Episode 109 - FACE OFF: LIVE!

[Smigg 1488]

After seeing the movie open with a child getting killed by a Sniper Rifle wielding Nic Cage, instead of being shocked that I've just seen a child get well and truly fucked up, my reaction after seeing the police report was a jovial "Hey! It happened on my birthday!"

[Smigg 1488]

As for my alternative stars:

 

Jason Statham and Wesley Snipes - Directed by John McTiernan

[SteveAbell 1]

The main technician at the shock therapy chair was John Bloom AKA world famous drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs.

[Bugs Meany 69]

After seeing the movie open with a child getting killed by a Sniper Rifle wielding Nic Cage, instead of being shocked that I've just seen a child get well and truly fucked up, my reaction after seeing the police report was a jovial "Hey! It happened on my birthday!"

Same here, my brother.

[BitterComic 25]

Correction & Omission / rewrite suggestion

 

I don't know how to say this exactly, but even tho I love this movie for how bat shit it is, I would maybe love it more if it made just a little more sense in one specific area. Sean Archers decision to go through with the face switch, makes absolutely zero sense. No one would ever agree to do something that risky and insane, unless they were a maniacal psychopath with nothing to lose, which this movie happens to have. Why not write it so that Castor Troy kidnaps Archer, and switches faces to infiltrate the FBI, and simultaneously send his nemesis to prison? That way you wouldn't have to worry about why Archer lies to his family risking so much for a plan that is anything but foolproof, why Troy wakes up, why no one else was informed about the face switching, you could still do the prison escape and family switch, You could even make it so Archer accidently kills Troy's kid, giving him reason for the crazy revenge plot and making a good person have to wrestle with a more complicated emotional arc, I think every aspect about the reverse scenario is much much better, but of course I do it's my idea.

Thank you for reading, Sincerely Harry Charles,

p.s. please consider someday doing

[JeddJong 50]

The prison in Escape Plan definitely seems inspired at least in part by the one in Face/Off, intriguing to discover Schwarzenegger and Stallone were considered for this film.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Correction & Omission / rewrite suggestion

 

I don't know how to say this exactly, but even tho I love this movie for how bat shit it is, I would maybe love it more if it made just a little more sense in one specific area. Sean Archers decision to go through with the face switch, makes absolutely zero sense.

 

You know what makes even less sense? Physically cutting off a person's face with the intention of sewing it on another person's skull even though you evidentially have the science and the technology to make a perfect ear out of nothing! Why can't they just make a copy of Castor's face?

 

Also, my picks for alternate actors would be Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Same script, same director.

[PatrickMcHugh 0]

I'd like to see it made with Matthau and Lemmon, Grumpy old Men era.

Also check your library for movies!

[Adam G 3]

I feel like there's too much effort put into changing faces, hair, body details, etc. It seems like a brain transplant would have been a lot less effort so it makes me think that someone thought up the title Face Off and they just worked around that.

[Wohlverine 0]

A couple of thoughts:

 

1. So these guys totally traded places and filled in for each other at home. What if Joan Allen was like, "Honey, can you go to the store and get me my favorite chewable anti-gas tablets?" and then Cage as Travolta was STUMPED. Like, dude, you've been outed, you've been found out, you're fucked.

 

and 2. I'm wondering if perhaps the hit TV show Wife Swap took any inspiration from this film.

[Dedre_NvR 30]

So, the BOMB SQUAD doesn't find it fishy when an agent, dressed in plain clothes asks them to leave the site where a bomb is about to explode in a few seconds? With all of their training and experience they cannot disarm it, but he does it easily? And they aren't curious as to how he obtained this knowledge?

[BrandonKnott 6]

Did anyone notice that Travolta is personally responsible for the deaths of 2 of his men in the airplane hangar scene. 1 guy is facing castor troy ready to take him out and Travolta screams "get down!" making the guy turn around toward Travolta and is immediately shot dead by cage. about 2 seconds later another guy also seemingly out of harms way and in ready position is shoved down to the ground and LEAPED OVER by Travolta as he again screams "get down!". That agent is also immediatey shot multiple times, all while Travolta is unharmed above him.

[Gym Sockerman 1326]

Personal favorite episode since Sleepaway Camp. Might have topped it had June been there for the whole episode.

"How many times are they going to face off?"

[JoelSvensson 4]

Castor is also the Latin genus name for beaver. Make what you want of that.

