Face/Off(1997)

R
2h 18m

Release Date: Jun 27, 1997 | Wide

To foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent assumes the identity of the criminal who murdered his son via facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.

Releases

Original Release | Jun 27, 1997

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$23,387,530
Total US & Canada:
$112,276,146
Total International
$133,400,000
Total Worldwide:
$245,676,146

Current Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

John Woo
Director

John Travolta
Sean Archer

Nicolas Cage
Castor Troy

Joan Allen
Eve Archer

Alessandro Nivola
Pollux Troy

Gina Gershon
Sasha Hassler

Dominique Swain

Jamie Archer

Nick Cassavetes

Dietrich Hassler

Harve Presnell

Victor Lazarro

Colm Feore

Dr. Malcolm Walsh

John Carroll Lynch

Prison Guard Walton

CCH Pounder

Hollis Miller

Robert Wisdom

Tito Biondi

Margaret Cho

Wanda

James Denton

Buzz

Matt Ross

Loomis

Chris Bauer

Dubov

Myles Jeffrey

Michael Archer

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: DTS,Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English,Latin

Summaries

Plot Summary

Most wanted civil freelance terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) is relentlessly pursued by FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Archer (John Travolta). Years earlier, Castor, in an attempt to kill Sean, accidentally killed the agent's young son, Michael; the two have been obsessed with each other ever since. The FBI receives information that Castor's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), has chartered a plane at LAX airport. Sean knows that Pollux will not fly without Castor, so he leads a joint FBI/LAPD team to chase the plane down, which crashes into a hangar. In the ensuing chaos, Pollux is captured by the FBI and Castor is knocked into a coma after bragging to Sean about a bomb that will go off neglecting to mention the location of the bomb. Sean's work colleagues congratulate him on catching Castor, but the agent rebuffs the praise he is given and says the deaths of the FBI agents is nothing to celebrate about.Sean then finds out Castor was not joking about the bomb after discovering a tape that was recovered in the jet crash in Pollux's briefcase which contains information about the bomb. After a number of interrogations, Sean discovers the date but not the location of the bomb itself. Knowing that Pollux is the only person who can reveal the location and that Castor is the only one who should be informed, Sean is presented by his colleagues a secret mission that he will undergo an experimental surgical procedure to temporarily graft Castor's face onto his skull, infiltrate the prison where Pollux is being held, and get the location of the bomb which is the only way to do so. Arrangements are made for Sean (as Castor, voice and all) to be incarcerated with Pollux in prison. Once there, he successfully learns the bomb's location, the Los Angeles Convention Center. Meanwhile, Castor unexpectedly awakens from his coma and, realizing what has happened, calls his men to kidnap the doctor named Walsh who performed the surgery.Castor (who is smoking, popping painkillers and watching video of the surgery when the doctor arrives), then forces Walsh to graft Sean's face onto him and Walsh is later murdered by being burned alive with flammable liquid done by Castor's henchmen. Castor (as Sean, voice and all) visits him in prison, informing him that he killed everyone who knew about the mission (including Sean's friend Tito, who had his wedding band) and destroyed all the evidence. He leaves, telling Sean his plans to take advantage of his job and family. Castor then has the FBI negotiate a deal with Pollux (who figures out the switch) for his release, in return for revealing the bomb's location. Castor proceeds to disarm the bomb and revels in the praise from Sean's colleagues and the media.Following Castor's disarmament of the bomb, Sean begins an escape attempt. A violent battle ensues, ending with the FBI agent successfully evading the prison guards and leaves the prison. Later, Sean visits Castor's entourage and successfully fools them into thinking that he is the real Castor. Sean then asks them to help kill "Archer". Elsewhere, Castor initiates aggressive sex play with Sean's wife Eve (Joan Allen) and flirts with his teenage daughter Jamie (Dominique Swain).Meanwhile, Sean finds himself having to take drugs to impress Castor's gang. Also present is Sasha Hassler (Gina Gershon), Castor's ex-girlfriend, and their son Adam. Earlier, Sean threatened to put her son into foster care, but he now realizes that she is a devoted mother who is trying to raise Adam away from the poisonous influence of Castor. Sean (as Castor) promises her that Archer will not bother her anymore. Sean starts to bond with Adam, reminding him of his deceased son, Michael. Pollux, watching Castor's old safe-house, informs Castor of Sean's arrival. Castor sends an FBI team in. A gunfight ensues, killing most of Castor's crew, while Sasha and Adam escape with Sean's help. As he makes his own escape, Sean catches Pollux and drops him through the apartment skylight, killing him. Castor is devastated, and when a fellow agent comments, Castor shoots him in the head.Later, the FBI's Assistant Director in Charge, Victor Lazarro, berates Castor for the unnecessary carnage at the safe-house. An already angered Castor confesses his true identity and kills him, blaming his death on a heart attack. As a result, Castor is promoted to FBI Assistant Director. Meanwhile, Sean returns to his suburban home and tries to convince Eve that he is really her husband, and she is only convinced slightly after he tells her the story of their first kiss. For scientific proof, Eve, who's a doctor, get a blood sample from Castor and finds it is type AB (Sean's is O negative). The morning comes and as Eve tends to her husband's gun wound, Sean assumes Castor can't be touched now that he's the new acting director, at which point Eve tells him he'll be at Lazarro's funeral.A few days later, Sean arrives at Lazarro's funeral during the Mass and prays in a side chapel until it finishes, and the mourners leave. He then discovers that Castor is holding Eve hostage. A gunfight ensues, in which Castor's crew are killed. Sasha saves Eve and takes a bullet for Sean, before she dies, she makes him promise that he will not let Adam grow up to be criminal as well. Castor then takes a late-arriving Jamie hostage, but she is able to escape, ironically using a knife trick he taught her. Prior to this, Castor tried to strangle Sean but wound up dislodging a microchip on his larynx (which gave him Castor's voice), thus returning his voice to normal.Castor takes off to the docks and steals a speed boat. Sean then jumps into another speed boat and goes after Castor. After a lengthy chase, both Sean and Castor are thrown ashore by an explosion resulting from their boats colliding. The two engage in a final hand-to-hand confrontation. After Castor beats his foe with a pole, Sean grabs a spear gun and stabs Castor in the leg, making him unable to fight, Castor then tries to destroy Sean's face on himself to prevent him from reclaiming it which results in Sean eventually killing Castor with the spear gun. Later, Eve is able to explain the entire situation to the FBI, successfully convincing them of her husband's true identity. Sean is then taken to the hospital and his face and body are restored, minus a scar on his chest from when Michael was killed.The film ends as Sean arrives home with Adam, bringing him into his family in order to fulfill his promise to Sasha of not allowing Adam to grow up to be a criminal.

