In association with

Face/Off [1997]
from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
starring John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon
directed by John Woo

Features:

• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

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-barrelled 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

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• When You Become Obsessed With the Enemy, You Become the Enemy
  "Face Off" is that rarest of films, an intelligent and soulful action movie which is both excellent and bad in equal measure.
  In fact, as far as I can remember, only "The Last Boy Scout" starring Bruce Willis was comparable; an exploration of the characters' humanity which was almost ruined by the usual clichés.
  Aside from the slow-motion gun battle in which the young boy is listening to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," almost all of the `Action' in this film is gratuitous rubbish. The... more info

• A good all rounder!
  Nick cage and john travolta are a great paring in this movie the casting crew did a great job, The story is a little bit simplistic but otherwise its great film with plenty of twists and a happy ending. Its the sort of movie you can watch time and time again and stil be entertained by the line "i want to take his face off" it brings a smile to my face just typing it! A good all rounder.

• Travolta Vs Cage - the ultimate action film
  The synopsis above will tell the plot and the general outline of the film which. can I just say, is fantastic; but what it doesnt say is how the two actors Cage and Travolta turn out what is possibly two of the best performances of their professional career. This is when actors are put to the test. Not only do both fully commit to their character and delivering a believable performance that submerses the audience into the plot, when the two actors swap chatacers they take on each others characteristics,... more info

• Great story, shame about the language...
  I really did enjoy this film as I do love the idea of switched identities (e.g. Freaky Friday!) But I belive the films only flaw was the pointless swearing and too much gun violence which could have been halved. However if thats your thing then definatley buy this film, the story does make up for it.

Similar Products:

More from Amazon