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{{work|wppage=Face/Off}}{{DISPLAYTITLE:Face/Off|noerror}}
[[File:face-off_01_9340.png|frame]]
'''''Face/Off''''' is the second American [[Heroic Bloodshed]] film by Hong Kong director [[John Woo]], starring [[John Travolta]] and [[Nicolas Cage]] playing an FBI agent and terrorist, as [[Arch Enemy|arch enemies]] fighting it out to see who can use [[Guns Akimbo|the most guns at the same time]]. Oh, and then they switch places to save LA.
Sean Archer, an FBI agent, pursues his [[Arch Enemy]], terrorist Castor Troy. Archer wants revenge on Castor Troy because the terrorist killed his son with a bullet meant for him. Archer succeeds in capturing Troy, but learns that before Castor went into a coma, he had placed a bomb somewhere in Los Angeles.
In order to get close to the bomb and save the city, Archer is forced to surgically transplant his face with Castor's. Unfortunately, Castor wakes up from his coma and takes Archer's face for himself, and begins inserting himself into Archer's life and family. Said family including wife Dr. Eve Archer (Joan Allen) and daughter Jamie Archer ([[Dominique Swain]]).
Although the film is a straight-up action flick with all the requisite high-speed chases, hidden bombs and hostage situations, it's also ''very'' much tongue-in-cheek.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Actor Allusion]] - Nick Cage and his beige Volvos.
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* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]] - Castor Troy's box of goodies, two gold plated handguns, gold money clip with a wad of cash, numerous joints, bag of blue pills, prescription pills, and a box of chiclets.
* [[A-Team Firing]] - Every. Single. Character.
* [[Attempted Rape]] - Castor (as Archer) roughs up Archer's daughter's boyfriend when he tries to do this to her after parking his car in front of Archer's house.
* [[Ax Crazy]] - Troy acts like this basically the whole movie. His brother is definitely insane as well, but much calmer.
* [[Bed Trick]] - Castor-As-Archer with the real Archer's wife.
* [[Black Best Friend]] - Tito to Archer.
* [[Bloodstained-Glass Windows]] - You just knew that Woo would fit a church shootout into this movie somewhere.
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* [[Groin Attack]] - Castor!Archer gives a couple in the prison scene before escaping.
** At the end, Archer (as Troy) has pinned Troy against a wall, and tries to fire a speargun into his gut. Troy catches the bolt and starts taunting Archer, who just snaps and cuts him off with a knee to the groin, causing Troy to lose his grip on the bolt and get impaled.
** Which combines with a glorious [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] when, after Archer knees Troy, he screams "DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!" as the harpoon runs him through.
** Castor gives one to Jamie's scummy boyfriend while beating the crap out of him.
* [[Gun Fu]] - This ''is'' a [[John Woo]] film, after all.
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** [[Margaret Cho]] plays an FBI Agent.
** [[The Punisher|Tom Jane]] as Burke Hicks
** [[That '70s Show|Hyde]] as Jamie's boyfriend.
** Two cast members of [[The Wire]]. Frank Sobotka is Dubov, and Bunny Colvin is Tito.
** [[The Shield|Det. Wymns]] is another of Archer's partners.
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** Max Bemis of [[Say Anything]] appears briefly as a choir boy... he looks about eight though, so it's hard to catch.
** The fact that they had access to this technology makes a lot more sense when you realize the doctor behind the procedure [[Justice League Unlimited|was the woman in charge of Cadmus]].
* [[High Concept]] - The FBI's Top Agent, played by John Travolta, and America's Most Dangerous Terrorist, played by Nicolas Cage, have to impersonate each other while desperately racing to try and cause/prevent acts of terrorism, each being hounded within an inch of their lives by their own allies along the way.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]] - Castor's knife technique is used on him by Archer's daughter.
* [[Husky Russkie]]: Dubov.
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: "You watch Your fuckin' mouth".
* [[Large Ham]] - Cage and Travolta spend the movie trying to [[Ham-to-Ham Combat|top each other]]. Both succeed.
** It has to be said... the quality of Cage as Troy trumps the quantity of Travolta as Troy. YMMV, both actors play good guys more often than not. This was Travolta's second major film as a villain (the first being the less successful ''[[Broken Arrow (1996 film)|Broken Arrow]]''), and it's clear Travolta loves being a bad guy.
* [[Leitmotif]] - Sean's whole family has one.
* [[Lemon Wacky Hello]]: Sean's not used to these drugs...
{{quote|'''Troy!Sean''': I want to take his face...off!
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* [[My Sister Is Off-Limits]] - The source of Dubov's anger at Troy. Later inverted when Archer as Troy recruits Dubov to help him escape by telling him he didn't actually do it.
* [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup]]: Averted with face replacements. {{spoiler|Even though the doctor who originally performed the procedure is dead, the FBI has some of their best doctors flown in to reverse it on Archer.}}
* [[Oh Crap]]:
** Right when Cage as Archer comes [[Incredibly Lame Pun|face-to-face]] with Travolta as Troy for the first time, since Archer believed Troy would be a long-term coma after the face transplant operation.
** The look on Castor and Archer's faces when they simultaneously realize the boat they are fighting on is about to violently crash.
* [[Papa Wolf]]: Archer, even to the child of his nemesis. {{spoiler|Whom he adopts later.}}
** And Castor, ''also'' to the child of his nemesis.
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* [[Shoot the Dog]] - {{spoiler|Castor killing Dietrich for telling the police about the bomb.}}
* [[Signature Style]] - It's a [[John Woo]] movie. The question is not "Will the lead actors fire [[Guns Akimbo]] while flying through the air?" but "When will the lead actors fire [[Guns Akimbo]] while flying through the air?"
* [[Something Only They Would Say]] - Castor!Archer has failed in all prior attempts to convince his wife that he really ''is'' Archer. Until he reminisces over their first date, at which point she knows it's really him because that's a story they share.
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]] - "Somewhere over the Rainbow" plays over a gunfight. Bonus points: It's the version sung by Olivia Newton-John, who starred opposite Travolta [[Grease|once upon a time.]]
** Corresponds with [[Diegetic Switch]], as the song is playing over Troy's son's headphones while he's being carried to safety during a gunfight. An interesting example, actually, as the movie intends the sound to be heard from the boy's point of view, with the music playing much louder than the muffled shouts and gunshots.
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* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]: Mythological names. Mirrors. Faces. Hmm...
** As a by-product of the mythological symbolism, we have possible ''astrological'' symbolism, what with Sagittarius (the ''Archer'') facing off against its opposite sign, Gemini (Castor & Pollux--the ''twins'').
* [[With This Ring]]: Troy!Sean taunts Castor!Archer with his own wedding ring. Castor!Archer takes it badly since {{spoiler|it's proof that Castor killed his best friend Tito whom he gave the ring for safekeeping.}}
{{quote|'''Castor as Archer:''' ''See anything ya LIKE?!''}}
** At the end, Castor!Archer takes his ring back from Troy!Sean's dead body.
* [[Worthy Opponent]]: Castor seems to have some weird level of respect for Sean.
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[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:Face Off]]
[[Category:Heroic Bloodshed]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]
[[Category:Film]]
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