Face/Off (1997)
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing John Woo's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- John Woo originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Face/Off is a 1997 American action thriller directed by John Woo. John Travolta stars as FBI agent Sean Archer, who undergoes a radical surgical procedure to swap faces with his comatose arch-nemesis Castor Troy, played by Nicolas Cage, to infiltrate Castor's criminal network and locate a bomb planted somewhere in Los Angeles. When Castor wakes up faceless and forces the surgeon to give him Archer's face, each man is trapped in the other's life โ Castor-as-Archer infiltrates the FBI while Archer-as-Castor is imprisoned in a maximum-security facility.
Face/Off was the pinnacle of John Woo's Hollywood career, combining his signature Hong Kong action cinema style โ dual-wielded pistols, slow-motion doves, balletic gun battles โ with the most audacious high-concept premise in 1990s action cinema. John Travolta and Nicolas Cage each played both hero and villain, mimicking each other's mannerisms and physicality with theatrical commitment that made the face-swap concept surprisingly convincing. The Mexican standoff and the speedboat chase were among the decade's most spectacular action sequences.
Face/Off earned $245 million worldwide on a $80 million budget.
