Face/Off

I really had no clue what I was in for.

Such an interesting movie, both in style and story but I can fully understand if it isn't someone's cup of tea. I'm fairly certain this is the first film I've seen of John Woo's filmography and I'm infinitely curious to see if any of the others fit this specific style. I will give some good points towards the plot, where a long standing feud between an FBI agent and a terrorist goes to new heights when the terrorist is apprehended but has one more ace up his sleeve, and information to his next act has to be procured in an interesting way. But the dynamic between hero and villain is the most intriguing part of the movie, and John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play their respective parts super well but then we get to the main crux. I'm still bewildered beyond words that after Nic is captured the very first idea that pops out in obtaining information on his biological bomb, is to literally undergo a face transplant to make John look like Nic. And it only gets wilder from there. Granted the movie sets it's tone expertly in the opening scene with batshit Nic on cloud nine, with one of the most overblown and highly unrealistic but still enjoyable action scenes I have seen in a long time. This is the epitome of action cop movie sequences, like it goes so out there and unashamedly so with sparks coming out of everything that gets hit, slow motion for no other reason than to have slowmo, shootouts where people stand on the roof of cars and point guns at each other while having conversations, and of course obvious wire work. Now I can appreciate that kind of pure Hollywood actionsploitation way of doing things, but I know it is not for everyone. You almost have had to have grown up on very specific kinds of action movies to fully enjoy this ride. But like I said the best part of the movie are our stars, and it is honest to God a super interesting and unique concept for a movie. Have the villain and hero swap places but still have it out for each other, collide some worlds just to see what happens, they do as much with the concept as the runtime allows and decently so. You can tell the actors are having a blast working with this material and the audience can enjoy it just as much, when Nicolas Cage is playing John Travolta who just so happens to look like Nicolas Cage there's a lot to read into that performance. I wouldn't mind seeing such a concept for a film in the future even if it doesn't have the gunplay and chases, it has that potential. While it is an absurdly ludicrous movie at times, I found it to be a decent one and can recommend it to some. 3 stars, 7/10, another week another new movie and no rest for the wicked.