Starring:	Nicolas Cage	133min
	John Travolta
		1997
Director:	John Woo	Colour

Region	2	Studio:	Buena Vista
Format	Double Sided, Single Layer	Subtitles	English
	(movie on two sides)
Aspect ratio	2.35:1
Anamorphic	Yes	Case type	Amaray
Soundtracks	Dolby Digital 5.1	Extra Features

The DVD * 1/2		The Movie * *
No extras. No other languages. No subtitles. No sense. If Polygram can respectably fit 2hrs 20 mins of Sleepers, with 2 5 channel Dolby Digital soundtracks on one side of a DVD, Disney should manage 2hrs 13 of this laughable drivel. If not, then why not use a dual layer disc, as the company did with the US release? The flip from side one to two happens at around 72 minutes, just after an action sequence (when it is most incongruous). The sound too is fairly naff, with an apparent decreased dynamic range and some spurious scratchy type noises noticeable in quieter sections in the latter half of part one. Whass that all about? At least the picture is fair, and betters the US version for quality on widescreen sets, although is still not up to releases from Warner or Columbia - see the Ransom review for more on this. As far as foreign moarkets go (us), it seems that Buena Vista are rushing out releases without a single thought put into them. Maybe they hope that buyers will share similar attributes.		When you've seen a dozen preposterous films before breakfast, it's difficult to keep on topping them. However, not only does Face/Off top them in the "that's ridiculous" stakes, it laughs and kicks sandcastles in their collective faces. Here we go - Cop Travolta is understandably peeved at Cage for blowing away his kid daughter six years ago. Now Cage has set a bomb to blow away LA for some reason or other, but Travolta catches him. Cage almost dies in the process, and lies in hospital wired up to the machine that goes ping. Cage's brother knows where the bomb is, but won't talk. So - and there really is no easy way to put this - a surgeon removes Cage's face, and puts it on Travolta. One microchip in the larynx and a fiddle with the "Cage/Travolta" control sorts out the voice problem, and hey presto! Travolta becomes Cage... I mean, that's it. I've had it with these films, they may as well have the hero grow wings and fly out of a tricky situation. Maybe this could have worked as sci-fi with some hi-tech molecular technology, but we are offered no such explanation here. If - if - you can get over this, there is a good deal of fun to be had in the face-swapping plot (exactly how Cage then ends up with Travolta's face is also one for the "huh"? brigade), and the action sequences are very stylish, although nothing new in essence. But it goes on far too long and has a really rather cringe making epilogue, which at least is unintentionally amusing. It seems almost unbelievable that one or two are trying to crown this "best action movie ever". Pur-lease - not even best of the week. The main problem is that it appears to actually take itself seriously. Anaconda or Congo may be trash, but hell they have fun with it. Other than the ending, there aren't even many laughs to be had here. Face/off? F***/off.