Rating of
3/4
An edge of your seat thriller!
MovieAddict - wrote on 03/25/12
What happens, if two people change their identities and nobody who knew about it is still alive?
John Travolta plays FBI agent Sean Archer, whose son was killed six years previously by Castor Troy, played by Nicolas Cage. Since then Archer has been desperate to capture Troy and one day he succeeds in capturing Castor and his brother Pollux. Castor is in an apparently permanent coma and Pollux is sent to a maximum-security prison. Things take a turn for the worst when Sean discovers that Troy has planted a bomb somewhere in downtown LA, to go off any time soon.
So, through the wonders of medical science, Archer swaps faces with Troy, to infiltrate the prison and get the location of the bomb off Troy's weedy brother. But problems begin when the real Castor Troy wakes up, sans mug, and decides to get his own back by nicking Archer's.
Face/Off is absolutely brilliant because of its amazing action sequences. It’s full of hard-hitting, gun-blasting action, explosions, and even comedy. The plot is intriguing and the premise of good becoming bad and vise versa is thought-provoking and exploited beautifully within this film. Imagine the repercussions of taking on the identity of your greatest nemesis and your son's murderer. Looking in the mirror and seeing everything you have come to hate. Knowing that your worst enemy in sleeping with your wife and comforting your daughter. Everyone you trust wants you dead and everyone you hate wants to help. It’s a must-see for all John Woo/action fans and John Travolta and Nicholas Cage give excellent performances. It would be hard for anyone short of narcoleptic to fall asleep during this movie. Gina Gershon is also here in a supporting role and Joan Allen and Dominique Swain are extraordinary as the family of Sean Archer who unknowingly take in the villain as their husband and father.
