Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Face/Off 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 25, 2023

John Woo's "Face/Off" (1997) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; archival audio commentary by John Woo and writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary; multiple deleted and extended scenes; documentary program on the making of the film; original trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Face/Off hits the ground running and despite being nearly one hundred and forty minutes long never slows down. In fact, it gradually accelerates and eventually switches into overdrive mode, almost as if to make a point that a quality action film needs as much speed as it does great fireworks.

Madman Castor Troy (Nic Cage) tries to take out his greatest nemesis, veteran FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta), but misses and kills his little boy. Soon after, as he prepares to destroy Los Angeles with a massive bomb, Troy is tracked down by the FBI, and while trying to board a private jet, Archer corners him. In the ensuing shootout, Troy is badly injured and left in a coma.

Operating with minimal information about Troy’s plan to destroy Los Angeles, but enough to realize that his bomb is real and hidden somewhere in the city, Archer agrees to participate in a very risky operation to avoid Armageddon. In a high-security medical facility, a surgeon (Colm Feore), who specializes in human tissue reconstruction, uses advanced equipment to carve out Troy and Archer’s faces and then place the former’s face on the latter. After digitally rebuilding Troy’s voice on a chip, the surgeon then gives Archer a proper new voice to match his new face and explains that when the operation ends he will get back everything that belongs to him, including the chest scar from the bullet that killed his little boy which to be removed to make his transformation as convincing as possible. Archer, now looking and sounding exactly like Troy, is promptly transferred to an unlisted detention facility where the madman’s brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), is kept.

But the operation suffers a most unexpected setback. Troy wakes up and after realizing that his face has been stolen forces the surgeon to give him Archer’s face and voice. With time to deactivate Troy’s bomb running out, the two mortal enemies then begin playing each other in a most dangerous kabuki theater that successfully tricks even the people who know them best.

While it is pretty easy to argue that Face/Off is John Woo’s second-best Hollywood film, it is even easier to declare that his mojo has been quite ineffective in America. Indeed, there is just endless material with undisputable evidence that Woo is a vastly superior director when he is on his home turf in Hong Kong, working with local stars who understand action as he does. To be clear, this statement does not imply that Woo has not produced what one may consider misfires in Hong Kong, but he has never been able to replicate the quality of the great genre films he shot there in America.

Face/Off is a very big, very flashy, and very fast action film that provides pretty much all of the thrills that one would expect from a legit Woo action film. (Yes, this includes even the mandatory slow-motion sequence where Woo’s favorite white pigeons make an appearance). However, it has a Hollywood identity that is not always right for Woo’s brand of action as well. For example, rather large portions of Face/Off channel sugary melodrama that is at odds with the over-the-top action, so the many contrasts that emerge quickly begin to look disappointingly artificial. It is true that Woo’s brand of action is not famous for its authenticity, but the softness that the sugary melodrama infuses into it often very clearly erodes its integrity.

The most entertaining material is with Cage when he is at his meanest because there is electricity in the air of the kind that makes one expect the unexpected. In this material, Cage is very difficult to properly read, so his unhinged outbursts bring in precisely the kind of quality that is right for Woo’s brand of action. Travolta has some decent moments, but neither his tormented FBI agent nor his deranged nemesis looks or sounds convincing enough. All of the compromising sugary melodrama has something to do with these two characters.

The action footage is shot and edited with great care for maximum effect, so it is a bit disappointing that the melodrama was not appropriately managed. Or, perhaps it could not have been. If so, it means that Woo was not invited to Hollywood to bring his brand of action and present it as he knew how to do best but edit and repackage it for a larger audience that simply expected more of the same.

Face/Off 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Face/Off is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-28 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #31-38 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K makeover of Face/Off which was struck from the original camera negative. In native 4K, the 4Kmakeover can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I viewed it in its entirety with Dolby Vision. I did not test the HDR presentation. However, I spent quite a bit of time sampling the 1080p presentation of the 4K makeover and doing various comparisons.

Face/Off looks terrific in high-definition. Indeed, the entire film has a very attractive organic appearance that is also very, very healthy. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good and excellent to outstanding. The fluidity of the visuals is impressive, too. In a film like Face/Off, where there is plenty of very fast-moving action footage, this can make quite a positive difference, and on this presentation it absolutely does. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Color balance is convincing. All primaries are properly set, look lush, and remain stable. The supporting nuances are managed convincingly as well. Image stability is excellent. With Dolby Vision, some of the darker areas struggle to expose existing nuances as convincingly as possible, so I found the same areas looking better in 1080p. However, I also thought that much of the bright daylight footage was clearly superior in native 4K. Primary blue and blue nuances, for instance, interact with highlights in a much more convincing fashion in native 4K. I did not notice any surface imperfections to report in our review. My score for the 4K and 1080p presentations is 4.75/5.00.

