FACE/OFF (1998)
A film review by Steve Kong Edited by Cher Johnson Copyright 1998 Steve Kong (re-written and edited 11/8/98)
Just when you're sick of those loud and dumb summer action movies, there comes one that proves that they are not all the same. The film is Face/Off, and it is directed by the world acclaimed action director, John Woo.
I've admired John Woo mainly for his two Hong Kong works: Hard-Boiled and The Killer. After I saw those two movies, I was convinced that Woo was the ultimate action movie director. As much as I liked those films, though, none of his American films has yet to generate such admiration, until now. Hard Target was entertaining, but it didn't feel like an actual Woo movie. Broken Arrow was better than Hard Target, but it still did not have that Woo touch.
What is the Woo touch? In most action movies, you'll find an infallible unfeeling hero who is nothing but good. Then you'll find his adversary, the evil bug-eyed crazed madman. It's a simple game of good versus bad, no in-between, no real character development. And, for most summer moviegoers, character development is not the selling strong point of a summer movie. It seems that more and more the summer films are getting worse at creating real characters. The explanation for this is simple; not having character development can allow for two hours full of action. What Woo does is create a movie that is full of action but includes characters that are fully fleshed out. His films have characters that think, feel, and are not afraid to cry. The themes that he works with are still of good versus bad, but he takes that theme to a new level. Woo adds gray area to the usual black and white, good versus bad, action genre.
The other thing that Woo does is choreograph action scenes like nobody else. Many try to copy his style, but none have achieved it. His action scenes are agile and flowing like a ballet, and are hard to describe unless they are seen.
In Face/Off, the two characters, though tagged good and bad, are not what they seem. And a third of the way into the film, they truly are not who they seem.
Sean Archer (John Travolta) is an FBI agent that has been chasing terrorist, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), for many years now. Archer is obsessed with catching Castor. This obsession stems from Castor accidentally killing Archer's son. As Castor is leaving L.A., Archer gets his chance to capture him. But instead of being captured, Castor ends up in a coma after a large and violent gunfight and his brother Pollox is put into prison. Archer finds out is that Castor and Pollox have planted a large bomb somewhere in L.A., and it is going to go off soon. Pollox is a paranoid delusional man and will not talk to anyone but his brother about the location of the bomb. The only way to get Pollox to talk is to have Castor talk to him, but of course Castor is in a deep coma. The solution --and you'll have to suspend your disbelief for a moment-- is to take Castor's face and plant it on Archer. Archer is unwilling to do it at first, but agrees after some convincing. He takes Castor's face, is altered to sound like Castor, and is sent into prison to try to find out the location of the bomb from Pollox. While Archer is in jail talking to Pollox, Castor wakes up from his coma and takes the only face that he can find, Archer's. Castor kills everyone that knows about the plan to put the face of Castor on Archer.
This twist gives John Woo the freedom to explore the theme of good versus bad. Are you truly what you are inside? Or is it how you look? Or is it your reputation? And what can you get away with while looking like someone else? This leads both Archer and Castor to re-evaluate who they are and what they believe in. That's a lot of drama for an action film, but it does not bog it down a bit.
Archer, with the face of Castor, escapes prison and wants to put his life back together, but no one knows of the plot to change his face. It is hard for Archer because he ends up having to deal with the people that he fought so hard against as an FBI agent, Castor's cohorts. He begins, though, to see that the other side is not so bad at heart, and softens up a bit.
John Travolta gives a solid performance as both Archer and Castor. But it is really Nicolas Cage who carries the film. Cage's performance as Castor is, to say the least, maniacal. When he switches over to portraying Archer, he completely changes his performance and tones everything down. Travolta, though solid, does not give that feeling that he's someone else after the face change. His performance feels mostly as if he were himself all the time. But there are times when Travolta just unleashes, and those are his stand out moments. The switching of faces also allows both actors to poke fun at themselves, including Travolta, as Castor, saying to Pollox, "This nose, this hair, this ridiculous chin!"
Woo fills this film with powerful imagery. One moment that remains in my mind is that of Castor getting out of his car, and his coat blowing in the wind. Once you see it, you'll be entranced by how powerful that one short sequence is. Another scene that is quite memorable happens halfway into the film. With the two main characters wearing each other's face, they come to a standoff. Castor and Archer are standing opposite each other with guns drawn. But, between them is a decorative double mirror. As Archer looks into the mirror he sees himself with Castor's face. And on the other side Castor looks at himself with Archer's face. All the sudden there is silence and a realization by both characters that this is their chance to kill each other. The image they face is of the person they want to kill, but on the other side both know that it is an image of themselves.
This imagery goes further into the action sequences. Woo uses quick cuts and odd camera angles to capture the action and the urgency. What Woo does not resort to, and what most new action directors overuse, is the unnecessary camera jiggling and shaking. Woo captures all of the action in without having to use such a technique, which usually disorients and makes sick more than it does capture the urgency of an action film.
Kudos to Mike Werb and Michael Colleary for putting together this wonderful script. Though originally set in the not-so-distant future -- which makes the face swapping a bit easier to swallow -- Werb and Colleary have adapted the script well to Woo's request to set the story in the present.
Worth mentioning is John Powell's score for the film. It is reminiscent of some scores done by Hans Zimmer, but it stands by itself. And it fits the images on screen hand-in-glove. The opening theme with the images shown are the perfect pairing of image and music. And the theme that Powell creates for Castor Troy is unforgettable -- listen for it as Castor makes his big entrance into the film at the airport.
Woo is one of the last true action directors. So, if you're sick of walking into another theatre with the feeling that you'll be subjected to a loud and dumb action film, don't worry. Go see Face/Off, which proves that an action film just doesn't have to be loud and dumb; it can have a story and characters that you'll care for. The violence is over the top, but is done so well that it is almost poetic. If this is the first film of John Woo's that you've seen, you'll find it amazing. If you're recovering from his last two American outings, you'll be glad to hear that this film is right on track with his Hong Kong films.
--- Steve Kong reviews@boiled.sbay.org
recipe for a hard boiled review: one egg, two cups water, a pot, a helluva attitude, and a guy who loves the cinema. i'm your hard boiled movie guide.
http://boiledmovies.sbay.com/
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