After six years of relentless obsession, Sean Archer (John Travolta) has finally succeeded in capturing Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), the man who killed Archer's young son. The capture actually lands Troy in a coma, which is a problem because he is the only one to who can get his brother (Alessandro Nivola) to talk about a bomb they've already planted in L.A. Undertaking a mission so secret not even many of his fellow federal agents know about it, Archer has his face surgically replaced with that of Troy. To complete the switch, a chip is implanted in his larynx so that he even sounds like his former nemesis. His job is to go into the high security prison where Troy's brother is incarcerated and find out the location of the bomb that it set to go off in a matter of days. At this he succeeds.
Unfortunately, before Archer can relay this vital information to his team, Troy awakens from his coma and forces the doctors to graft Archer's face onto his head. Now with their identities switched, and all of those who knew about it killed, Archer is at a supreme disadvantage. As it turns out, the bomb that prompted his covert operation turns into the least of his many worries. At the top of his worry list is the wife who won't be able to tell Troy from her real husband.
For an action film from famed action director John Woo, "Face/Off" is about as ludicrous as you can get. Forget about the slew of coincidences and contrivances, the leaps of logic alone will make you "Yea, right" all through the film. First is the facial transplant procedure that doesn’t leave a scar. Second is the magnetized floor used to keep prisoners in line at the prison. The third is everyone’s inability to see that the personalities of Troy and Archer have changed drastically. Still, that being said, die hard action fans won’t be disappointed with this ultra-violent schlock-fest. Others need not attend.