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.

| Nov 17, 2024

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.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 28, 2024

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

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Dec 28, 2023

Utterly preposterous, but, boy, does this baby deliver!

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 26, 2023

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

| Dec 17, 2023

The movie more than just pure spectacle, the tremendous cast and engaging story putting Face/Off a couple of notches above your typical 1990s action fare.

| May 3, 2023

Why have a bunch of scenes in which a boring person does boring things when every single instant of a film can be just completely raving bonkers?

| Feb 28, 2023

[John] Woo fills the screen with one show-stopping set-piece after another, bringing a poetic grace to the action freakout with sweeping camerawork and sophisticate editing.

| Nov 6, 2022

Face/Off might be over-the-top as a cat-and-mouse action film but Woo directs both Travolta and Cage to some of the best performances in their career.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jun 27, 2022

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

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 15, 2022

...essentially an acting thought experiment.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 14, 2022

Although the narrative is hysterical in its implausibility, the action portion of the film is reasonably effective.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 11, 2020

Apart from enjoying the narrative hijinks, it's also fascinating to watch both actors interpret the demonstration of the respective transferences of character.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 2, 2018

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

| Feb 28, 2018

Everyone remembers Face/Off had awesome action and great performances but those weren't even the film's strongest asset. What makes Face/Off a profound film is how both Sean Archer and Castor Troy adapted to each other's lives.

| Jun 27, 2017

I won't pretend that I completely enjoyed it, but it certainly has a few elements that I've never seen before. Action aficionados will undoubtedly slobber all over themselves.

| Jul 28, 2015

Face/Off is a giant step for a filmmaker known more for action sequences than psychological insight.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 2, 2013

[A] gorgeously shot, repetitively violent, occasionally repellent, sometimes silly and consistently trashy fantasy.

| Aug 2, 2013

An engaging and at times sophisticated story of identity and behavior, wearing the leering face of a farcical action cartoon.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 2, 2013

For all its fiery explosions, Face/Off just kind of implodes.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 2, 2013