Best action film of the 1990s

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2009)

Maybe the 90s weren't so bad! Seems like the 1980s were packed with great, unique, memorable action flicks (THE TERMINATOR, LETHAL WEAPON, ROBOCOP, DIE HARD, etc.), but what about the 90s? All you really had in the early 90s were sequels/retreads of all those great 80s flicks and none (in my opinion) near as good as the originals. The 90s got all "serious" on us moviegoers. Action movies seemed to be fading away. Then, all of a sudden, in 1997 (really a year of some great films) the action film was taken to an entirely new level with FACE/OFF! Really, I think FACE/OFF is the best action flick of that decade and its not even close! And like all those 80s action flicks I named previously, FACE/OFF has a story and heart. That is why all those films remain great today and why FACE/OFF is great. It's not just action.
FACE/OFF stars iconic actors John Travolta (fresh off of a career re-generation with PULP FICTION, BROKEN ARROW, and GET SHORTY) and Nicolas Cage (fresh off a Best Actor win for LEAVING LAS VEGAS). Let me just say this before I finish this review: Travolta and Cage are superb! These 2 actors had the unenviable task of having to essentially become the other and both pulled it off brilliantly. I didn't see a false note in either performance.
Travolta plays senior FBI agent Sean Archer, a world-weary man whose son was coldly murdered (he was supposed to die) 8 years earlier by vicious villain Castor Troy (Cage). The exciting opening scene at the airport results in Troy's capture and he is seemingly mortally wounded, but still barely alive. Before his "death", Troy told Archer that he planted a bomb somewhere in LA and so the CSI scientists at FBI headquarters convince Archer that they can "remove" Troy's face and put it on Archer so that Archer can infiltrate the maximum security prison where Troy's brother Nestor (played by Alessandro Nivola) is being held and get him to reveal the location of the bomb. The prison scenes are exciting as well as the prisoners wear computer-tracked boots that monitor their every move and location. Now Cage is playing Archer and does get Nestor to reveal the whereabouts, but he is stuck in the prison as his contact has been murdered by Troy, who awoke from his coma to see that he has no face. So he puts on Archer's face, so now Travolta is playing Troy. Got all that?
Archer is flabbergasted that Troy has his face and breaks out of prison and must assume Troy's identity until he can figure all this out. The general authorities are unaware of all this as the only person who knew (other than Archer) is dead. It's a convoluted plot, but brilliantly executed due to the gusto performances by the 2 leads, a solid script, and invigorating action scenes. The supporting cast is excellent as well: the aforementioned Nivola, Joan Allen (very sexy as Archer's wife; she has chemistry with both Travolta and Cage), Gina Gershon as Troy's lady, and Dominique Swain as Archer's daughter.
The great John Woo directed FACE/OFF and he has crafted an original, thought-provoking thriller that essentially re-generated the action genre after it seemed like it was dying a slow death in the 90s. FACE/OFF is a great addition to the all-time great action films.