What's more important, body count or bullet count?
Well, Face/Off certainly had more of both than we expected. Colleary and I actually had a gripe with the fact that the hero throws acid and shoots prison guards while trying to escape when (with the exception of the warden) they are just people doing their jobs. The original scripted escape had far less random violence. Without going into too much detail, it involved the hero peeling off Castor’s fingerprints (this was never shot) — and he uses Sean Archer’s FBI security clearance to get out.
Then, instead of simply jumping off the oil rig platform — he commandeers a supply chopper and flies off (while being chased) toward the mainland. This is set-up in the opening action scene where we’ve made it clear to the audience that while Castor Troy cannot fly a plane, Sean Archer can certainly fly a helicopter. But this sequence — while beautifully storyboarded and blocked out by Woo — was very expensive and was cut for budget. I remember Nic Cage was not happy when this was excised because it was his favorite action beat. As it stands, the escape still works — but barely. It’s a plot hole. There’s no explanation of how Archer gets to shore (unless you look REALLY, REALLY closely and see that Zodiac boat motor by in the background and make the assumption that he somehow hitched a ride!). Not to sound defensive, but it was handled logically at the script level.
Hmmm. Once again I haven’t answered the question. Bodies or bullets? I guess it just depends on the scene.
What makes a good action movie?
I think the most important thing — and one of the reasons we wrote Face/Off — is having a fascinating antagonist. We kept watching all these Die Hard clones and wondered “why can’t the bad guy be as interesting as the good guy?” Which eventually led to “why can’t the bad guy BE the good guy?” I still believe an action film is only as great as its bad guy. And of course, it always helps to have some awesome twist in the middle of the movie. For us, it was the moment where Archer’s in prison and the warden tells him he has a visitor. He thinks Tito (Bob Wisdom) — his best friend and fellow agent has come to spring him. Instead, Castor Troy struts in wearing Archer’s own face.
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
Now I might have to re-watch Face/Off, a movie I hated. The marketing was all about the actors, neither of which I care for. I'll have to follow the writing more closely.
2 - Mary K. Williams
Nice work Tan, what a great opportunity you had here.