In order to catch him, he must become him.

Rating: 7/10 (31 March 2008)

FBI Special Agent Sean Archer tries to find a biological weapon placed in Los Angeles by a sadistic terrorist-for-hire and criminal mastermind named Castor Troy. Archer has hunted Troy for the last 8 years, and is consumed by revenge because Troy is responsible for the death of Archer's son. To do this, Archer must "borrow" Troy's face using a surgical procedure to go undercover as Troy, but things go wrong when Troy assumes the identity of Archer.
Having already seen other John Woo's film than "Face/Off," I was expecting a big, popcorn blockbuster to forget about at the end of the credits. Well, I was wrong. In fact, this movie surprised me. In fact, this is John Woo's best film to date.
This film surprised me by how shocking it is. Some of the things that happen in this movie is indescribable. Other things that happen in this movie never even happened in any other action movies I've ever seen. The ideas used in this film is ingenious. What I would add to that is that this is one of the most emotionally-charged action film I've ever seen in my life.
And no, this is no joke. This film is depressing from the scene in the beginning. It gets even more depressing and even more depressing. How does it end? Of course, I won't tell you. You'll have to see it for yourself. The action scenes, for all the love I have for them, are just too much in here. It's pretty much overkill during the last scenes in this film.
However, it's not sad to say the action scenes in here are fantastic. Now going to the performances: Have you ever seen a film where two characters switch each other's places and have them act as their other character, yet you don't believe the authenticity in there? Well, in this film, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage won me over. They played their other characters so well, that you find yourself thinking if they're really the other character. I know, it gets confusing. But this is an accomplishment.
"Face/Off" isn't just a popcorn, summer, action flick. It's a darn good one. The characters are diverse. The plot may seem silly but it works. The action is huge. This film is a perfect package for one of the "better" action films out there and the best film John Woo has made to date.