cast : nicholas cage , john travolta , joan allen , alessandro nivola , gina gershon , dominique swain directed by john woo to tell you what , i was not impressed at all by the only other john woo film i have seen . starring travolta , broken arrow was a mediocre action movie at best , and i really could have cared less about anything when i saw it . not ture here . i went into face/off expecting the same and was blown away ! ! this is by far , one of the best films of the year . amazing action sequences , stunts , explosions , some hott girls , and ( is this the best thing ? ) characterization ! ! ! ! ! john travolta ( pulp fiction , phenomenon ) stars as sean archer , leader of an l . a . anti-terrorist squad . he is still working to find and kill castor troy , nicholas cage ( the rock , con-air ) . cage , you see , had killed archer's son several years back and his life hasn't been the same since . after an amazing shoot out involving aiplaones and hangars , troy is captured as is his brother pullocks ( nivola ) . however everything is fine from peachy as castor has planted a bomb somewhere in l . a . and archer has no idea how to find it . so , the doctors recommend switching faces , so archer can be at jail as troy to find out where the bomb is . in a rediculous sequence , travolta and cage switch faces . however cage is left without one and is out like a light . prolems begin when cage wakes up and is able to get travolta's face on him , then he kills the medical staff . the movie really takes off from there and let me tell you , cage deserve's an acadamy award nomination for this one . first he is the evil cold heated villian troy , then he must win back our hearts as archer . not that travolta good either , he certainly had fun . joan allen plays archer's wife who is confused and hen scared as she slowly realizes the man she's living with is not her husband . dominique swain is great as archer's misunderstood daughter . and gina gershon ( remember showgirls ) gives a good performance as troy's ex-girlfriend , who tells cage ( as archer ) that her son is his . the action sequences here are memorable . one of the best includes gerhon's son listening to " over the rainbow " as a fight goes on all around him . another includes a mexican standoff in a church , complete with the doves and the whole megillah . the only prob's i had with face/off is that its about 25 minutes too long , just when you think its over , there is another chase scene involving speed boats , etc . this scene is actually better then the entire movie of speed 2 . thats another stor yall together though . face/off runs way too long at 2 : 20 . it is rated r for violence and language . see it , but check your brain at the door . * * * 1/2 
