Face It: ‘Face/Off’ Is Best Movie Of The Year

Perhaps it’s too early to say, but as of now, “Face/Off” is the best movie of the year.

I watched most of the movie in pure awe, wondering how an otherwise silly plot combined with somewhat outlandish dialogue and overeager action scenes could appear so brilliant. How “Face/Off” overcame those obstacles is still beyond me.

The two stars, John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, are a good place to start. Both actors are known for their versatility and skill, and show off all that and more in this film. Either one can single-handedly carry a film (Cage in “The Rock” and Travolta in “Phenomenon”) and without the burden of going it alone, they excel even more.

“Face/Off” is an unusually long action film (more than two hours) and it benefits from every extra minute. Most action movies (anyone remember “The Lost World?”) are lost in the mix of 21st century special effects technology, and forget that there are characters in the movie, as well.

This film, though, never forgets the people involved. Like last year’s much heralded “Ransom,” one man is wild for revenge, and the audience knows and understands why. The line between good and evil is always clear, and you never feel bad rooting for the good guy.

The good guy is Sean Archer (Travolta), an FBI field agent who is tracking a career criminal, Castor Troy (Cage) who has a “felony list a mile long,” including the murder of Archer’s son.

After the first of the many action sequences in the film, Troy is caught and nearly killed, and Archer is seemingly put at ease.

Then comes the twist.

Archer finds out that before the authorities got to him, Troy planted a bomb somewhere in L.A. that is feared to contain biological weapons. The only person besides the comatose Troy who would know the bomb’s whereabouts is Troy’s brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola).

Even though Archer has promised his family he is finished obsessively tracking Troy, he accepts one final, world-saving assignment.

With the help of ultra-modern medical technology, he adopts the physical appearance of his arch enemy so he can visit Pollux in jail and find out where the bomb is.

The other twist: While Archer is borrowing Troy’s face, Troy comes out of his coma, furious to be faceless. Eventually, he destroys all the evidence that proves who he and Archer are, and adopts Archer’s identity to his own advantage.

Confused? The film isn’t quite as complex as it sounds, but this isn’t a movie to be seen when drowsy.

Now that Archer is Troy and Troy is Archer, the action truly begins. The incredibly shot action sequences include a prison break better than “The Rock” and “ConAir” and a water scene that makes “Speed 2” look like a day at the beach.

Of course, all the performances are impeccable. Travolta and Cage are flawless including the much-hyped adapting of each other’s mannerisms when trading characters. It isn’t just hype. The two are amazing.

The names that will get lost in the shuffle shouldn’t. Nivola, as Pollux Troy, is at once cowardly and demonic. Oscar winner Joan Allen, as Archer’s wife, has a pivotal role in the identity-trading, and plays it well. In an even smaller part, Gina Gershon is typically fabulous as Troy’s ex-girlfriend.

Above all else, kudos to director John Woo. After the critical bomb “Broken Arrow,” Woo could’ve resigned himself to a career of Jackie Chan movies, but instead stepped up his game beyond anyone’s expectations. He has made me a fan for life.

If you’re fed up with the event movie extravaganza of 1997, “Face/ Off” may prove to be the breath of fresh air (albeit an unexpected one) that you so desperately need. There isn’t a movie in recent memory that can touch it.

Grade: A