Real Review - Face Off HD

Face/Off isn’t about the acting, because for the most part it’s average. It’s not about the plot, because for the most part it’s silly. And it’s not about the direction or the camera work, because for the most part they are decent though mostly unremarkable. Face/Off is about the action sequences. It’s about munching on some popcorn, kicking-back, and enjoying the ride. Simply put: Face/Off is an action/adventure flick with a capital A.

Featuring incredible action sequences, lots of explosions, and some wild stunts that includes a speed boat chase that literally explodes off the screen, Face/Off rivals the best action movies available. I found the plot to have a clever twist: What other movie has the two main characters switch identities via a face transplant? How about implanted microchips in their throats to mimic the other’s voice? Bordering on sci-fi, Face/Off combines all the basic necessary elements to keep you rooting for the hero.

John Travolta plays Sean Archer, a top-level FBI guy, determined to get his revenge for the murder of his child. Nicolas Cage plays Castor Troy, the heartless psychopath that killed Archer’s son. Troy kills for money, and for sport. Cage plays a good role, and I would have liked to have seen more of his character at the beginning of the movie, because he is so heartless.

So the plot goes something like this: Troy sets a biological weapon to explode somewhere in L.A. Only he and his brother knows the location. Somehow, Troy is killed, and the brother is put in jail. Archer agrees with a plan to remove his own face for that of Cage’s. That way he can go undercover into the jail and learn from the brother the location of the explosive. About this time, Troy miraculously recovers and has Archer’s face transplanted on his. Remember: I said that the plot was silly, and it is. Thankfully, there is enough action and stuff blowing up to keep you from thinking too much about what is happening.

Since there were so many stunts, the actor’s doubles spent a lot of time in front of the camera. Too many times I could tell that it wasn’t the real actors. I would have preferred that these “movie stars” do a few more of their own stunts. Is it so hard to have one of them actually climb a ladder instead of their double?

I watched Face/Off on HD DVD disc. The PQ was excellent with lots of detail. Some scenes were a little soft, but overall I was satisfied with the images. I listened to the 6.1 DTS audio track and it was bombastic, to say the least. With so many explosions, my surround sound got a big workout. I did notice that the dynamic range tended toward the treble side of things; I would have liked to hear more low end in the mix. Overall, though, the AQ was good.

The HD DVD set includes 2 discs, with the movie, a couple of commentary tracks, and some deleted scenes on the first disc. The second disc has a making-of documentary, a bio of the director John Woo, and the original trailer . . . all in HD.

Rating: 8

Source: Chuck’s Movie Reviews

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