Face/Off

An undercover FBI agent agrees to a radical facial transplant so he can impersonate a ruthless terrorist mastermind and prevent a national crisis. The plan rests on the success of the swap and the agent slipping into a dangerous new persona without tipping off the culprit’s inner circle. For a while, the operation buys time, letting authorities track leads and stage a counterstrike from within the mastermind’s own network. But when the real criminal resurfaces sooner than expected, a lethal game of cat and mouse erupts as the impersonator fights to maintain control of a life built on deception. The line between hero and threat becomes dangerously thin. The setup balances spectacle with character tension throughout and danger for all.

Directed by John Woo, Face/Off brings Colleary and Werb's screenplay to life as a high octane thriller released in 1997. It pairs John Travolta and Nicolas Cage in a bold face swapping conceit punctuated by Woo's kinetic action and acclaim.

The movie proved commercially successful, grossing 245,700,000 worldwide from an 80,000,000 budget, underscoring its appeal as a big budget action thriller that performed strongly with audiences across international markets and helped fuel a robust marketing campaign and global releases worldwide.

Face/Off is remembered for its audacious premise and John Woo's distinctive blend of stylized action and character drama. The face swap idea left a mark on genre talk and pop culture, influencing later thrillers that toy with identity and perception. Its choreography and stunts still influence how action scenes unfold.

Critics praised the film for its kinetic energy and strong performances, though some found the setup excessive. The themes center on identity and deception, asking how far a person will go when the self is altered and the line between victim and aggressor blurs. Still today in cinema discourse today.