Hey wanna make a flop film in Tamil (or any local language)? I’ve got the best suggestion: Take the blockbuster FACE OFF concept and use any local director, I bet the film will run well but only outside the theatre! It will be awarded as the flop of the year. Then why call the Face Off a good film?
Coz of the hero and it is … John Woo… “Ha..Ha.. you stupid!” I can hear you muttering. They hero is John Travolta and villain, Nicolas Cage you may say. But I’ll argue, how many scenes do you see them appearing? But I see John Woo’s in each and every scene. His talents are vivid and keep punching every time you stare at the screen. So stupendous is the direction, he has almost conducted a marriage ceremony between reality and virtuality. Woo makes you believe what you wont and like what you don’t.
“Wanna see Face Off?”
“What’s the theme buddy?”
“They tear a mans face and fix it on another …”
“Haaaaaa .. Haaa .. Ha” I bursted out into laughter. “Is it a cartoon? Haaaa.. Haaa”
After that my pal said nothing, however I took the CD. It was 10.30 p.m., finishing all my work I sat down to see the movie sleepy and uninterested. I was surprised to see john woo’s name appear, why do a film of this concept? I felt. Mission Impossible, Broken Arrow etc. had better concepts. However I made up my mind to see it as the letters John Travolta and Nicolas Cage appeared.
The Story
The story is one of the funniest (not a comedy) and lousiest. It is a bit more than cartoons and fictions (exaggerated) and very unbelievable. Travolta plays a security officer who take revenge on a top criminal played by Cage. Earlier Cage has killed John’s son and now he has some explosive stuff for the city but is arrested by John. However he refuses to reveal the location of the explosives and thus starts the reel… Travolta and Cage undergo a silly operation in which their face is removed and Travolta has Cage’s face while his face is preserved. (How silly!) Now he goes to Cage’s brother in jail to know the secret place. Unfortunately Cage regains consciousness and manages to get the doctors to sew up Travolta’s face and kills all the people who know of this secret operation. How Travolta manages to overcome the situation is the rest of the story.
The Art of Direction and Acting
Hey, so far I’ve been mocking the story line. But the thing is that give this story to Mr. John Woo and he’ll inject heavy doses of character, feel and make a big success of it. He makes this funny concept a nail biting thriller and 100% entertainer. There is not a thing bad to comment about the direction in this film. After watching the film you are likely to believe the concept which you laughed over earlier. Coupled to Woo’s direction is the superior acting of Travolta and Cage which is impeccable. The psychic role is played superbly by Cage which Travolta does later. The acting is a thing of amazement.
What’s Special? The Highlights
The John Woo kind is kicking every scene
Acting is awe inspiring especially after they interchange characters, they still look realistic.
Travolta’s style of ‘touching the face’ is nice to see and also to imitate
Cage’s role as a psych is superbly done, the golden pistol etc.
The scenes are very touching.
The scene in which Cage comes to see Travolta in jail after operation is interesting.
The scene in which they shoot each other looking at the mirror is full of feel and one of the best in the film.
The final scene in which Cage tears up Travolta’s face after being caught is violent.
The ending is superb with Travolta appearing in his original appearance in full personality.
The picturisation is very nice.
The above highlights may be confusing if you haven’t seen. But after seeing u’ll sure realize the feel behind these scenes. Overall the film is a good entertainer and a must see for those who think that only realistic story based films will succeed. Woo proves his talents in making the unreal real and provides oodles of thrill to the audience. Thanx to Woo …