After completing separate projects, “Broken Arrow” & “The Rock,” John Travolta & Nicolas “Nic” Cage signed on to play hero and villain in a John Woo action-adventure movie originally considered as a dream movie with Sylvester Stallone & Arnold Schwarzenegger duking it out. Due to scheduling conflicts of the pair’s solo projects, “Cop Land” and that horrendously bad stinker, “Batman & Robin.” Travolta plays FFBI agent, Sean Archer who reluctantly agrees on an undercover mission posing as his archenemy, Castor Troy played by Cage. How does Archer disguise himself? By undergoing an experimental surgery swapping faces with Troy. Suddenly, the real Troy poses as Archer. Knowing that his family’s in danger, Archer must put an end to his opponent.
Released in 1997, (same year Nic’s other movie Con Air came out) it received positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Besides praise, it was a commercial success. Face/Off gained a cult following for action movie fans. Anyway, I have one good reason why I wanna review Face/Off. Mr. Cage will attend Fan Expo Dallas 2026 on September 12-13. Which is on Saturday and Sunday. I got plans to take my pic with Spider-Noir himself. I’m also planning on getting a pic with Charlie Sheen, Elijah Wood & Sean Astin. It’s gonna be epic.
This review contains no SPOILERS.
Good & Evil Aspects
Good: Nicolas “Nic” Cage & John Travolta both did a fantastic job for their respective over-the-top performances. They even impersonated each other’s gestures and mannerisms. You can tell Nic & Travolta were having a good time filming their scenes.
Other Cast Members such as Gina Gershon, Alessandro Nivola, Joan Allen, (Delphine from Skyrim) Nick Cassavetes & Thomas Jane all did a decent job for their respective performances.
John Woo did a good job directing. Some of his signature trademarks are used.
- Flying doves
- Slow motion
- Mexican stand-off (pointing guns at each other)
- Actual stunt work
- Gun-Fu
- Character dual wielding Berettas
Michael Douglas produced the film.
Action Sequences are really good.
Funny Moments involving Troy either played by Nic, Travolta impersonating him or Nic channeling Travolta.
John Powell (The Bourne Identity series) orchestrated the soundtrack.
Cinematography‘s shot in stable condition.
Pacing wasn’t a slow burn. My eyes were glued to the screen.
Opening Scene establishes the rivalry between Archer & Troy. The former has a crystal clear reason he has a personal vendetta against the latter.
We learn about Troy’s background.
Fun Facts
- Face/Off was later spoofed in that one Simpsons episode, “The Bob Next Door.” Sideshow Bob swaps faces with his cellmate in order an attempt to kill Bart.
- Nic confirmed Face/Off’s as one of his best movies of his career.
Random Thought: My favorite line from Troy as Archer is, “Wee, what a predicament!” Earns an Extra Point for making me laugh.
Evil: I know Archer’s a highly trained FBI agent, but the maximum security prison isn’t properly guarded with turrets. Security guards keep in eye on convicts as dots on a computer. As if any warden working in Arkham Asylum couldn’t get the place coordinated. Every supervillain breaks outta prison. Give Batman a break for once.
Olivia Newton-John’s cover version of “Over the Rainbow” plays during a shootout scene. I think the song’s overexposed in way too many movie and TV shows. Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You” fits as an alternate pick. It was used in “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”
A Plot Hole involving Archer swimming back to land without using a boat. Sharks are always under the ocean. Did Doctor Strange offer him a free portal? If this were real life, sharks would’ve devoured Archer.
During the climactic battle in a speedboat, Archer & Troy fly in the air. Then, obvious stunt doubles replace Travolta & Nic. As if Mystique & Morph (from X-Men: The Animated Series) shapeshift and took over stunt duty for one day. In other words, ruins the illusion of a magic trick.
The Final Verdict: B-
Despite some drawbacks, I enjoyed Face/Off. It’s a flawed, but over-the-top action movie. Nicolas “Nic” & John Travolta saved the movie from becoming one big disappointment. Paramount Pictures is working on a follow-up. It’s gonna be hard to bring back the pair. They should leave it alone. If you’re prepping up to see Nic at Fan Expo Dallas 2026, check out Face/Off.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 