]Synopsis[/b]
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.

Review:
While watching this movie, many people who haven’t grown up watching a lot of Asian movies, will certainly believe that all the heavily stylized shootout scenes are really similar to the shootout scenes in The Matrix. However, it might look strange for you if I tell you that most of the things, if not all, that you see in Face/Off or The Matrix belong to Chinese cinematographic culture. While they're enjoying their trip in Hollywood, producer Terence Chang (Hard Boiled) and movie director John Woo (The Killer), two icons of the Chinese cinema, manage successfully to make a good first impression with this Hollywood movie.

Nobody needs a PhD in psychology to understand that movies from Hong Kong have a great influence on so many American movie directors such as Quentin Tarantino and many others. It is not surprising that Hollywood is begging for John Woo, an ambassador of Chinese cinematographic culture amongst others who is known for his heavily stylized gunfight movies. This is the first Hollywood movie directed by John Woo and also, the only one that is worth a mention. Unlike so many Hollywood movies, in other words movies that are solely made for entertainment, John Woo manages successfully to use the story in order to plunge the viewers into the complexity of his characters’ personality. Moreover, John Woo takes the occasion to explore a theme that has been explored so many times in Asian movies: revenge. The leading characters do have a goal to reach and they are giving us the impression that they have nothing to lose. Seriously, I really wonder how would the movie look like if it was made in Hong Kong. God can you imagine how violent and gory it would be!??!

One of the most interesting point of Face/Off is definitely the actors’ incredible performance that you are likely to find anywhere. John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), as agent Sean Archer, and Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas), as Castor Troy, magnificently prove us that they can swap their look and their personality, and still be very convincing at the same time as if they have been in each others’ mind for so many years. For example, before they swap their personality and their look, Sean Archer is so serious and he often keeps his feelings in his heart, whereas Castor Troy is a pervert who’s very cocky, arrogant and full of humour. One will certainly be glad to hear that John Travolta and Nicolas Cage are both very well supported by their colleagues such as Joan Allen, Dominique Swain, Alessandro Nivola, Nick Cassavetes and Gina Gershon. In short, movie lovers will certainly be delighted to see such a five-stars acting.

Speaking about the action scenes, one might be surprised to hear that most American movies company are desperately trying to still some Chinese cinematographic “signatures”, or should I say trademarks. The reason why many of us would like to see this movie is because of its action scenes and it should be said that unlike many American movie directors, John Woo is a man who apparently cares so much about style. Thanks to movie editor Christian Wagner (Die Another Day), the viewers really get to see the visual beauty of John Woo’s gunfight choreographies at their full potential. For example, I am really convinced that those who have seen the movie still remember the final shootout in the church, since it is one of the most memorable action scenes and the camerawork is just so impressive and it is also a great feast for our eyes. Obviously, as a movie lover, I have already seen other John Woo’s trademarks not only in other American movies (The Matrix is a good example), but also in other Chinese movies that were not directed by him such as So Close. Here’s a presentation of John Woo’s trademarks that can be found in Face/Off: 1) Everybody, depending of which side they belong to, is facing and threatening each other with guns without making a move, naturally (the shootout in the church). 2) A song is played during a shootout (the scene in which the FBI is breaking in Castor Troy’s house). 3) Many birds are flying in front of a certain character while he is walking (when Nicolas Cage is seen outside a church). 4) The shootouts are filmed in slow motion and the bullets’ trajectory can be seen very slowly, just like in The Matrix. 5) A sniper doesn’t feel that he’s in a hurry, because he sees that his victim is with a child (the opening scene). 6) While a door is being opened, the camera alternatively films the “host” and the “guest” (the visit in the prison). So, I just hope that the next time when you see things like that in American movies such as The Matrix, you will finally understand that American producers are just trying to steal all the Asian trademarks.

Finally, to be very honest with you I still haven’t seen John Woo’s old masterpieces, that means the movies that he did in Hong Kong with Chow Yun-Fat (Anna and the King ; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), such as The Killer and A Better Tomorrow. However, I was really impressed to see shootouts that are magnificently and heavily, mind you, stylized, just like in those movies from Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Face/Off is the only good American movie that John Woo directed, because the rest of them received poor ratings from the critics. After all, for most of us, John Woo still remains one of the greatest ambassadors of Chinese cinematographic culture, although his latest movies are not worth a

ont=Verdana][size=2]
Cast and crew:
USA (1997)
Length: 138 minutes
Genre: Thriller
Directed by: John Woo
Starring: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Dominique Swain, Gina Gershon and Nick Cassavetes


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.

While watching this movie, many people who haven’t grown up watching a lot of Asian movies, will certainly believe that all the heavily stylized shootout scenes are really similar to the shootout scenes in The Matrix. However, it might look strange for you if I tell you that most of the things, if not all, that you see in Face/Off or The Matrix belong to Chinese cinematographic culture. While they're enjoying their trip in Hollywood, producer Terence Chang (Hard Boiled) and movie director John Woo (The Killer), two icons of the Chinese cinema, manage successfully to make a good first impression with this Hollywood movie.

Nobody needs a PhD in psychology to understand that movies from Hong Kong have a great influence on so many American movie directors such as Quentin Tarantino and many others. It is not surprising that Hollywood is begging for John Woo, an ambassador of Chinese cinematographic culture amongst others who is known for his heavily stylized gunfight movies. This is the first Hollywood movie directed by John Woo and also, the only one that is worth a mention. Unlike so many Hollywood movies, in other words movies that are solely made for entertainment, John Woo manages successfully to use the story in order to plunge the viewers into the complexity of his characters’ personality. Moreover, John Woo takes the occasion to explore a theme that has been explored so many times in Asian movies: revenge. The leading characters do have a goal to reach and they are giving us the impression that they have nothing to lose. Seriously, I really wonder how would the movie look like if it was made in Hong Kong. God can you imagine how violent and gory it would be!??!

