Face Off

I thought to review this movie solely because of the acting performance of Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. Otherwise it's pretty much an ordinary action-thriller movie.

Sean Archer(John Travolta) is an FBI agent who's primary objective is to capture Castor Troy(Nicolas Cage),a notorious criminal who also killed Archer's son accidentally in an attempt to eliminate Archer. Archer is obsessive with the case,and his family life is greatly compromised by that.

Eventually Archer and his team succeeds in closing upon Troy and his brother. After some violent hassle, Troy gets knocked in to a coma,just after boasting about a bomb that will destroy Los Angeles,and his brother is captured.

Out of the sheer need to locate and deactivate the bomb,a black bag operation is executed. A medical scientist disguises Archer to look remarkably like Troy by some highly sophisticated and new surgical procedure.

Then archer is sent to the jail where Troy's brother is kept,pretending to be Troy.

But things change when Troy suddenly regains consciousness. He holds the medical scientist and Archer's boss hostage and demands that he be disguised as Archer. This done,he kills the scientist and the boss and destroys all the deviance of the surgery.

Then Troy starts playing around being Archer,fooling every one in the FBI as well as Archer's wife and daughter.

Archer is desperate,unable to convince any body about what's going on.He takes the only step available. He escapes the jail,acts like Troy,looking for a way to solve the mess.

The plot goes on an obvious direction from there. What's significant is how well Cage and Travolta both play two personalities. It's as if it has happened for real. It's worth seeing the movie even just to experience that unbelievable performance.



Directed by John Woo
David Permut

Produced by Barrie M. Osborne
Terence Chang


Written by Mike Werb
Michael Colleary
Starring John Travolta
Nicolas Cage
Music by John Powell
Michael A. Reagan (source music)
Cinematography Oliver Wood
Editing by Steven Kemper
Christian Wagner
Distributed by North America:
Paramount Pictures
International:
Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)June 27, 1997
Running time 141 min.
Country U.S.A.
Language English