Face/Off

Face/Off

At his best, director John Woo turns action movies into ballets of blood and bullets grounded in character drama. Face/Off marks Woo's first American film to reach the pitched level of his best Hong Kong work (Hard-Boiled). He takes a patently absurd premise--hero and villain exchange identities by literally swapping faces in science-fiction plastic surgery--and creates a double-barreled revenge film driven by the split psyches of its newly redefined characters. FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) must play the villain to move through the underworld while psychotic terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) becomes a perversely paternal family man while using every tool at his disposal to destroy his nemesis. Travolta vamps Cage's tics and flamboyant excess with the grace of a dancer after his transformation from cop to criminal, while Cage plays the sullen, bottled-up agent excruciatingly trapped behind the face of the man who killed his son. His attempts to live up to the terrorist's reputation become cathartic explosions of violence that both thrill and terrify him. This is merely icing on the cake for action fans, the dramatic backbone for some of the most visceral action thrills ever. Woo fills the screen with one show-stopping set piece after another, bringing a poetic grace to the action freakout with sweeping camerawork and sophisticated editing. This marriage of melodrama and mayhem ups the ante from cops-and-robbers clichés to a conflict of near-mythic levels. --Sean Axmaker

Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Director(s): John Woo
Production: Paramount Pictures
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 21 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.3
Metacritic:
82
Rotten Tomatoes:
92%
R (Restricted)
Year:
1997
138
5,290 Views
In order to catch him, he must become him.
To destroy your enemy, you must find him, face him, and then... become him.
It's like looking in a mirror - only not.
Only one will survive.

[Archer is posing as Castor at Erwhon when a guard opens his cell door]

Guard:
You've got a visitor.

[Cut to Archer entering the visitor's room. The magnetic boots clamp into place. A door then opens, revealing Castor Troy with Archer's old face. As they exchange looks, Castor smirks. He then c*cks his head, walks across the room, and eventually breaks into a wide grin]

Castor Troy:
Oooooo-WEE, you're good lookin'! Ya hot!

[Castor steps towards Archer]

Castor Troy:
It's like looking in a mirror, only not. [Castor walks around Archer]

Sean Archer:
Troy?

Castor Troy:
Now that is between us. OK?

Sean Archer:
But you were--were, were, in--in--in-

Castor Troy:
In a coma?

Sean Archer:
--in-in-in-

Castor Troy:
Nothing like having your face cut off to disturb your sleep! Read the newspaper lately? [thrusts an article in Archer's face headlined "Deadly Inferno at Walsh Institute", with Dr. Walsh's picture]

Sean Archer:
You killed them?

Castor Troy:
Yeah well. Beats paying the bill, huh? I mean, come on, uh, if a face lift costs five grand...[shows Archer's wedding ring on his hand] SEE ANYTHING YOU LIKE!!??? [In his mind, Archer pictures Tito, bound and gagged alongside Miller and Dr. Walsh, being doused with gasoline]

Sean Archer:
Tito! [In a flashback, Castor drops his cigarette lighter into a puddle of gasoline, sparking a large inferno]

Castor Troy:
I torched all the evidence that proves you're you, okay? So, wow! [looks at watch] Looks like you're going to be in here for THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS!! Now, I have got to go. I've got a government job to abuse and [whispers into Archer's ear] a lonely wife to f***. Oh, I'm sorry...make love to! God, I miss that face! [He licks the side of Archer's face. Archer promptly grabs Castor by the neck, throws him to the floor, and attempts to strangle him]

[Castor walks into the FBI observation room as Wanda and Buzz watch Pollux eating a gourmet meal, singing opera, and waving his utensils like a conductor]

Buzz:
Sir, we just wanted you to know....

Wanda:
We're all really sorry about Tito.

Castor Troy:
[sips his coffee] Oh, hey, sh*t happens, you know. So is our star witness talking?

Buzz:
Yeah, about what kind of mustard he likes on his tongue sandwiches.

Wanda:
That bomb is out there. We're almost out of time.

Castor Troy:
[bites his lip] Hmmm.... [A door flies open and Lazarro comes into the room]

Victor Lazarro:
Archer! [Castor turns to Lazarro] You made a deal with Pollux Troy. That isn't like you.

Castor Troy:
Well, when all else fails, fresh tactics! [winks at Lazarro]

Victor Lazarro:
Fresh? Let me tell you my fresh tactic: from now on, everything to do with this case goes through me, you understood?

Castor Troy:
Hmmm.

Victor Lazarro:
Good! Thanks.

[Lazarro leaves the office. Castor switches off the interrogation room video camera. Pollux rises as Castor comes in, chuckling]

Castor Troy:
[turns off the recorder] You're supposed to be snitching and making me look good!

Pollux Troy:
Look good?

Castor Troy:
Mmm-hmm. [Castor sits down on the edge of the table]

Pollux Troy:
Seeing that face on you makes me afraid my tiramisu might come back up.

Castor Troy:
Well think about me. This nose. This hair. This ridiculous chin. [sighs] Brother, we're going straight.

Pollux Troy:
Ooh, my goodness. Did you exchange brains as well?

Castor Troy:
The first thing I need you to "confess" to is the location of the bomb.

Pollux Troy:
What about our $10 million?

Castor Troy:
What about "when I become an American hero for defusing the bomb?" What's that worth? Know that, thank you! Next question!

[The two laugh. Castor grins and wags a finger in Pollux's face]

Castor Troy:
You're not the only one in the family with the brains.

Pollux Troy:
No. Although now I am the only one with the looks.

Castor Troy:
Touché.


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