The only word to describe this film is preposterous. Now I’ve seen three American films from director John Woo and let me tell you I’m not all that impressed. The films are just a bit better than something Michael Bay would make. Style without substance.
Sean Archer (John Travolta, Woo’s BROKEN ARROW) is a veteran FBI agent whose son was killed by terrorist-for-hire Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage, THE ROCK). Six years afterward Archer is doggedly seeking to capture or kill Castor. Early in the film Archer succeeds, however, Castor is in a coma and his brother Pollux Troy (Alessandro Nivola, JURASSIC PARK III) is the only person who knows the location of the dirty bomb Castor planted.
So here’s where the film gets wacky. Archer agrees to have Castor’s face surgically graft to his face so he can go undercover in prison to get the bomb info out of Pollux. Now wait, it gets better. Castor miraculously wakes up from his coma without a face, calls in his thugs to get the super doctor to graft Archer’s face on him. They have to add fat because Travolta is bigger than Cage and implant a voice chip, which the doctor warns Archer it can easily get dislodged, but doesn’t when Archer as Castor gets several beatings. However, it does come unlodged at the right moment later in the film.
Then Castor kills all the people who know about the top-secret mission. How he knows all those people having been in a coma is a mystery. Okay so contrivance is something this film relies on. That’s okay sometimes, but this film never attains a serious level of cool thus making all the overacting and slow-motion shots of flowing coats and doves in flight just plain silly.
The film has little character development, only Travolta’s performance as Archer is interesting. However, Cage’s rendition of the Archer character is totally different and extremely wimpy. Travolta at least handles the Castor role with a bit more ease. The film’s action sequences aren’t all that special and they’re maliciously violent at times. The film even ends with a maudlin touch that the film doesn’t earn for a second. I will not write off Mr. Woo, because his earlier work in China is supposed to be masterful. I think his American work’s lack of quality has more to do with America than him. However, I can say viewers should just write off this film completely.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
