Face/Off (1997)

John Woo’s best films are presumably ones that I’m yet to see (Hard Boiled [1992] for example). I say that because before I re-watched Face Off this week I’d yet to be overly impressed with Woo’s directorial output; I recently saw Paycheck (2003) and remember Broken Arrow (1996) being sub par, although it admittedly was a long time ago. I first watched Face Off on the recommendation of Empire magazine, in a review, which, if I remember correctly seemed to imply that Face Off was the best action movie ever made, in a five star review that also stated that the film had ‘niggles’. Explain that logic, if you will. Face Off is far from perfect, and it’s not even close to being the best action movie ever made, but revisiting it without that added expectation certainly made for a more enjoyable viewing experience. The plot, for a start, is one of the boldest and most ludicrous put to film. John Travolta is Sean Archer, a cop who’s been after Nicholas Cage’s bad guy Castor Troy for years after Troy killed Archer’s son. Circumstances convene to make it possible for Archer to essentially have a face transplant to make him look exactly like Troy, so he can infiltrate his gang and work out where Troy’s terrorist attack is going to happen. The whole thing is nuts, especially when Troy wakes from his coma to undergo surgery to acquire Archer’s face. But, if you go with it there’s a lot of fun to be had, and Travolta and Cage have a ball with the material. It’s not even the best action film of 1997 (Air Force One anyone?) and I also think it falls short of Woo’s best English language film (the slightly underrated Mission Impossible 2 [2000] takes that crown for me) but Face Off provides the viewer with a whole heap of carnage that will put a smile on your face. 7.0/10