The best "summer movie" of 97

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2000)

Face/Off does a great job at utilizing the possibilities of thier premise.
If this premise were in lesser hands it would simply have been a race against time movie. They would've had the bad guy(looking like the good guy)hiding the danger (the bomb he installed)he created. Then the good guy (looking like the bad guy)would've been faced with having to defuse the danger while being thought to be the bad guy.
Fortunataly, John Woo and company decide to go further with the concept. The villian sees the value in dismantling his own bomb and the power he could really have. The good guy hangs out with the buddies of the villian and develops empathy for them. The villian enjoys the family life of the good guy he's imitating.
Of course, there are some remarkable action sequences that work well (although the final one on the boat is a little overkill). John Woo has a balletic, rythmic style and visual style for these scenes and they are terrific.
John Travolta and Nick Cage have fun with thier duel roles and we have fun watching them.
Great cinematography, especially in the funeral scenes. The cinematography is augmented by great use of sound and music.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is put to rip roaring use, it takes your breath away.
The common objection to this movie is lack of realism and they do have a point. This movie, however, makes it easy and fun to suspend disbelief. Realism is at a premium in most action movies anyway. Realism is not needed to make a movie great.
This is a great movie