Perfect mix

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2005)

John Woo has always been one of my favorite action directors. And this is somewhat of his crowning achievement. The perfect mix between Hollywood and Hong Kong you might say.
The terrorist and criminal Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage) has placed a dirty bomb somewhere. Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) has been chasing Troy for a long time and now he is close to catching him. But things go out of control and Troy falls into a coma. Now the only person who knows the location of the bomb is Troys brother Pollux. Now Archer has to go undercover looking like Troy to get his brother to reveal the location of the bomb.
This movie has a story that stretches reality quite a bit. But in the end that doesn't really matter. Because this might be the ultimate action movie. Why? Simply because John Woo here manages to mix his Hong Kong-brand of action sequences with the plot and acting of Hollywood. Both Travolta and Cage are majestic as the two enemies. And this is bullet ballet as it's best. Woo uses every trick in the book. Slow-motion, dual pistols and a pace that never lets you up for air.
Unlike Woo's Hong Kong outings (most notably The Killer and Hard-boiled) this movie has a story that holds together though, and the actors to pull it off. The disturbing elements of confusing plot turns that are almost always present in Hong Kong are also gone. Allt this combines in making this one of my top-three action movies of all time.
I rate this 8/10.