Face/Off

1997 Action/Adventure

The third of John Woo's American-made feature films, Face/Off stars John Travolta as Sean Archer, an FBI agent obsessed with capturing Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), a criminal genius who years before killed Archer's son while trying to assassinate the agent. Archer's single-minded pursuit of Troy has caused serious harm to his marriage, but Archer thinks the light may have appeared at the end of the tunnel when a seriously wounded Troy is captured in a bloody shootout. However, it turns out that Troy has planted a time bomb, with a biological payload that could destroy the entire city of Los Angeles -- and Troy isn't about to say where it is. The only other person who knows the bomb's location is Troy's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), who is no more helpful than Castor. FBI scientists hatch a plan: they have developed an experimental surgery which would allow them to graft Troy's face temporarily on Archer's head and allow him to question Pollux as if he were his brother. But after Archer has taken Troy's face, Troy regains consciousness and forces the doctors to give him Archer's face. Now the criminal mastermind has the FBI at his disposal, and the lawman is underground with few places to turn. Along with Woo's usual elaborately choreographed action scenes, Face/Off features a number of notable supporting performances, including Joan Allen as Archer's wife, Colm Feore and C.C.H. Pounder as FBI scientists, and Gina Gershon as Troy's loyal but long-suffering girlfriend. more..

Director: John Woo

Starring: John Travolta,Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon

Reviews

  • But it is the steady accretion of hundreds of small moments in this elegant, high-spirited, intensely satisfying production -- the director's third American movie, but the first to approach the dazzle of his Hong Kong stuff -- that, toted up, makes everything right about this des- perately welcome thriller.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • Exciting and then some, Face/Off blends the director's supercharged images of balletic brutality and spiritual catharsis with an off-the-wall humor that allows John Travolta and Nicolas Cage to really let it rip.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    19 January 2013

  • 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.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • Before we go numb from such prefab excitement, here comes 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.

    Elvis Mitchell - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

  • A delirious mixture of spectacular gun battles, furious explosions and breathtaking stunt work, it's also one of the strangest stories to ever get the green light at a Hollywood studio. You have to take your hat off to Paramount Studios for allowing such inspired weirdness to see the light of day.

    Desson Thomson - The Washington Post

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Top Box Office Films

    ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (1998)

  • Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

    Academy Awards (1998)

     
  • Best DVD Classic Film Release

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2008)

     
  • Favorite Actor - Action/Adventure

    Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1998)

  • Best of the Decade

    Golden Trailer Awards (1999)