"Face Off"

I saw 1997's "Face Off" on DVD on Tuesday (just the latest info here on Marc Valdez Weblog....)

Lots of terrorist fun, with lot's of stuff blowing up, and Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) and Sean Archer (John Travolta) trying to act just like each other. And a good tagline: "To destroy your enemy, you must find him, face him, and then... become him.":

Sean Archer is a very tough, rugged FBI Agent who is still grieving for the dead son Michael. Archer believes that his son's killer is his sworn enemy, 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.

The script writers were so shameless. Every dramatic contrivance imaginable was used to maximize the tension (Wife is a pawn between her hubby and her worst enemy. Likewise, daughter. Enemy's squeeze has a winning son, and a heart of gold. On and on and on and on.... )

No wonder it was a popular movie!