Face/Off 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The 5.1 track has all the oomph and dynamic versatility one could wish for, so viewing Face/Off with the volume turned up a bit more than usual is quite the experience. Yes, there is an abundance of action footage that makes the track's job a bit easier -- simply by offering more opportunities for it to impress -- but I also think that the mixing is outstanding. The dialog is always very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. There are no balance issues. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report either.

Face/Off 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The two commentators recall their initial impressions of Face/Off, and discuss its conception (with some interesting comments about how much more would have been acceptable in Hong Kong), the possible but unconfirmed casting of Chow Yun Fat, the casting of the two leads, the choreography and visual style of the action, etc. As usual, the two commentators place the film in a proper historical context as well, meaning that they have some more general comments about the exact period in which it emerged.

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary was recorded by John Woo and writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. The commentators go down memory lane and discuss in great detail their collaboration on Face/Off. The commentary was recorded for the 10th anniversary of Face/Off and has appeared on various home video releases of it. In English.

• Commentary Three - this archival audio commentary was recorded by writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary for the 10th anniversary of Face/Off. It is very candid and quite entertaining at the same time. The commentators begin the commentary with a short but entirely deserved response to The Washington Post's clueless review of Face/Off as "the strangest movie ever greenlit by a major studio", and from there proceed with many different recollections about the shaping of its story, characters, and drama. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about particular adjustments that were made to make the crucial switch in the film appear as logical as possible.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The two commentators recall their initial impressions of Face/Off, and discuss its conception (with some interesting comments about how much more would have been acceptable in Hong Kong), the possible but unconfirmed casting of Chow Yun Fat, the casting of the two leads, the choreography and visual style of the action, etc. As usual, the two commentators place the film in a proper historical context as well, meaning that they have some more general comments about the exact period in which it emerged.

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary was recorded by John Woo and writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. The commentators go down memory lane and discuss in great detail their collaboration on Face/Off. The commentary was recorded for the 10th anniversary of Face/Off and has appeared on various home video releases of it. In English.

• Commentary Three - this archival audio commentary was recorded by writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary for the 10th anniversary of Face/Off. It is very candid and quite entertaining at the same time. The commentators begin the commentary with a short but entirely deserved response to The Washington Post's clueless review of Face/Off as "the strangest movie ever greenlit by a major studio", and from there proceed with many different recollections about the shaping of its story, characters, and drama. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about particular adjustments that were made to make the crucial switch in the film appear as logical as possible.

• 7 Deleted and Alternate Scenes - these scenes can be viewed with an optional audio commentary by John Woo, Mike Werb, and Michael Colleary. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• The Light and the Dark: The Making of Face/Off - this archival program, presented in five segments, examines the genesis of Face/Off. In English, not subtitled. (65 min).
  
  1. Science Fiction/Human Emotion
  2. Cast/Characters
  3. Woo/Hollywood
  4. Practical/Visual Effects
  5. Future/Past

• John Woo: A Life in Pictures - this archival program takes a closer look at the life and cinematic legacy of John Woo, who is also the main contributor in it. (27 min).

• Trailer - an original U.S. trailer for Face/Off. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Face/Off 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Virtually everyone that went to see Face/Off at the theater also had a memorable date with The Rock and Con Air. A few years later, pretty much everyone who loved what Nic Cage did in these films -- and it was pretty difficult not to love what Cage did because this was arguably his greatest period -- then made the trip to the theater to see the contemporary remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, which contrary to what mainstream critics claimed is another Cage winner. I mention all this because I do not think that a genuine John Woo action film should have so much in common with the other three films, even with Cage in it and doing what he did best at the time. However, I also realize that Woo never would have had the same artistic freedom in Hollywood, simply because what was possible in Hong Kong was not suitable for mass consumption in America. So, Face/Off delivers many thrills of the kind that made Woo an international sensation, but I prefer his earlier work. Kino Lorber's 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack introduces a fabulous new 4K makeover of Face/Off that looks pretty impressive in native 4K and 1080p. RECOMMENDED.