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Let's just kill each other.

Written by • October 25 2008 • 6 comments

Face/ Off

Face/ Off was my favourite film for a number of years. I still quite like it. It’s an action film, but it has a bit of cleverness to it, too. Oscar-winner, Nicolas Cage, and Oscar-nominee, John Travolta, go head to head in an explosive action picture, one of the most successful films of 1997, in fact. But, that was back when action films were the blockbusters. In more recent years we have been subjected to wizardry aplenty and gruesome horrors in their place. Only a few films have hinted at a revival of the action film as more than just a direct-to-DVD sub-genre (such as; Death Sentence and Wanted, and even these have horror and fantasy aspects, respectively). So, where’s the action?

Back in the 90’s, we could frequently look forward to an action blockbuster with a satisfying level of violence, but (bar a few exceptions) never too gruesome an entertainment – and one where the violence always felt just. Action films seemed to fizzle out towards the end of the ’90’s, just in time for the super hero and fantasy genres to pick up as a mainstream entertainment. In no time at all they seemed to take over. So, the average action fan was faced with a life-altering decision: Become a horror junkie, and bask in the wave of non-stop, Japanese remakes and gruesome torture films for an overly-violent “action” fix; or, go to the video dungeon and find the latest Steven Seagal direct-to-DVD release. Neither are very appealing to me.

Personally, I don’t like my action films overly violent. A good 18’s action film like Face/ Off is great, but I don’t need to see the inside of anybody’s head, or see someone being tortured till their face falls off, or something. That kind of thing’s not my bag. So, that rules out the excess of modern horror. And I certainly don’t want to become a direct-to-DVD junkie and suffer releases like Today You Die. I want to see an action film with good production design, proper sets, and proper actors. Like Face/ Off. It took two of the biggest actors of the decade, one an Oscar-winner, the other a two-time nominee, and put them in an action film! It has attention to detail, a clever-enough plot, and the performances are pretty good in places. Plus, it’s highly quotable and provides non-stop action. And it killed at the Box Office. Why did they stop making films like this?

I just want an action film that doesn’t look terrible, stars some respectable actors, doesn’t make me want to get sick, doesn’t feature wizardry of any sort, and that people, actual people, put some effort into. I realise that’s a lot to ask, but Nicolas Cage made Face/ Off, Con Air and The Rock in the space of two years! Of course, that was back in the 90’s and they don’t make them like that anymore. They really don’t.

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Leave a comment ...

  1. Well put. If only Cage would make a decent action film to add to the holy trinity of action films. He just doesn’t care anymore. He’s got his oscar, he can do what he wants.

    — Paul · Oct 26, 06:55 AM · #

  2. Loved the blog Dara, very true bar the last paragraph. John Travolta made face/off, Cage was in a contract with Bruckheimer and this was the third of the films, the Rock and Con Air being the others. Cage and Bruckheimer had a huge falling out on the set of Con Air. Cage could have made that film one of the best films in the last 20yrs but wasnt bothered which pains me as Cage is fantastic. Travolta is a fantastic bad guy

    — stephen · Oct 26, 02:47 PM · #

  3. Thank you. I didn’t mean he made it, I just meant he was in three top-drawer action films in two years, and nowadays you’d be hard-pushed to find him, or anyone, in one.

    — Dara · Oct 26, 03:16 PM · #

  4. That is very true. An action film nowadays tries to be too much. There are two things that should be in an action film, 1- ACTION and 2- an irrelevant interest like a love or something but strong enough to keep a film ticking over in between the action

    — stephen · Oct 26, 04:01 PM · #

  5. I must watch Face/Off again! I remember being stubborn and not watching it for years because you never shut up about it!

    — Gearóid · Oct 27, 05:03 PM · #

  6. Your article too good, continue to work hard, expect

    — Sea Dweller digital watches · May 17, 09:55 PM · #

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