F1

Chicago Sun-Times
"...This is an actor's dream, and Travolta and Cage make the most of it....The high-tech stuff is flawlessly done..." 06/27/1997 p.33

Entertainment Weekly
"...[A] successful mating of Hollywood brawn and crazy HK grace..." 01/11/2002 p.41

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] hugely enjoyable cat and mouse bullet fest....This is Woo's best US film..." 11/23/2007 p.111

Wall Street Journal
"The co-stars' pairing and facial sharing makes FACE/OFF a crazy thrill." 11/20/2009

ReelViews 8 of 10
Face/Off, the third English-language feature from acclaimed Hong Kong director John Woo, isn't the best movie of the summer, but it certainly features some of the best action. Woo, who is known and appreciated for his unique stylistic approach to violence and bloodshed, creates a kinetic ballet of bullets and explosions that drives the adrenaline level through the roof. There are problems with this film, some of which are quite obvious, but the end result is much like Woo's 1996 effort, Broken Arrow -- as long as you don't think too much, the action maelstrom will suck you into its vortex and keep you spinning for roughly two hours...To Woo's credit, he doesn't stick strictly to action. Face/Off is only in overdrive for about two-thirds of its running length. The rest of the movie is devoted to such mundane tasks and plot exposition, character and relationship development, and ruminations on philosophical issues like identity. While there's very little of the latter (certainly not enough to turn off viewers who don't like their action leavened with anything intellectual), there is enough to give Face/Off an interesting subtext...Face/Off is primarily for hard-core action junkies and those who appreciate Woo's inimitable style. Like the director's other two Western films (Hard Target and Broken Arrow), this is a flawed and occasionally ridiculous piece of work, but there's enough here to hold just about anyone's interest, and it's almost always great fun. The movie is brash, loud, and far from the intellectual cutting-edge, but, on those occasions when Face/Off gets everything right, it's capable of moments of rare cinematic perfection. That alone makes it worth the price of admission. - James Berardinelli

San Francisco Chronicle 10 of 10
``Face/Off'' is the cream of this year's summer movies. It's the picture that proves action films don't have to be silly, that a few thrill sequences don't mean every other value has to be shot to pieces...In ``Face/Off"...the action is bigger and more imaginatively filmed than in any of the current blockbusters, yet the movie's strongest moments have nothing to do with action. Directed by John Woo, ``Face/Off'' is the most dazzling, eerie and evocative film of the year...It's easily the best acted action thriller since Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones' ``The Fugitive'' four years ago. Yet the unique acting challenges presented by ``Face/Off'' -- as well as the peculiar implications of its story -- make ``The Fugitive'' seem pedestrian. Unlike, say, ``Batman & Robin,'' in which an audience knows exactly what to expect, ``Face/Off'' is elusive and full of surprises. Its meaning can't be exhausted in a single viewing...``Face/Off'' can be enjoyed in a number of ways. The thrill-ride stuff is here. With its full-tilt acting, it is also a riff on stardom and personality...Hong Kong-to-Hollywood director Woo (``Broken Arrow,'' ``Hard Boiled'') plays with the notion of the subjectivity of viewpoint in a remarkable sequence in which a boy witnesses a horrific gun battle while wearing a Walkman and listening to ``Over the Rainbow.'' The scene becomes a wild, slow-motion dance, but not Woo's usual death-as-orgasm thing, fortunately. Rather, through the child's eyes, Woo turns the violence into something distant and awesome...This is grand movie making with grand acting. Travolta and Cage go up against each other, and neither one loses. Everyone wins. - Mick LaSalle