Two Great Performances From Travolta And Cage

Rating: 7/10 (14 January 2015)

John Woo certainly knows how to deliver an action movie.
Plot In A Paragraph: FBI Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) is still grieving for his dead son Michael. His son's killer is a powerful master criminal, Castor Troy (Nic Cage) When Archer finally captures Castor, (in a battle that leaves Troy in a coma) he finds out that Troy has planted a bomb that will destroy the entire city of Los Angeles. Unfortunately the only other person who knows its location is Castor's brother Pollux, and he refuses to talk. So Archer undergoes a special operation by a doctor that can cut off people's faces, and can place a person's face onto another person. However, Troy somehow regains consciousness and now wants revenge.
Both Nic Cage (his fourth good movie in a row, following "Leaving Las Vegas", "The Rock" and "Con Air") and and John Travolta (Still riding high after "Pulp Fiction) have put in some awful performances over the years, but both of them are in top form here. Dominique Swain is fine as Jamie, Travolta's daughter as is Gina Gershon and Thomas Jane in his small role.
The plot is ridiculous, but when has that ever mattered in an action movie?? It's a fun ride all the same. Thanks mainly to the performances of the two leads. My bug bearer of policemen and killers never being able to hit the target when it actually matters, is here and sadly in great supply.
Interestingly Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were originally in mind to play the lead roles, but when John Woo was brought in to direct, he decided to go with John Travolta and Nic Cage.