Face/Off

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2:02

Face/Off

R

1997

2h 18m

Action

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

97 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Obsessed with bringing terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) to justice, FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) tracks down Troy, who has boarded a plane in Los Angeles. After the plane crashes and Troy is severely injured, possibly dead, Archer undergoes surgery to remove his face and replace it with Troy's. As Archer tries to use his disguise to elicit information about a bomb from Troy's brother, Troy awakes from a coma and forces the doctor who performed the surgery to give him Archer's face.

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Critics Consensus

John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play cat-and-mouse (and literally play each other) against a beautifully stylized backdrop of typically elegant, over-the-top John Woo violence.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

Dec 17, 2023

Face/Off immediately dials in on the operatic lunacy of its two leading men.

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Patrick Z. McGavin

Chicago Reader

Jun 15, 2022

3/4

Redeemed by Woo’s bravura skills, Face/Off becomes more than just a genre exercise.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Feb 28, 2018

Woo, a master of poetical carnage, mixes kitsch, sadism, sentiment and comedy with choreographic precision.

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Gayle Sequeira

BFI

Nov 17, 2024

In John Woo’s Face/Off, the unhinged intensity of the actors’ performances and outlandish absurdity of its plot is matched only by the relentless excess of its action.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Feb 28, 2024

4/5

In a time when the action genre seems to struggle to find its identity, it says something that the 27-year-old “Face/Off” still holds up against much of what passes for action cinema today.

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Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Dec 28, 2023

4.5/5

Face/Off's action sequences are classic Woo with bullets flying every which way and plethora of guns to go around.

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JasonS

Sep 9, 2026

Outstanding action. Great storyline. Doesn’t drag.

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William

Sep 9, 2026

Perfection. One of the greatest films ever made without a doubt. Criminally under appreciated.

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Facebook U

Sep 9, 2026

Awesome Movie of all time and lots of action.

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Emilio R

Sep 9, 2026

A cinematic 90s action masterpiece!

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Nicholas E

Apr 18, 2026

BONKERS with a capital “B,” and a capital “O,” and a capital “N,” and so on. What really makes this movie work for me is how sincerely made it feels, and how much Travolta and Cage really go for it. This premise in the hands of any creatives other than John Woo, John Travolta, and Nicolas Cage wouldn’t feel as electric and zany. This movie packs a punch from beginning to end, and I’m glad I got to see it on the big screen for my first time. It was loud/explosive, and felt massive. Just a grand time at the movies. Listen to MORBID CURIOSITIES podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcast for some reviews of Horror Movies!

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 5, 2026

Face/Off = a *4* star movie

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John Woo

Director

John Travolta

Sean Archer

Nicolas Cage

Castor Troy

Joan Allen

Dr. Eve Archer

Alessandro Nivola

Pollux Troy

Gina Gershon

Sasha Hassler

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Synopsis

Obsessed with bringing terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) to justice, FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) tracks down Troy, who has boarded a plane in Los Angeles. After the plane crashes and Troy is severely injured, possibly dead, Archer undergoes surgery to remove his face and replace it with Troy's. As Archer tries to use his disguise to elicit information about a bomb from Troy's brother, Troy awakes from a coma and forces the doctor who performed the surgery to give him Archer's face.

Director: John Woo
Producer: Terence Chang, David Permut, Barrie M. Osborne
Screenwriter: Mike Werb, Michael Colleary
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, Paramount Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $112.3M
Runtime: 2h 18m
Sound Mix: Surround

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