Face/Off
IN THEATERS NOW
Rating: R
Review Date: 7-18-97
Studio site: Face/Off
Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon
Sean Archer (John Travolta) has been chasing Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage)
for as long as he can remember or at least since he killed Sean's son.
Since that day Sean has made his life into tracking down Castor Troy. Once
he catches Troy, you would think that Sean's life would be complete. Not
so when you are looking for a bomb that Castor has told you he planted
and will kill a large number of people. The only way that Sean has a remote
chance of finding the bomb in time, is if he becomes Castor Troy. Now the
only question left is can he get the information he needs to find it, and
can he get it in time?
I was worried when I went to see this film that there would be some confusion
as to what exactly was going on and who was who. Last summer's Mission
Impossible was a great film but it tended to confuse people at times
with who was who and what was what. This summer brings us Face/Off
and it never leaves us confused as to who is who.
Travolta is excellent going from the conservative, driven Archer to impersonating
the wild and crazy Castor Troy. When Travolta becomes Troy his character
is reminiscent of his work in Broken Arrow. And Cage is wonderful
going from the wild Troy to the confused Archer. On top of these two there
is Joan Allen as Travolta's loving wife and Gina Gershon as Cage's girlfriend.
The cast makes this film enjoyable in all aspects and not just as an action
film.
John Woo is a great action director and he doesn't spare us any action
in this one. The thing that sets this film above a good number of the rest
of summer releases is that it has a plot. The plot drives this film and
sets up the action. Instead of Woo giving us a series of great action sequences
alone, he intertwines it with a riveting plot that grabs the viewer.
The only problem I had with this film is that it is overtly gruesome at
times. I can understand the need for some of it but it just seemed to disgust
me at times. It's seems however that the overtly gruesome backdrop for
films is a Woo trademark though. Other than that though I had very few
complaints with Face/Off. The movie is an intelligent action film
surfacing in a summer filled with good action films that have no substance.
This would be the best action film thus far in 1997, and it shows at the
box office.
Grade: A
Parents Guide: Face/Off is R rated for a reason. The transition
from face to face is extremely gruesome. The subject matter dealt with
including sex, drugs, and extreme violence is dealt with in an adult environment.
There is a great deal of language, which is to be expected in a film like
this, and a good deal of adult situations. I would definitely recommend
previewing this film before allow certain aged kids to see it as some may
find it extremely uncomfortable. I liked the film, but it is a film with
an adult theme.