Face / Off: Critic Reviews

You see what thickets this plot constructs; it's as if Travolta adds the spin courtesy of Cage's personality, while Cage mellows in the direction of Travolta.

A dizzying, beautiful ride.

Watching John Travolta and Nicolas Cage square off and literally exchange roles brings back the old-fashioned pleasure of astutely judged movie star pairings in a major way.

John Woo's Face/Off puts the acting into action flick...

capable of moments of rare cinematic perfection

Scenes of high-voltage action vie with wild hilarity as two guys with guns switch faces and identities.

It's difficult to describe the jolt his films deliver when [Woo]'s on, and he is on with a vengeance here.

Overwrought, sci-fi crime thriller. Not for kids.

Watching Travolta and Cage play dual hero and dual villain roles remains the most enjoyable aspect

Sets new standards for a genre which plays it safe and predictable too often.

This brutal, stunningly choreographed spectacle weaves together lyrical beauty, blasphemy, sadistic cruelty and grotesque sentimentality with breathtakingly smooth assurance.

Typical for Woo, the sheer force of the imagery is supposed to carry viewers past plot absurdities ... while at the same time, the director wants the audience to buy into the emotional lives of his obsessed and haunted characters.

This is your action movie on drugs--any questions? [Blu-Ray]

The dramatic scenes have emotional gravity, while the exhilarating action sequences defy gravity.

Garbage of the finest vintage.

...director John Woo takes an incredibly silly premise and despite its limitations turns it into an entertaining thrill ride.

possibly the greatest, and definitely the most exuberant, action film to come out of the studio system in the '90s

Woo's poetic-kinetic style has evolved, if not to the point of abstraction, then to delirium: he makes a virtue of incredulity.

Stars Cage and Travolta are fine in their roles.

...a nihilistic thrill ride; a breathless ultra-violent fantasy with real characters and smart actors

Woo es probablemente el mejor director de accion que existe.

After seeing this numbing action flick, I'm still stumped what all the hype is about. So many critics and viewers arond the country marveled at this movie, but for what? It's not a horrible movie, but it certainly isn't very good.

Travolta and Cage are exceptional, performing as their own characters and each other's.

I think I finally isolated what irritates me about this movie: It is the fact that it promotes the idea that you can indulge in hatred and vengeance with a positive result.

What we have here is the first, true American John Woo movie.