The film's title says it all!

Rating: 7/10 (8 January 1999)

FACE/OFF isn't really your same old action guy film, but it's original in terms of John Woo's style of directing. This is the first movie I've seen from the guy who gave us HARD-BOILED, and obviously, Hollywood needs him more than B.B.B.B. (Big Budget Block Busters, to be exact). What I have learned is that his films have a distinctive trademark: the guy holding two guns at one time. The question of the hour is: will it appeal to everybody? Pretty much to say, yes, thanks to the familiar "faces" of John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, who swap skins in beating the living hell out of each other. Some more face-to-face action would've been appreciated for this ultra-lengthy feature that has you wondering when it's going to be over, but both are truly incredible in the well-crafted action bits given. I felt Cage fared better overall, but Travolta, still showing off his grinny expression, proves that a Hollywood comeback requires a much needed and much stronger level of momentum. There's so much here that it has you shrouded in mystery about what's going to happen later on, and who will win at the end? FACE/OFF is unusually strange in its storyline, so maybe a few more viewings would help gain some better understanding (please, I've seen enough of 140 minutes already!). Comedianne Margaret Cho is an unexpected surprise here, trading her stand-up comedy routines for dramatic roles. John Woo could be a driving force behind Hollywood action / intrigue movies in the coming years, and is he making anymore lately? Let's hope so!