The John Woo Fixation Continues: Face/Off and Paycheck

[Mr_Vindictive]

So, I'm still in the process of watching everything Woo.  I picked up Face/Off a week ago on DVD and picked up Paycheck on DVD on Monday.  I've seen both films before, but I figured I'd revisit each just because Woo directed them.

Face/Off - When I first saw this film in '97, I thought it was the coolest damned thing ever.  Now, after going back, I've found that it's not quite the film that I thought it was back then, but it's still good....just in a very bad way.

For those who haven't seen it, here's the rundown.  Castor Troy (Nick Cage) is a terrorist/all around bad guy.  Sean Archer (John Travolta) is a anti-terrorist agent who's son was killed by Troy.  They are the epitome of arch-enemies.  Archer finally captures Troy, but he is told that there is a bomb somewhere in the area that could kill millions of people.  The agency convinces Archer to do a face transplant with Troy and infiltrate Troy's gang to find out where the bomb is.

Of course everything goes to hell from there.

Face Off isn't high cinema by any means.  It's loud, obnoxious and cheesy as hell, but that's what makes it fun.  Woos films lost a lot of the charm that his Hong Kong films had, but this one is about the closest that he has come to his glory days.  There are akimbo guns, slow motion gun battles and of course, doves.  

Plot holes abound in the film, but if you just turn off your brain for two and a half hours, then it's a blast.




Paycheck (2003) - Paycheck, despite the reviews it recieved at release and it's rape of Phillip K. Dick's story, actually isn't a bad PG-13 actioner.  

The story follows Michael Jennings.  He is a freelance reverse engineer.  Companies pay him to build various machines and then erase his memory when he is finished so that he can't sell any of the secrets.  He is propositioned by one of his good friends to do a three year job that will pay nearly 100 million in cash.  Jennings jumps at the chance to do so.

Three years later, he's done and obviously remembers nothing about the project.  He is told that he signed a contract declaring that he didn't want his earnings, and the only thing that is given to him is an envelope with 20 seemingly random items.  Other than that, the FBI want to fry his brain in order to get his memory of the project back, and the company he worked for wants to murder him.

This is in no way a great film, but once again, Woo makes it enjoyable.  There are a few good action sequences, but as one would expect with a PG-13 film, there are no Wooesque gun fights.  The story in the film holds everything together pretty well, and makes sense overall but just as with most action flicks, there are a few plot holes but nothing too major.

Paycheck is certainly worth a rental, especially if you haven't seen it before.  It's a bit better than mediocre and is a fun way to kill a couple of hours.





In addition to these two films, I also bought an original 1989 one sheet for The Killer.  I can't wait to hang it on the wall in my entertainment room.

[dean]

Face Off was always that awesome film everyone loved.  I was 13 or so in '97 so for all my friends and I, Face Off was fantastic.  Yes of course there are silly plot holes and what-have-you, but like you said, if you just turn your brain off it is pretty darn entertaining.

As for Paycheck, I was entertained by it, but by and large that film was pretty forgettable.  Definitely not one of Woo's best.

[Scottie]

I haven't seen those, but I'm getting around to the likes. I've been so devoted to the trash kung fu and wushu and jidai-geki swashbuckler films of China and Japan since my inception to Asian cinema that I've overlooked the more urban and current films. WIth the recent posts about the quality of John Woo and his contemporaries' films, I've picked up a copy of Woo's Bullet in the Head (1990). Reviews are glowing and some civilian critic even called it the best Hong Kong film ever made. I'm optimistic. Along with Jackie Chan's modern police dramas, I am highly anticipating watching these two legendary asian cinema director's films. Kudos on selecting a unique filmmaker to study.

[Mofo Rising]

This is what I was getting at when I said it was a damn shame John Woo moved to Hollywood.  He's got the money coming in, but he's never managed to reach the heights of his work in Hong Kong.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II was another big dumb movie with great action scenes.  Kind of like FACE/OFF redux, with Tom Cruise.

Anybody notice Woo's got METROID, SPY HUNTER and HE-MAN listed as "Announced" on his IMDb entry?

[dean]

He-Man??

Wow...

That would be crazy, especially after the fact that there's already a movie. Masters of the Universe [one of my favourite crappy films] made already.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Mofo,

Yeah, I've seen that Woo has Metroid and He-Man on his list, but I think they are just fan dreams.

Spy Hunter has been confirmed though, and if I'm not mistaken is in pre-production as we speak.  That is the perfect film for Woo.  A guy in a super fast spy car just blowing up everything that he encounters.  Sounds like fun times.

As for Mission Impossible II, I have it on DVD and it is one of my guilty pleasures.  Like you said, the movie itself is stupid, but some of the action scenes are amazing.