Face/Off
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 27, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Exciting and then some, Face/Off blends the director's supercharged images of balletic brutality and spiritual catharsis with an off-the-wall humor that allows John Travolta and Nicolas Cage to really let it rip. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
It's the picture that proves action films don't have to be silly, that a few thrill sequences don't mean every other value has to be shot to pieces. Read full review
100
EmpireAdam Smith
Sure there are niggles, the most obvious being the length, which could have been reduced by trimming the prison sequences, but in the end this may be his finest moment so far which, by default, puts it in as having a strong claim on the title "best action movie ever made". Really. Read full review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The result is a genre picture that transcends the genre, that gleefully embraces four qualities alien to the bulk of its noisy brethren: (1) thematic texture; (2) kinetic grace; (3) visuals that toy with the mind even while dazzling the eye; and (3) performers who are permitted to act like something other than human wicks for the pyrotechnical bombast. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
But it is the steady accretion of hundreds of small moments in this elegant, high-spirited, intensely satisfying production -- the director's third American movie, but the first to approach the dazzle of his Hong Kong stuff -- that, toted up, makes everything right about this des- perately welcome thriller. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Woo's third Hollywood movie, Face/Off, is the first to balance his visual imagination with the emotional intensity of his Hong Kong films. Read full review
90
The New York TimesElvis Mitchell
Before we go numb from such prefab excitement, here comes a mega-movie that actually delivers what mega-movies promise: strong characters, smart plotting, breathless action and a gimmick that hasn't been seen before. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A delirious mixture of spectacular gun battles, furious explosions and breathtaking stunt work, it's also one of the strangest stories to ever get the green light at a Hollywood studio. You have to take your hat off to Paramount Studios for allowing such inspired weirdness to see the light of day. Read full review
90
Washington PostStephen Hunter
As an example of the art of casting, the movie is brilliantly engineered. It allows two major stars to each play the showy villain for a time, and also for each to do an imitation of the other. Read full review
90
SlateDavid Edelstein
Face/Off is such a blast that at times I forgot I was watching a John Woo movie. Read full review
90
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Face/Off is a summer movie extraordinaire: violent, imaginative, crazily funny and, oddly moving. Hollywood has finally wised up and let Hong Kong auteur John Woo strut his stuff in all its undiluted, over-the-top glory. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Face/Off works like a charm right on down the line thanks to brilliant, exhilarating performances from Cage and Travolta, and the many tremendously enjoyable action set-pieces that are Woo's hallmark. Read full review
88
USA TodayAndy Seiler
It could be argued that this movie's callousness toward human life is nihilistic and nasty. But Woo takes everything so absurdly far that audiences laugh at what horrified them moments before. [27Jun1997 Pg01.D]
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Florid, passionate, frequently hilarious and loaded with messy emotions that nobody in his or her right mind should even attempt to explain, it's operatic in its nutball intensity. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
In its best moments, Face/Off practically mainlines fury, leaving audiences no time to think or even breathe. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
This isn't just a thrill ride; it's a rocket into the thrilling past, when directors could scare you with how much emotion they packed into a movie. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
There’s no denying that Cage and Travolta are having a blast with what is essentially an acting thought experiment. They’re both fantastic. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The high-tech stuff is flawlessly done, but the intriguing elements of the movie involve the performances. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Woo, who is known and appreciated for his unique stylistic approach to violence and bloodshed, creates a kinetic ballet of bullets and explosions that drives the adrenaline level through the roof. Read full review
70
Film ThreatRon Wells
OK, the premise may be a little hard to take, but there's plenty of good writing here, anyway. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverPeter Rainer
Face/Off wouldn't work without two great actors, and it doesn't always work with them. But their gifts justify the whole loony enterprise. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Unlike Woo's successful but rather disappointing "Broken Arrow", this brutal, stunningly choreographed spectacle weaves together lyrical beauty, blasphemy, sadistic cruelty and grotesque sentimentality with breathtakingly smooth assurance. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A provocative premise, virtuoso direction and two dazzling lead performances go a long way toward offsetting a lack of dramatic structure and a sense of when to quit in Face/Off. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
The trouble comes when Woo's patented - that is, oft-repeated - style overwhelms any hope of discerning story or acting through the haze of burning, crashing, bleeding and exploding. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
This is the ultimate Woo movie, but while his fans will enjoy every minute, others will find it too long, repetitive, and violent. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Yet the movie, distilling into purest form the blend of viciousness and sentimentality that informs all Woo's work, winds up as emotionally bogus as it is viscerally overwhelming. Read full review
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