#496 - Face/Off - WatchThis W/RickRamos

Watch This With Rick Ramos

Like Looking in the Mirror, Only Not: John Woo's Face/Off

This week Mr. Chavez and I continue our look at blockbusters with this 1997 John Woo Classic of stylized violence, ridiculous plotting, and unbridled overacting . . . we are - of course - talking about Woo's Face/Off. There's no way to really get into how utterly ridiculous this film is for an episode synopsis, but I will say that it was a fun utterly moronic ride into the past. John Travolta (riding the waves of Pulp Fiction that would carry him through to the end of the century) and Nicolas Cage unrestrained and without any sense of shame . . . Cage at His Most Cagiest.

Through all of the fun, Ibrahim and I also discuss Woo's foray into Hollywood filmmaking and the troubles he would find translating his sense of heroic honor to a culture that would find it campy (essentially why do none of Woo's signature cinematic touches work in Face/Off, but are so incredible and beautifully realized in such masterpieces as The Killer, Hard-Boiled, and Bullet in the Head?). Join us as we devote more discussion than this film deserves and still recognize it as a great fun time at a bad movie. Let us know what you think - [e-mail]

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