Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome to five Minute Film Finder, brought to you by Pioneer Library System.
Hello, and welcome to another episode of five Minute Film Finder, brought to you by Pioneer Library System. I am Ben, and today we're doing one of our special Deep Focus episodes. And I'm joined by not one, but two hosts, joined by Tracy and Darren. Say hi, guys.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Hello.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: Hi, guys. So we are talking about one of the most fascinating 90s action movies, face Off.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: I think it's just one of the most fascinating action movies in general.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: Yeah, we shouldn't limit it to the 90s. Yeah, it is a spectacle. It is a. A picture of Nicolas Cage at that time. Also, like the landscape of American action movies at that time as well as John Woo is, like, very indicative of his style as well.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: It is sort of the apex of John Woo.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
So Tracy always likes to read our IMDb synopses, so if you want to kick us off with that.
[00:01:21] Speaker B: I do. The IMDb plot synopsis of this film is to fully spoil a terrorist plot. An FBI agent assumes the identity of a criminal who murders his son via face transplant surgery. But the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
[00:01:36] Speaker A: Great. That's like the first 20 minutes of this movie.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: It's like, technically you're right, but also, that doesn't.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: That's so little of what happens.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: And then also, just calling it face transplant surgery doesn't do it justice.
[00:01:52] Speaker C: Not even a little.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: There's so much more. Yeah, there's laser haircuts.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: So we. I'm going to confess, we've tried to do this episode already.
We had some technical difficulties and also some personal difficulties, human difficulties, summing up this movie in a succinct way. So in service of that, I tried to break the movie down in digestible beats so we can get that out of the way and talk about our favorite aspects of it. So I'm going to read these incredibly fast. You guys can make little comments, but we're not going to dive into any of these beats as I go.
[00:02:34] Speaker B: Just making the little comments is going to take approximately 15 minutes.
[00:02:37] Speaker A: It's at least going to take that. So to start us off, cold open, Sean Archer, Travolta and Sun on Carousel. Castor Pollux Cage attempts to shoot Travolta, accidentally kills his son.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: Flash forward two minutes.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: Flash forward two years later. FBI have intel on Castor's whereabouts. Castor is planting a bomb in LA Convention center while disguised as a priest. FBI with Travolta, attempts to capture Cage while escaping on a jet. Travolta grounds the jet with a helicopter. Chased through hangar shootout. Cage blasted by a jet engine into a wall and knocked out. The FBI needs to discover where the bomb was placed. They suggest face swapping to go undercover. Travolta refuses. Wants to break the bad guys his way. They decide he decides that this isn't going to work. Does the face swap?
Cage's Archer freaks out. Cage's Archer is sent to a secret supermax prison where Castor's brother Pollux is held. Cage's Archer starts prison fight. Castor Troy wakes up without a face at the lab. He contacts his underlings to kidnap the doctor and puts Archer's face on him.
Travolta as Troy visits Cage has Archer in the prison revealing that he has his face and has killed everyone who knew that they had swapped faces. Travolta as Troy goes to see Archer's family and insinuates himself within his family. Troy's brother is revealed to know what's going on and is released from prison under the guise of a deal with the FBI. Travolta as Troy prevent pretends to find and defuse the bomb to Petorant portray himself as a hero. Cage Archer is despondent.
Travolta Troy is more accurate.
Travolta Troy is more liked by everyone in his life.
Cage Archer starts a riot to escape the prison. Realizes he is in the middle of the ocean. Jumps into water. Travolta Troy hears of the escape. Starts manhunt to catch Cage, Archer Cage Archer is back on land. Steals a car, calls his wife. She doesn't listen to him. Cage Archer insinuates himself with Troy's crew and meets Troy's son Travolta Troy gets intel of Cage Archer's location. Takes a team to take him out. Huge gunfight to somewhere over the rainbow. Cage Archer gets away. Travolta Troy reprimanded for rogue behavior Helps put boss into cardiac arrest.
[00:05:06] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Archer begins. Archer's wife begins to doubt. Travolta Troy tests his blood.
Cage Archer visits White in hospital. They talk.
