Taking a short break from Ciao....will be back ASAP LOL :)
Taking a short break from Ciao....will be back ASAP LOL :)
Member since:02.10.2000
Reviews:101
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As the film came to an end, I thought to myself 'Hmm....miracles can happen'. I am referring to the performance of one of the stars of this film, namely, Nicolas Cage. The man is one of Hollywood's big names, yet I have failed to click to any of his acting roles in any of his recent films. Barring 'Raising Arizona' which I hilariously enjoyed, and 'Leaving Las Vegas' which I believe he won an Oscar for, yet I felt was too dark for me at the time and never finished watching it, I am not one to pay to watch him at the cinema, though would happily watch his movies on TV. Yet with this picture, he had a half decent stab at trying to genuinely portray the character in question, or should I say, two characters, despite the perennial 'over the top' flash in infrequent patches, he still managed to bring across the right emotions involved at the right time.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the man. He's probably a nice guy to those who know him, it's just he seems so annoyingly overzealous and wooden in his acting at times. Besides, he's the one laughing all the way to the bank at the end of his working day, so any big fans out there, hold your shooting guns.
The other mega star in the film is John Travolta (playing as Sean Archer), who portrays a high ranking FBI agent whose son was accidentally killed by Cage's character, aka Castor Troy, some six years earlier to the main plot. Troy, as you might have guessed by now, is the criminal, psychopathic mastermind reason behind Archer's sibling's death.
I won't give any more information as to what happens in the storyline, only to say that both actors need to play each other at times during the film, and that's where the fun starts.
Archer (Travolta) is obliged to imitate Troy's (Cage) habits and madnesses, while Troy has to settle down to a humdrum family and a responsible job, with the ensuing difficulties that that brings, at least for Archer.
The acting is good. Travolta's portrayal of both characters is convincing, though I liked him much more as the insane one. Cage, on the contrary, is better as the 'deep in trouble' FBI agent who's got it all to do after things go wrong, and you actually felt total sympathy for him, rooting him on to get the b****** who made it all go pear-shaped.
Directed by John Woo, who is well-known for his action movies, the film is big on special effects, explosions and gun-toting antiques and shoot 'em all scenes, and the whole thing is well done from that aspect. The plot is 90% unbelievable when it comes to real life, but hey, that's what you'd normally expect and demand from this kind of movie. You do not pay expecting a poignant, thoughtful, grey-matter tickling action-thriller. Some sentiment was still conveyed, regardless.
The best scene is when the two leading men meet each other as the other one (I hope you grasped what I'm trying to say there, because I'm lost myself), and you can see Cage's face slowly thinking 'Ohhhhhhhhhh S***, this ain't happening', and Travolta giving a wonderful teenager-shy-like smirk then a laugh, followed by a teasing few words to Cage.
The film is certainly watchable and enjoyable, though hardly taxing to follow, or breath-taking in the action sequences. Suffice to say it is no classic.
Watch out for two things:
1 - A few minutes after the start, Cage come out of a car at an airport, and his long coat tail end literally flies off in the wind, which warranted a great piece of imagination to do.
2 - Do tell me what you think of Cage's attempt at a maniacal grin, it had me in laughing fits on the sofa.
A good all round movie for those who enjoy that sort of thing.
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Sean Archer an FBI agent whose son Castor accidentally killed in an assassination attempt years earlier. After finally catching Troy Archer's troubles have only ju...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Oscar. winning superstar Nicolas Cage (Con Air) and screen icon John Travolta (Pulp ... more
Fiction) battle head to head in FACE/OFF...the ultimate cat and mouse thriller directed by the world's most acclaimed action film director, John Woo! To avenge the sens...
Advantages: Fantastic dialogue, action, and well, everything really. Disadvantages: The parallel port Zip drive used in the film has an unbelievably quick seek time.
thedeadparrot 13.06.2001 (14.06.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Face/Off (DVD)
Advantages: i personaily think that 2 out 0f 3 of these films are brilliant really worth watching Disadvantages: has to be the fact it has the film the rock
Jan 28th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
