DVD Synopsis: Oscar winning superstar Nicolas Cage (Con Air) and screen icon John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) battle head to head in FACE/OFF... the ultimate cat and mouse thriller directed by the worlds most acclaimed action film director, John Woo (Mission Impossible 2). To avenge the senseless murder of his son, FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) undergoes radical new surgery allowing him to switch faces with the comatose terrorist Castor Troy (Cage) and assume his identity. But when Castor awakes and assumes Sean's identity, the reall Sean is thrust into an unimaginable nightmare, fighting not only for his life but also those of his wife (Joan Allen) and daughter. Briliant performances and mind-numbing visual effects make FACE/OFF the explosive action thriller you've got to see to believe. (138 Mins)

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Views: I remember the excitement surrounding Face/Off when it first came out. An explosive thriller with a story so ridiculous, it could prove to be a disaster if not in the hands of the right director. That person of course, was John Woo – a master of action movies that had been entertaining fans like myself with Hong Kong titles such as Last Hurrah For Chivalry, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Bullet In The Head, and Hard Boiled – which soon saw him gain huge notoriety in Hollywood. Upon making the move, Woo delivered the Van-tastic action-thriller, Hard Target, to the world and quickly became the go-to guy for Hollywood blockbuster action flicks. Following up with the fun but just-as-daft, Broken Arrow and a TV movie remake of his very own Once A Thief, Woo was soon signed-on to bring Face/Off to life – his biggest project to date. The film follows the simple plot of a cop, Sean Archer, who swaps faces with hardened criminal, Castor Troy, so he can solve a case. But when Archer comes face-to-face with himself, he knows things have gotten a little out-of-hand. As families and friends are brought into the situation and their lives endangered, Archer must convince his wife and colleagues that he is the real Sean and stop Troy once and for all, as well as get back his face. How fucking ridiculous!

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There are plenty of cringe-worthy moments in Face/Off that would be hailed as utterly ridiculous if they appeared in any other film. But for some reason, because of its director and leading stars, Face/Off seems to get away with it by a lot of reviewers and critics. From god-awful cheesy lines to extreme over-acting, obvious stunt-doubles to bad continuity, and bizarre moments like when random fireworks go off after Cage drives his plane through an air-hanger, to the ultimate gaff of putting a new face on a person with a completely different body shape (and size). It's corny as hell, but for some crazy reason the majority of western cinema goers loved it. Personally, I didn't really see the appeal, with the first major turn-off for me being the casting choices! Face/Off probably has the most uninteresting and unappealing cast of any Hollywood blockbuster film, and I couldn't really care for anyone at all on the screen – let alone its two leading men. Co-star Nick Cassavetes was hugely annoying as Pollux, delivering lines in a soft spoken and condescending fashion that just annoyed the fuck right out of me. Honestly, had this starred anyone else but John Travolta and Ridiculous Cage, I may have been singing a different tune. If there are two Hollywood actors I just can't take seriously, it has got to be these two. And while they may deliver some of their moments in either roles with some degree of competency, both stars go way over the top with some utterly ridiculous 'crazy' performances that make them seem almost comical in their execution. I mean, how these guys are considered as some of Hollywood's finest is beyond me – I just don't get it (especially Cage). I did however, find it interesting to note that the writers had initially intended the roles to go to Michael Douglas and Harrision Ford, which would have been one hell of a movie! But after some consideration, Michael decided that he would help produce the film and unfortunately, the roles went to Cage and Travolta. Of course, the latter had just came off the set from Broken Arrow which was shot the year before and also directed by Woo – and Cage would go on to star in John Woo's epic wartime, action-drama, Windtalkers, 5 years after this...

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I have to say that, when John Woo made the move to Hollywood I found that his films very quickly started to lose that Hong Kong magic that made him such a respected and much loved action-director of Asian cinema – much like that of any Hong Kong director who has tried to make the move. With US guidelines and restrictions set in place, his Hollywood titles very quickly exchanged the gritty realism of his Hong Kong set-pieces for polished action scenes. Those typical John Woo trademarks that we all loved to watch in the likes of A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hardboiled, soon became eye-rolling moments that were very over-used in every aspect. On top of that, Woo was lacking some decent actors that could deliver a role that oozed the coolness and charm of Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung, or Simon Yam. In fact, had this film been used as the launching pad for Chow Yun Fat and Simon Yam's Hollywood debut, I reckon Face/Off would be considered as much of a classic for John Woo as one of his Hong Kong titles are today. On a positive note, there are some nice action scenes that are neatly placed throughout its 133 minute running time (or longer in some other territories). While they are nothing in comparison to the aforementioned Hong Kong titles, they obviously did the job in entertaining Hollywood executives and action fans alike. But as a long-time fan of HK cinema, I honestly wasn't seeing anything spectacular. Perhaps Face/Off, both in its story, style, and action, is a product of its time – a time that I wasn't too fussed about, especially when it came to American movies and television shows. While I always try to re-watch films like this or Broken Arrow (or even Joss Whedon's cut of Justice League) with the hope that they will get better or perhaps prove to be a little more entertaining than before – it just never seems to be the case, and always leaves me feeling a tad disappointed or bored. Apart from offering an exciting instalment to the franchise of Mission Impossible with the first of its sequels, and a memorable piece with Windtalkers, John Woo's light in Hollywood soon began to fade and within a decade of making Face/Off would return to the motherland to produce and direct a number of epics such as Red Cliff, Warriors Of The Rainbow, Reign Of Assassins, and The Crossing. We'll not say too much about Manhunt though!

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Overall: A ridiculous script with questionable performances that dilute what decent action is there, and help render Face/Off as just another Hollywood action flick!

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DVD Extras: Trailers, Action Overload (Short edit of action scenes), Cast Bio's