Renowned Hong Kong action director John Woo’s first venture to Hollywood was great for us fans but frustrating for the acclaimed filmmaker. 1993’s “Hard Target” and 1996’s “Broken Arrow” were bullet-riddled blasts but they came with intrusive studio management. It wasn’t until 1997’s “Face/Off” that Woo was finally given the creative control needed to tell the kind of story he wanted to tell and make the kind of movie he wanted to make.

“Face/Off” was a big hit both critically and commercially and the film has aged incredibly well. Without question a major part of the movie’s success was Woo who brought his full arsenal of action-fueled style and imagination to the film. But equally as crucial was the unquestioned talent and charisma of the film’s two leads, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Both take on dual roles in portraying the same two characters (sound confusing?) and they absolutely crush it.

Travolta plays plays FBI Agent Sean Archer, the leader of a covert anti-terrorist unit dedicated to taking down a ruthless international terrorist and assassin named Castor Troy (Cage). For Archer the pursuit of Troy is personal. Six years earlier Troy attempted to assassinate Archer, inadvertently killing Archer’s young son Michael instead. Since then Archer has been driven to bring his nemesis down, culminating in a violent shootout at a remote airstrip that leaves several of Archer’s team dead and Troy in a coma.

But Archer’s victory is short-lived after Troy’s captured younger brother and accomplice Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) reveals that a bomb has been placed somewhere in a densely populated area of Los Angeles. But he refuses to give up the location. Out of options, a frustrated Archer is introduced to a top-secret and highly experimental procedure headed by Dr. Malcolm Walsh (Colm Feore) that just might help persuade Pollux to reveal the bomb’s location.

Archer agrees to the procedure which has Troy’s face, voice, and body appearance transplanted to him. From there Archer, who now looks and sounds like Troy (and is now played by Cage), is sent to the same high-security penitentiary where Pollux is being held. But while he’s on his undercover mission to win Pollux’s trust, the real Castor Troy wakes up and forces Dr. Walsh to put Archer’s face on him. Troy then kills everyone who knows about the mission, leaving Archer languishing in prison and stuck as Troy with no way of proving his true identity.

It goes without saying that “Face/Off” has a bonkers premise, but Woo does a great job making it thrilling, suspenseful, and at times surprisingly heartfelt. He injects many of his favorite trademarks from the stylish slow-motion, dual-wielding pistols, and graceful white doves. All of those things on top of his methodical pacing, steady tension building, and layered storylines.

The action is top-notch whether its intensely choreographed gunfights or jaw-dropping (and expensive) set pieces. As for the storytelling, it ranges from funny and over-the-top to downright unsettling. Cage’s wild-man demeanor comes out on several occasions and you can’t help but laugh. At the same time, Travolta slithers under your skin portraying Troy, especially as he infiltrates Archer’s family. His scenes with Archer’s wife Eve (Joan Allen) and their troubled teen daughter Jamie (Dominique Swain) can legitimately make you squirm.

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. It’s vintage John Woo who shows why he is such a big screen legend. And it’s a wildly entertaining showcase for John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, both of whom were in the heydays of their careers. So if you’ve never seen “Face/Off” or it has been a while, what better time. It’s now available to own on 4K Ultra HD courtesy of Kino Lorber.

VERDICT – 4 STARS