Release Date: 27 June 1997
Run Time: 139 minutes
Origin: USA
Mimi's Rating: 4 doves out of 5
"l'd like to take his... his face... off."
Face/Off is one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever seen. It follows FBI Special Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta), who survives the assassination attempt that kills his young son, Micheal. His would-be murderer is Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), a terrorist-for-hire. As Archer vows to bring Castor down, the movie jumps six years into the future.
The next time we see Castor Troy is pretty incredible. He is at the airport disguised as a priest. Cage's performance during this scene needs to be seen to be believed. He's dancing, he's making outlandish faces, and it's beautiful. Troy then rejoins his brother Pollux and his other criminal associates, and they board a chartered jet. The gang plans to set off a powerful bomb that they have hidden in an unknown location for a payment of $10 million. What comes next is an insane airstrip chase with Archer and other FBI agents chasing the plane carrying Troy and company. The logistics of filming this scene alone had me in awe. There are multiple Hummers, a helicopter, and a freaking jet all barreling down this runway. It's chaos as only John Woo could deliver. The best is that it ends with Troy jumping out of the crashed jet guns Akimbo. All in slow-mo, of course.
"Y'know, I could eat a peach for hours."
After a little cat and mouse (and gunplay) in the warehouse where the jet crashed, Troy is defeated. Now in a coma, he takes the secret location of the bomb with him. Archer attempts to learn the bomb's location from a captured Pollux, but Pollux refuses to talk.
Now, we get to the real crux of the film. To find out the location of the bomb, Archer undergoes a face transplant, replacing his face with that of Castor Troy. This way, he believes he can get Pollux to talk. Does it make sense? No. Is it fun? Yes. This is a bonafide turn your brain off and enjoy the movie situation. And so, Archer-as-Troy heads off to the prison to cozy up to Pollux. Soon after this, Castor awakens sans-face. As you can imagine, he's pretty angry over this turn of events. Calling his gang, they round up the surgeon who performed the face swap and force him to give him Archer's face. After the successful transplant, they kill the surgeon and the FBI agents who knew of Archer's plan. Why was Castor just unguarded in the room directly adjacent to the room holding Archer's face? Why didn't more than three people know of this plan? Like I said, don't think about it.
When Pollux is released from prison, Archer-as-Troy discovers that Troy-as-Archer is now a thing and escapes prison. Meanwhile, Troy-as-Archer is living Archer's life and getting weird with Archer's teenage daughter, Jamie (Dominique Swain). Travolta is exceptionally creepy in these scenes, and I'm glad the movie didn't take it too far. Try not to question how Archer's wife, Eve (Joan Allen), doesn't notice that her husband has an entirely different body. Travolta does a good job performing as Castor Troy. He doesn't reach those same dizzying heights that Cage does, but he certainly gives it his all. My favourite scene with him is when he beats up Jamie's rapist boyfriend (played by Danny Masterson, a real-life rapist).
"Lies, deceit, mixed messages... this is turning into a real marriage."
Meanwhile, Archer-as-Troy has managed to escape the prison and has connected with Troy's gang. He meets Troy's lover, Sasha Hassler (Gina Gershon) and her son with Troy, Adam. Adam reminds Archer of his dead son, and he becomes protective of the boy. Troy-as-Archer discovers that Archer-as-Troy has escaped and assembles a team to raid his headquarters. During the ensuing raid, Pollux is killed, but Archer, Sasha and Adam manage to escape. Archer-as-Troy then connects with his wife and convinces her of his true identity.
All of this comes to a head at FBI director Victor Lazarro's funeral (who Troy killed after the death of Pollux). We get one final over-the-top gun battle with the much-parodied John Woo doves and all. There's also another extravagant chase scene, this time involving speedboats.
So, will Archer defeat Troy and get his face and life back? Find out in Face/Off.
When I put this movie on, I did expect to get one of the craziest Cage performances and also one of the most subdued and "normal". As Castor Troy, Cage is turned up to 11. He's hamming it up in that unique way that only he can. Then, as Sean Archer, he is buttoned down and sometimes even gentle. An example of this would be when he attempts to convince his wife of his true identity by recounting the story of their first date. He's intense, but not in the way he typically is. This is much more organic and filled with real emotion and it's a fantastic little monologue.
Naturally, the action is excellent. It is a John Woo film after all. It's pure spectacle. The insane premise had me hooked from the beginning. It was remarkable how the plot managed to keep getting more and more outrageous. The opening alone was enough action to be the climax of a lesser film. Face/Off might just be the quintessential 90s action flick and if you haven't already, you should check it out.
Bonus: What was with that weird hand-to-the-face thing Travolta's character does to his family members? It made me so uncomfortable.
Why you should watch:
It's the perfect example of a turn-of-your-brain action flick.
The action and style are top-notch.
Travolta and Cage are both giving it 100%.
Why you shouldn't watch:
You don't like movies where the characters make stupid decisions.
You don't like over-the-top action movies.