Face/Off

John Woo knows his craft, no doubt about it, comrades. Excellent choreography of ordinary shooters (the slaughter in Buzz's house with romantic music is simply perversely beautiful), an impressive camera, compositions with John's lovely pigeons... who could resist? The pilgrimage plot is also lost, which is played out with almost comedic ease (the excellent pervert Travolta and his educational style) and, on the other hand, with urgent desperation (the dog's eyes of muggle Nicholas Cage). The whole thing works brilliantly until the last seconds, but it literally smashes the hellish happy ending with one of Woo's worst slow motions I've ever seen (and I even survived Hard Target!). If I set aside the awkwardness and the end, Face/Off is a valuable member of the powerful action trio of the second half of the 1990s, without any problems equal to Con Air, but on the other hand, it is far from reaching the qualities of The Rock. (28.07.2005)

A psychological action film. Admittedly, that sounds a bit weird, but I can’t think of a better description of my feelings from this movie. It's an action ride with the great John Woo's signature, but also emotionally strong with an interesting plot. With Pulp Fiction I originally wrote that Travolta should kiss Tarantino's feet, but he should blow John Woo. This was his last interesting role, and together with Cage, he delivers an acting masterclass. Very good film. (27.02.2003)

The best movie of John Woo in Hollywood. Great action, great Travolta and Cage and great atmosphere. One of the best American action films of the 90s, but it's a long way from what Woo did in Hong Kong. (24.08.2002)

Cage and Travolta compete to see who can be the cooler guy, and sometimes I feel like it's impossible for both of them to play so well. Both of them excel in both negative and positive roles, and when you add the visual aspect of scenes with mirrors or the climax of the film at the funeral, it's hard to find any flaws. The film is action-packed from beginning to end, the best Woo film ever, and as the icing on the cake, Dominique Swain prevents it from going below 100%. (22.01.2006)

Until I saw Face/Off, I had the feeling that I couldn’t appreciate action movies. Die Hard, Speed, The Rock...all of those widely acclaimed action blockbusters were too simple for me in terms of content. They were spectacularly filmed and offered a pleasant way to relax, but they weren’t an engaging experience. And then along came Face/Off and my concerns about my inability to judge action movies fell by the wayside. John Woo convinced me that even a spectacular action flick can have strong dramaturgy with sophisticated psychology of its characters and that even with an action movie, even if it doesn’t hit the mark, I can take an interest in the story and be moved by it. ___ Face/Off has the fantastic subject of face-swapping, elegantly set in the present without coming across as ridiculously unrealistic. It has an unpredictable story with surprising twists and unique performances in the context of the genre. And all of this interspersed with Woo’s brilliant action scenes that soothe the soul of every lover of spectacularly stylized action. Having seen only Woo’s early Hollywood movies Hard Target and Broken Arrow before Face/Off, this masterpiece of his is to me what Hard Boiled and The Killer are to someone else. Face/Off is the best Hollywood action movie ever. (11.04.2002)