But most impressive is how Woo takes the story line, as implausible as it is, and unleashes it to the audience without mercy, making the "anything can happen" atmosphere become an exciting reality. Face/Off is both touching, and explosive. In it, John Travolta plays F.B.I. agent Sean Archer, on the hunt for his son's killer, terrorist Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage). Along the way, faces and voices swap, and the ironic twists begin.

      Travolta and Cage are about as convincing and entertaining as two leads can get, and their sequences together play off like beautiful poetry (the most memorable scene for me being as the two "face/off", peering into the mirror of their own self-enemy). Travolta in his most interesting bad guy (or at least semi-bad guy) role yet, even takes part in some self-bashing, with some sly jokes about his looks (specifically his double chin). But most interesting is how realistically the personalities are switched. I really did believe that was Travolta trapped inside Nicholas Cage, and vice-versa. If only Woo could convince me that the rest of this summer's blockbusters will be this good.

Stephen Wong, 1997