Face/Off is an action flick with two highly capable actors, an on screen babe, a good director, and a decent storyline. All of the important elements of any action flick are presented and accounted for with Face/Off. Some of the elements are even better than your standard action movie. John Travolta and Nicolas Cage take the lead in Face/Off and both manage to give a worthy and believable performance.
While Cage has always been a staple in Hollywood, ever since his Valley Girl days, Travolta took some time off only to come back with a bang in movies like Pulp Fiction, Face/Off, and A Love Song for Bobby Long. When you take these two and add in the sultry, devilish Gina Gershon with a gun, you have a recipe for success. Of course, the good story and excellent direction didn’t hurt either.
Release Info:
Face/Off was recently released in standard format to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the film. On October 30, the HD version was released to all of the national retailers. This HD set offers two discs including the movie and several special features, which are listed in more detail below.
The Face/Off Plot:
In simplest terms, Face/Off is all about Sean Archer (Travolta) and Castor Troy (Cage). Archer is a government agent and Troy is a major criminal. The relationship between the two men becomes personal when Troy accidentally murders Archer’s young son. Archer makes it known that if it’s the last thing he will do, he will take down Troy. This goal becomes his life’s obsession and he forgets all he has at home in the process.
The beginning of the movie shows a comatose Troy and gives us the knowledge that there is a bomb in L.A. and it’s going to go off if no one finds out where it’s hidden. Archer takes advantage of the fact that Troy is in a coma by going through with some experimental surgery that will remove his face and give him Troy’s face in its place. This gives him a chance to go undercover to find out what’s going on, permitting no one catches on, of course.
The real problem begins for Archer when Troy wakes up sans face and wants some retribution. After forcing the good doctor to give him Archer’s face the real battle begins. What ensues I cannot really tell without giving too much away, but the battle is fierce and on some levels emotional considering they are donning the face of the man they hate and fighting their own. Face/Off offers something unique and ten years later it’s still pretty good.
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Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Paramount is quickly establishing itself as the company with some of the best HD transfers of the year. Transformers turned out incredible and with a similar quality, Face/Off is far from disappointing. Face/Off has been encoded with VC-1 and is presented in the original aspect ratio, which is 2.35:1. The result is rich, deep color variations, plenty of detail, and a crisp picture overall. The results are not as good as Transformers, but this transfer is definitely one of the best that I have seen lately. The action scenes gain new meaning with this additional visual strength.
When it comes to the audio it is absolutely stellar. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital Plus and 6.1 DTS. The result is absolutely amazing. Everything comes through sounding like its right in the room with you. The dialogue is never lost in the mix, the action sounds are fierce, and the entire film is exciting to say the least.
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Audio:
Special Features:
There are quite a few special features available in the Face/Off HD collection. The first disc offers audio commentaries with the writers (Mike Werb and Michael Colleary) and the director John Woo. This disc also offers up to seven deleted scenes and an alternative ending all in HD formats. The second disc offers two featurettes, “The Light and Dark: Making Face/Off” and “John Woo: A Life in Pictures.”
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Bottom Line:
Face/Off HD comes highly recommended. This movie is perfect for action lovers. It’s got a great plot, good acting, and spot on direction. The HD transfer was nearly perfect, as well. If you have an HD player and love action films you need to check this out. It will be just what you’re looking for to add to your HD DVD collection.
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Technorati Tags: Face Off, John Travolta, Sean Archer, Castor Troy, Nicolas Cage, HD DVD, DVD Review, Action Film
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Written by Dominicus - Visit Website
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At 23 years old, I feel that I’ve lived enough life to share my opinion with the world. That’s what I’m doing here, as a writer, for Literary Illusions. I was born in Florida, raised in California, and currently living in Colorado, where I go to a small school in the middle of nowhere.
Majoring in Business Administration, I have the goal of one day ruling the world. Interests in life include dating, movies, sports, hanging out with friends, drinking, bar hopping, and writing in both an inebriated and sober state.
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