I just rewatched Face/Off last night and I really forgot how good this film is. From great action set pieces to thrilling shootouts. This is the pinnacle of 90's over the top action with a ludicrous plot. Featuring a great cast but none better than Nicolas Cage. He really steals the show and makes this movie what it is. John Woo is well known for his stylistic action films and this one is no different. Yet for me Nicolas Cage makes this film better with his over the top acting. He has become one of my favorite actors in recent years with films such as The Color Out of Space, Willy's Wonderland, Mandy, and Mom & Dad. It's easy to forget how he was a strong name from the 90's starting with one of my original favorites Firebirds.
Anyway, back to Face/Off. In this ridiculous film special agent Archer (Travolta) has been hunting down infamous terrorist Troy (Cage) for years before finally catching him. After an epic showdown Troy is put into a coma only for Archer to learn a bomb has been left somewhere in the city expecting to detonate in the next few days. The only person who might know the whereabouts of the bomb is Troy's brother Pollux Troy (Alessandro Nivola) but he's not talking and demands to see his brother. Only one problem he's in a coma. So what does the FBI decide to do? Well swap Archer's face for Troy's, obvious right? Then Archer is sent to high end maximum security prison to trick the brother into divulging the location of the bomb. Only problem is Troy woke up and took the face of Archer, thus taking over his life. Crazy right? Yep! Now the real Archer bust break out of prison to save his family.
Some things this story fails to realize is how scientifically impossible it'd be to swap someone's face for another to pass them off as the previous person. Not to mention the ability to match their height, personality, mannerisms, speech patterns, and so much more. It'd been a lot easier to just swap the brains. Yet that wouldn't make for a crazy over-the-top 90's action movie.
The Good: Great cast Great acting Great action, Just Plain Fun!
The Bad: Terrible story.
Anyway, back to Face/Off. In this ridiculous film special agent Archer (Travolta) has been hunting down infamous terrorist Troy (Cage) for years before finally catching him. After an epic showdown Troy is put into a coma only for Archer to learn a bomb has been left somewhere in the city expecting to detonate in the next few days. The only person who might know the whereabouts of the bomb is Troy's brother Pollux Troy (Alessandro Nivola) but he's not talking and demands to see his brother. Only one problem he's in a coma. So what does the FBI decide to do? Well swap Archer's face for Troy's, obvious right? Then Archer is sent to high end maximum security prison to trick the brother into divulging the location of the bomb. Only problem is Troy woke up and took the face of Archer, thus taking over his life. Crazy right? Yep! Now the real Archer bust break out of prison to save his family.
Some things this story fails to realize is how scientifically impossible it'd be to swap someone's face for another to pass them off as the previous person. Not to mention the ability to match their height, personality, mannerisms, speech patterns, and so much more. It'd been a lot easier to just swap the brains. Yet that wouldn't make for a crazy over-the-top 90's action movie.
The Good: Great cast Great acting Great action, Just Plain Fun!
The Bad: Terrible story.
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