Face/Off

Director John Woo left Hong Kong for Hollywood in 1993, bringing his signature style to a string of action movies, none more over the top than this one.

John Travolta plays Sean Archer, an FBI agent obsessed with bringing terrorist-for-hire Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) to justice. Archer finds his man, but in the ensuing battle, Troy is knocked unconscious and falls into a coma. Luckily, a secret face transplant surgery has been invented, so Archer can infiltrate Troy’s gang using Troy’s face. But when Troy emerges from his coma, he forces the surgeon to put Archer’s face on him, and the cat-and-mouse game begins.

Once you accept this perfectly ludicrous premise, Face/Off is a truly fun ride. Cage is the most Cage he can be, and both actors clearly have a ball playing one another. On top of that, Hollywood money gave Woo free reign to take his gunfire and explosion game to the next level.

Director: John Woo. Country: United States. Released: 1997. Length: 139 min. Format: DCP. Language: English.
Image courtesy of Paramount