Storyline

Sean Archer, a very tough, rugged FBI Agent, is still grieving for his dead son Michael. Archer believes that his son's killer is his sworn enemy and a very powerful criminal, Castor Troy. One day, Archer has finally cornered Castor, however, their fight has knocked out Troy cold. As Archer finally breathes easy over the capture of his enemy, he finds out that Troy has planted a bomb that will destroy the entire city of Los Angeles and all of its inhabitants. Unfortunately the only other person who knows its location is Castor's brother Pollux, and he refuses to talk. The solution, a special operation doctor that can cut off people's faces, and can place a person's face onto another person. Archer undergoes one of those surgeries to talk to Pollux. However, Castor Troy somehow regains consciousness and now wants revenge on Archer for taking his face. Not only is Troy ruining Archer's mission, but his personal life as well. Archer must stop Troy again. This time, it's personal. — John Wiggins Sean Archer is the FBI's best agent, hot on the trail of the world's most ruthless terrorist, Caster Troy. When Troy attempts to assassinate Archer, he accidentally gets Archer's young son and Archer is hell-bent on bringing him down. When the FBI finds out that Troy has planted a massive bomb that will blow in a matter of days, all hell breaks loose leaving Troy in a coma. The only other person that knows about the bomb's whereabouts is Troy's younger brother, Pollux, who is in a maximum security prison. The FBI persuades Archer to undergo surgery in which Archer will wear Troy's face to convince everybody he is Troy and hope Pollux gives him answers. Troy soon awakens and has the same surgery done with Archer's face. Troy destroys all evidence of Archer's true identity and defuses the bomb himself, to make him seen as a hero. Archer escapes from prison and gets himself involved with Troy's old gang, determined to destroy him once and for all. — powermandan It took six long years for FBI Special Agent Sean Archer to bring down Castor Troy, his maniacal criminal nemesis. But Archer's work is far from over; the dangerous mega-terrorist has planted a biological bomb somewhere in Los Angeles, capable of unleashing a plague of biblical proportions. So, to respond to Troy's baleful threat, Archer must undergo a radical surgical procedure to slip into the wolf's skin. After all, being bad is sometimes good. But now, Sean is an entirely different person; the gut-wrenching feeling of loss only a father knows has turned him into an instrument of avenging justice, wearing the hideous face of pure evil. And as two mortal enemies in an identity crisis lock horns, the lives of millions are hanging in the balance. Will lethal firepower bring out the mirror's hidden truth? — Nick Riganas While trying to kill the FBI Agent Sean Archer with a sniper rifle, the terrorist Castor Troy hits him on the chest but accidentally kills his little son Mike. The relentless Archer hunts down Troy and his brother Pollux Troy and he learns that Troy has planted a bomb in Los Angeles that will provoke destruction and several killings. Archer and his team chase Castor and Pollux in the airport, and he kills Castor, but Pollux survives. He is the only person who knows where the bomb is, but he refuses to tell. FBI Agents Hollis Miller and Tito Biondi propose an alternative secret solution to find the location of the bomb. The surgeon Dr. Malcolm Walsh would remove the face of Castor Troy, who is alive in coma in a hospital, and replace Sean Archer's face by his. Then he would go to the prison where Pollux is to learn the location of the bomb. Archer accepts the arrangements and finds where the bomb is. But the problem is that Castor has woken up from the coma, forced Dr. Walsh to put Sean Archer's face on him and killed everybody that knows the operation, burning the hospital do the ashes. Now, how can the real Archer prove his identity? — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2 more All