[ErsatzL'Faux 2]

My pairing of Face/Off-ers of all time: Jimmy Stewart as Sean Archer and John Wayne as Castor Troy. You know you wanna see that,

[Bugs Meany 69]

I'm about to flip the script on y'all: Jessica Chastain as Shawna Archer and Bryce Dallas Howard as Cassandra Troy. Featuring Patrick Wilson as Shawna's husband, Dr. Evan Archer, and Elizabeth Olsen as Cassandra's younger sister, Polly Troy.

[Smigg 1488]

Okay, I might have the definitive "Face/Off" pairing that would also be conducive to the greatest HDTGM episode ever....

 

 

Hulk Hogan

 

and

 

 

Tommy Wiseau

 

[walterwoodsiv 215]

Don't Go Faceing Waterfalls

[Smigg 1488]

Don't Go Faceing Waterfalls

 

Please stick to the asses and the tits that you're used to!

[jarrycanada 2483]

did someone say Tommy Wiseau? I had this sitting on my hard drive.

Here you go,

 

[Smigg 1488]

Jarry, you've done it again!

[moop2000 1]

So my question is this, they make such a big deal about Travolta's scar before surgery, but I didn't see anything about it when Cage-with-Travolta face was wooing Travolta's lady. Did she not notice, or did they move it over to Cage for some reason instead of just putting it in holding like Travolta's face? Wouldn't his wife notice it since it is such a major item for him?

[Cheyenne Radd 13]

Long time listener, first time caller. I love this movie, but I have one question that I wish you could have touched on.

 

When Travolta is in the super secret lab; the film makers make a point to showcase some sort of biological 3D printer making a replacement ear for one of the wounded FBI agents. So, my question is: Why didn't they just use that 3D printer to make a copy of Cage's face!?! If we accept the science of the movie that faces are basically only slightly more complex than cheap Halloween masks...then it seems reasonable that this 3D printer would have no problem making a copy of Cage's face for Travolta to wear.

 

The bonus of this scenario being that it would create a Cage vs. Cage conflict. Which, I think we all agree, is the only way this movie could get any better.

 

(mic. drop)

[DanScully 6]

Omission:

 

There is a HUGE plot hole in FACE/OFF that no one seems to notice, and it's a good thing too, because of it were acknowledged, it would nullify the events of almost the entire movie. Faceless Castor Troy awakens from his coma and demands that the surgeons give him Sean Archer's face. The surgeons then put him under and perform the procedure. Why? Once he was under anesthesia, couldn't they have just cuffed him to the bed and been done with it? Sure, it could be argued that Castor Troy is such a maniac that he demanded the procedure be done while conscious, but in the middle of a movie that is so aggressive in its portrayal of Troy's batshit insanity you'd think it would be expressly depicted.

 

Also, I'd like to make a comment in regards to Mr. Cage's idea that Troy and Archer don't shoot each other because they have a sort of love between them. Yes, this is a classic Joker/Batman "we need each other" relationship, and I would never presume to go against anything that Nic Cage says, but I think their hesitance to pull the trigger is so much simpler than that. If they shoot the other one, it limits the chances of either getting their own face back. It's, ummm ... science.

 

All things considered, still the best movie ever made.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Omission:

 

There is a HUGE plot hole in FACE/OFF that no one seems to notice, and it's a good thing too, because of it were acknowledged, it would nullify the events of almost the entire movie. Faceless Castor Troy awakens from his coma and demands that the surgeons give him Sean Archer's face. The surgeons then put him under and perform the procedure. Why? Once he was under anesthesia, couldn't they have just cuffed him to the bed and been done with it? Sure, it could be argued that Castor Troy is such a maniac that he demanded the procedure be done while conscious, but in the middle of a movie that is so aggressive in its portrayal of Troy's batshit insanity you'd think it would be expressly depicted.

 

 

 

Hey Dan, welcome to the boards! I had a similar thought, but what I realized was that Castor had called his minions to collect the doctor (and apparently the two agents and all the support staff) who performed the procedure. I assume he was under duress and was told "we'll kill you if you try anything funny." So I guess when given an opportunity to be a hero he opted to capitulate to Castor's requests. I don't know that we can fault the guy for this though...

 

Now, what he should have done (as a previous poster wrote) is not add the bullet scar, move it to the opposite side, or write on his back "IMPOSTER!" in huge, scar block lettering. Something subtle enough that Castor might not recognize it, but something someone who knew Archer really well would would catch. Castor didn't have, or at least Dear God! I hope he didn't have, an encyclopedic knowledge of Archer's body. Shit, tell Castor he needs to be circumcised to complete the illusion while knowing that Archer is uncut. His wife would definitely know something was up then