John Woo proves his worth.

Rating: 9/10 (23 February 2012)

A brave cop and a despicable criminal swapping faces to assume each other's identity has got to be one of the most far-fetched ideas for an action flick ever; but as patently silly and flawed as the premise for Face/Off is, it still proves to be an extremely entertaining film, it's brilliance being down to the sheer audacity of cast and director, who never allow the ridiculous nature of the story to get in the way of the fun.
After the rather lukewarm reception that critics gave his first two US movies (Hard Target and Broken Arrow), director John Woo was clearly determined to restore his reputation as a master of action cinema and went all out to impress: Face/Off is bursting at the seams with brilliantly choreographed mayhem, explosive action set-pieces, and Woo's unmistakable movie-trademarks—endless shooting (including the obligatory two-handed gun-play and Mexican stand-offs), doves, churches, gratuitous slo-mo, and inner turmoil and emotional strife for goodies and baddies alike (Sean Archer's identity crisis, Castor's grief at his brother's death, Sasha Hassler's fear for her child).
This ultra-stylish, uber-kinetic direction from a director out to prove his worth, combined with hilariously unrestrained performances from Travolta and Cage, more than compensates for the movie's more questionable aspects (such as Archer's lack of remorse at maiming and killing umpteen guards during his prison break) and goes to make Face/Off an absolute blast from start to finish.
8.5 out of 10, rounded up to 9 for IMDb.