One of the most interesting point of Face/Off is definitely the actors’ incredible performance that you are likely to find anywhere. John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), as agent Sean Archer, and Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas), as Castor Troy, magnificently prove us that they can swap their look and their personality, and still be very convincing at the same time as if they have been in each others’ mind for so many years. For example, before they swap their personality and their look, Sean Archer is so serious and he often keeps his feelings in his heart, whereas Castor Troy is a pervert who’s very cocky, arrogant and full of humour. One will certainly be glad to hear that John Travolta and Nicolas Cage are both very well supported by their colleagues such as Joan Allen, Dominique Swain, Alessandro Nivola, Nick Cassavetes and Gina Gershon. In short, movie lovers will certainly be delighted to see such a five-stars acting.

Speaking about the action scenes, one might be surprised to hear that most American movies company are desperately trying to still some Chinese cinematographic “signatures”, or should I say trademarks. The reason why many of us would like to see this movie is because of its action scenes and it should be said that unlike many American movie directors, John Woo is a man who apparently cares so much about style. Thanks to movie editor Christian Wagner (Die Another Day), the viewers really get to see the visual beauty of John Woo’s gunfight choreographies at their full potential. For example, I am really convinced that those who have seen the movie still remember the final shootout in the church, since it is one of the most memorable action scenes and the camerawork is just so impressive and it is also a great feast for our eyes. Obviously, as a movie lover, I have already seen other John Woo’s trademarks not only in other American movies (The Matrix is a good example), but also in other Chinese movies that were not directed by him such as So Close. Here’s a presentation of John Woo’s trademarks that can be found in Face/Off: 1) Everybody, depending of which side they belong to, is facing and threatening each other with guns without making a move, naturally (the shootout in the church). 2) A song is played during a shootout (the scene in which the FBI is breaking in Castor Troy’s house). 3) Many birds are flying in front of a certain character while he is walking (when Nicolas Cage is seen outside a church). 4) The shootouts are filmed in slow motion and the bullets’ trajectory can be seen very slowly, just like in The Matrix. 5) A sniper doesn’t feel that he’s in a hurry, because he sees that his victim is with a child (the opening scene). 6) While a door is being opened, the camera alternatively films the “host” and the “guest” (the visit in the prison). So, I just hope that the next time when you see things like that in American movies such as The Matrix, you will finally understand that American producers are just trying to steal all the Asian trademarks.

Finally, to be very honest with you I still haven’t seen John Woo’s old masterpieces, that means the movies that he did in Hong Kong with Chow Yun-Fat (Anna and the King ; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), such as The Killer and A Better Tomorrow. However, I was really impressed to see shootouts that are magnificently and heavily, mind you, stylized, just like in those movies from Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Face/Off is the only good American movie that John Woo directed, because the rest of them received poor ratings from the critics. After all, for most of us, John Woo still remains one of the greatest ambassadors of Chinese cinematographic culture, although his latest movies are not worth a mention (the last one is Paycheck). In short, let it be said that Face/Off is at the same time a movie for both movie lovers who really like style and people who are just looking for entertainment.

Users' Average Movie Rating: Not rated yet.
Movie Review Rating: 0 out of 0 members agree with this review.

Do you agree with this review? Yes No

Your rating:	0 - Avoid it all cost
	0.5
	1
	1.5
	2
	2.5
	3 - Acceptable
	3.5
	4
	4.5
	5 - A masterpiece

scm on Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:08

A gun movie from John Woo never fails!

hiddendragon on Thu Nov 24, 2005 14:53

I did some research on imdb.com and here's what I found about John Woo's trademarks:

*Uses pleasant music that heavily contrasts with some of the most violent action scenes on screen.

*Frequently works with Chow Yun-Fat.

*Scenes of hyperkinetic, choreographed action.

*Since John Woo uses doves as a symbol for peace in his films. They are often pictured flying away as the shooting begins. To that, he says:
"I love doves. I am a Christian. Doves represent the purity of love, beauty. They're spiritual. Also, the dove is a messenger between people and God... When I shot The Killer, these two men, the killer and the cop, they work in different ways, but their souls are pure, because they do the right thing. In the church scene, I wanted to bring them together. I wanted to use a metaphor of the heart. I came up with doves —they're white. When the men die, I cut to the dove flying —it's the soul, rescued and safe and also pure of heart. So the dove became one of my habits: I used it in Hard Boiled, Face/Off, and in Mission: Impossible II".


*Slow motion or freeze-frame sequences.

*[guns]: characters often use a gun in each hand

*[reflection]: characters are often alerted to danger by seeing a reflection

*[guns]: "Mexican Standoff", involving two characters pointing guns at each others heads. Also mimicked by Quentin Tarantino

*[thrown gun]: One character throws a gun to another character.

*His characters often mimic the actions of their other counterparts, typically accompanied by flashbacks of those scenes.

*Frequently uses unusual weapons to change the course of hand-to-hand combat scenes.

*Berettas are mainly used as the main character's gun in his movies.


Source: International Movie Database

f_22 on Sun Oct 30, 2005 13:16

yeah, he sure knows how to make a movie

damaged on Sun Oct 30, 2005 19:20

i checked the pics on the website hiddendragon gave about John Woo and i think i know him by img not by name lol

hiddendragon on Wed Nov 23, 2005 20:06

Have anyone seen John Woo's old movies, I mean those that were produced in Hong Kong? I hope that John Woo's next movie will be good.

Please login to add a comment.