Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Paramount Home Entertainment – 140 mins – 1997 – Rated R – 1080p Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 – Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and DTS 6.1 Audio

John Woo is the only director alive who could have made the film Face/Off. It has many of the elements of his Hong Kong action films, such as The Killer and Hard Boiled, dealing with two men who are enemies, but realize that they are so similar that it becomes a situation where they’re fighting themselves. And though many big name actors could have been placed in the roles, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage are the icing on the cake. The 1997 film Face/Off is now available from Paramount Home Entertainment in high definition Blu-ray, and everyone who’s seen this film knows that this is John Woo’s best American work. So get ready to turn on your HDTV, crank up those speakers, and experience what an action movie is supposed to be, by the master himself. It’s Woo time!

THE MOVIE

Sean Archer (Travolta) is a special agent who has dedicated his life to only one thing, to hunt and kill Castor Troy (Cage), a cunning criminal madman who killed his son. Archer has become so obsessed with this goal that he has completely shut out his wife Eve Archer (Joan Allen) and his teenage daughter Jamie (Dominique Swan). Archer finally tracks Troy and his brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), resulting in a confrontation in the opening sequence where Archer finally captures and kills Troy…Or so he thinks.

Troy actually survived and lays hidden in a medical lab in a deep coma, but when the agency learns that he has already set up a bomb in Los Angeles set to explode and cause massive collateral damage, the only other person who knows where the bomb is hidden is his brother Pollux, and he won’t talk to anybody except his brother, who he believes is dead. Thanks to an experiment in medical science, a brilliant doctor has figured out a way to remove the face from one person and place it on someone else. Archer learns that Troy has been kept alive and agrees to have his own place replaced with the man who killed his child in order to get closer to Pollux and find the bomb. But things get complicated when the surgery awakens Troy, who is now faceless, and has no other option than to have Archer’s mug placed on him.

This plot is extremely over the top, but it works because of three things, John Woo’s direction, and the combination of Travolta and Cage playing off of each other. John Woo directed two other Hollywood movies before this, Hard Target and Broken Arrow, but for the most part they didn’t feel like Woo was behind the wheel. But because those films were successful the studio suits gave Woo some more room to do his thing, and right from the opening action sequence, anyone who is familiar with his Hong Kong flicks will see magic happen. Woo’s style will have action moving fast, tons of tracking shots, and then subtle moments in slow motion where the characters feel each other and their situation out.

Where most action films put the action itself over story and characters, Face/Off takes it further with subplots involving great supporting characters with co-stars Gina Gershon, Nick Cassavetes, and CCH Pounder. And Cage gives an awesome performance playing both a psychotic bad guy, as well as a man suffering from the internal mental pain of someone who has taken the identity of his enemy and has to live out the nightmare. Travolta is also having fun as he does his best Nic Cage impression, with deadpan lines and a maniacal smirk on his face.

Many, many, many filmmakers have attempted to copy Woo’s style, but seeing the action sequencing done by the master himself makes you realize that no one does it better. The penthouse shootout scene alone blows most action films away, with bullets and bodies flying all over the place. He’s the only filmmaker that has made the simple act of reloading a gun cool, and the way he plays with the camera movements can only be compared to Picasso stroking a brush on canvas.

This is what an action film should be, and as long as you take the science involved with a grain of salt, you will definitely be blown away. At one time Stallone and Schwarzenegger were the supposed to make this movie together, but could you actually imagine that? It would have been a totally different film. Face/Off is a must own for action fans on Blu-ray, and if you’re a John Woo film fan who has never seen one of his western films, this is the one to start with.

VIDEO

Face/Off is presented in full 1080p in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and it looks fantastic, with nice color and skin tones, and blacks that stand strong. Woo is a visual director, so this transfer highlights his nice touches such as the gleam on Castor Troy’s twin golden guns, the slow motion shots as Sean Archer runs up the stairs with a ball of fire chasing him, and off course the white doves that are Woo’s official trademark. Not really much to complain about here, so if you have a good HDTV, you’re set.

AUDIO

Offering both a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and a DTS 6.1 soundtrack, if you got the system to pump it out, when the action heats up in Face/Off you will think there’s a shootout going on in your living room. This movie is loud, with multiple sounds going off at once, but evened out to make the flow work. The opening scene where Castor Troy is pushed into the blast of the jet engine will literally make you hold your ears. This is a film that will have the neighbors banging on your doors with complaints, so be warned.

EXTRAS

Face/Off was originally released last year in the HD DVD format on two disc, one for the movie and the other for the extras. Everything from that version has been ported over, but because of Blu-ray’s 50 gig capacity, only one disc was needed. What’s even better is that all the extra features are presented in high definition.

An audio commentary by John Woo and the film’s writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, and then a second commentary track with just the writers, which is odd. Woo is an interesting filmmaker because he is very passionate about his work and talks about how he needs to know everything about the characters before he starts a film, putting the action second. His comments are interested and you may wish he didn’t have to share the track with the writers, who when they get the spotlight on the other track really don’t hold you like Woo does. They even claim they never saw a John Woo film before writing Face/Off — Yeah, right.

‘The Light and Dark: Making Face/Off’ is an hour long documentary broken into five chapters: Science Fiction/Human Emotion, Cast/Characters, Woo/Hollywood. Practical/Visual Effects and Future/Past. Here you will get information on everything from the how the script came to be, getting Travolta, Cage and Woo attached, as well as interviews with the producers, effects makers, and supporting cast. It’s a good making of that will satisfy fans.

There are 10 minutes of deleted scenes, including the alternate ending that some may favor, but others will probably be happy with the way the theatrical version ended.

‘John Woo: A Life in Pictures’ runs about a half an hour and goes into the career of the filmmaker, starting with his struggling days as an actor to his first films and the movie that got him recognition, A Better Tomorrow. This is a good featurette that will make you respect Woo’s talent even more.

Rounding of the Extras is Face/Off’s theatrical trailer in glorious HD.

BOTTOM LINE

This is an excellent Blu-ray to add to your collection and if you’re a fan of Woo’s films, you’ll be in heaven. With great image quality, ear blasting sound, and a nice batch of extras you can’t go wrong with this one. Cage – Travolta – Woo – slow motion shots galore and a ton of bullets. What else do you need? This is a must have.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 4.5

Video: 4.5

Sound: 4.5

Extras: 4.5

Bottom Line: 4.5