Face/Off (1997) * * *

 

Directed by:  John Woo

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

The premise is fascinating, flawed, preposterous, and you just have to go with it.  The hero and villain of Face/Off have facial transplants performed on them and infiltrate unfamiliar worlds under their new identities.  FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) goes undercover as supervillain Castor Troy (Cage) by having the face of the comatose Castor transplanted onto him.  A few nips and tucks, followed by a vocal implant which allows Sean to sound like Castor.  There is a bomb set to go off in a few days somewhere in LA, so Sean wants to gain information from Castor's imprisoned brother Pollux (Nivola), who is suspicious of the idea that the comatose Castor is now 100% again.  This lends tension to the scenes between Sean and Pollux. 

Castor soon awakens from his coma, has the doctor transplant Sean's face onto him, and then poses as Archer in dismantling the bomb, becoming a hero, and then in the ultimate slap in the real Sean's face, beds Sean's wife Eve (Allen).  Why wouldn't she make love with the man who she thinks is her husband?  Face/Off adds other elements.  Castor is also responsible for Sean's son's death and this has caused Sean to jump into his work as a way of avoiding dealing with the pain.  Would you believe me if I said that Castor has a son also who looks exactly like Sean's deceased son?   In a movie like this, nothing is off-limits.  But there is poignancy when Sean (as Castor of course) begins to see that Castor's girlfriend (Gershon) is actually a good mother despite being a criminal.  He tells her:  "No matter what, Sean Archer is off your back for good."

Face/Off's action scenes are well choreographed and sometimes a bit too lengthy.  Everyone has stormtrooper's aim and can't hit anyone even with automatic weapons that fire off one hundred rounds in five seconds.  Woo is an action master, but the best parts of Face/Off exist when the bullets aren't flying and no one is killed.  Travolta and Cage relish that both get to play the hero and the villain all in the same movie!  Yes, it's insane, but it also operates successfully.