Just the right mix of over-the-top and exhilarating

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2014)

BROKEN ARROW had already made me a John Woo fan when FACE/OFF was first released, and I was all over this movie. The camera moves, the dazzling gun play, the exciting shootouts . . . and the doves. Woo's brand of guns akimbo fight scenes worked its magic on my teenage brain in the worst way. And what's really satisfying about FACE/OFF is that those action scenes hold up. The big setpieces are well-choreographed and even intense, especially with the big speedboat chase.
It was really cool in the mid-'90s to see such a big Hollywood action bonanza with a sci-fi bent: two arch-nemeses literally swapping faces and effectively switching places with each other. This angle does demand a lot from the audience (and if you're turned off by this movie, you'll probably start punching holes in the logic), but it's the two stars that hold this up and make it all worthwhile. Half the fun of the whole thing is just watching John Travolta and Nicolas Cage effectively switch roles; Cage plays the tortured and vulnerable character while Travolta chews the scenery (to the hilt). Travolta makes for a great heavy, and it's pretty cool to see him let it all hang out.
It's a hell of an action movie and a great showcase of talent from the two leads.
8/10