Boss's funeral standoff action to end.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: Basically last 20 minutes in the movie.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: Yeah. 20 minutes is a chase and then the eventual death of.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: It's a shootout and a boat chase and a harpoon death.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: And then it's like actually we can switch your faces back.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:39] Speaker B: And then Congratulations, new son.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: So as you can imagine, trying to break that down while actually discussing each of those scenes was impossible in a timely manner.
[00:05:49] Speaker C: We would get on one thing and talk about it for 20 minutes. And that was the first five minutes of the movie.
[00:05:54] Speaker B: We talked for 45 minutes, and I don't. I think we maybe got to Cage breaking out of the prison.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: Yeah. I think that's around where we ended.
[00:06:02] Speaker B: Yeah. We had talked for 45 minutes and had to take multiple breaks where I laughed so hard I cried.
Which I came very close to doing just now. As you read those off Travolta, Troy is a lot better than what I had previously tried to do for talking about them. Post Face Witch. So, honestly, incredible props to you for your notes.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:25] Speaker B: You deserve a cookie.
[00:06:26] Speaker A: It's like, how many words can I remove to get through this insane movie?
[00:06:31] Speaker C: Well done.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: So we love this movie.
We can't talk about all of these things.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: No.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: What are some of our favorite things? I mean, top of the list. Nicholas Cage.
[00:06:45] Speaker B: Nicolas Cage is. I think this is literally. This film is filmed within two years of him getting the Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas.
[00:06:55] Speaker C: I think I believe so.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: And I'm like, why didn't. Why didn't he get an Oscar for this?
[00:07:01] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: I think this is.
This whole movie is sort of the apex of, like, Trash as Art.
[00:07:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: Where it's, like, it is gaudy and overperformed, and that is why it's perfect.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: Yeah. And delightful. Because of it.
[00:07:20] Speaker B: Yes. And Cage is at. I mean, like, maybe this is potentially one notch lower than, like, Vampire's Kiss, if y'all are familiar with his work. Yelling the Alphabet in that film, which is before this.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Quite a bit. Probably a decade before.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: Yeah. He was pretty young.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: This isn't the first time he's revealed that aspect of himself, but it is the most widely seen.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Of those.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: I think it is.
[00:07:48] Speaker C: And I really feel like, like, after this, he really opened up to that.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Like, most of his projects. Yes.
[00:07:53] Speaker C: Like, I can be super weird and be successful. And so he just. He did that.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: He's been super weird in movies for years because, like, what one of his first big movies is Peggy Sue Got Married. And he does, like, the weirdest accent film. He's a weird guy, but, yeah, he's incredible. And then I think we would be absolutely remiss if we did not talk about, like, John Woo as action movie royalty. Royalty.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:21] Speaker B: Pinnacle.
Because as you said, the last scenes of this film is 20 minutes of action sequence.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:32] Speaker C: And, like, he. That includes plenty of double guns. John Woo doves. John Woo. It just keeps going.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: Yeah. It never feels exhausting, which is impressive because, like, there's so many, like, a perfect like shadow, mirror image to. This is Michael Bay, where you're just like, whoa. This is constant and too much and I can't track it. But John Woo, you just. You always know what's happening. It's always like, re engaging.
[00:08:59] Speaker C: Like, the shots are set up in a way where you can see everything that's going on.
[00:09:02] Speaker A: You understand the geometry. You understand the storytelling of the action. Not just like, oh, this looks cool. It's like, oh, okay. This is furthering in this way.
[00:09:12] Speaker B: One of the miracles of this film is that despite the fact that the plot is two men get massive plastic surgery and switch faces, you're never lost in it.
There are huge. There's a huge prison riot fight scene, and you're still locked in on what's happening. Like, you're never like, I'm confused. I don't know. Even. It's a magnet boot prison. You did not mention that. Where all the prisoners can be magneted to the ground. Chef's kiss. Incredible stuff. But you're never lost in those genuinely massive action sequences ever. And they just get huger throughout the movie. There's like a big action scene at the beginning where the helicopter lands on the plane.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: And yet once you get to the end where it's like 17 people pulling guns on each other and then in a church with doves and then also a massive boat chase.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: You're just like. But of course, this was the natural.
[00:10:14] Speaker A: Thing that could have happened.
This was his third American film. I believe he's had a massive career in China.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:26] Speaker A: And so his first American film was Hard Target with Jean Claude Van Damme.
And he. He just kind of created a name for himself with his very particular style of action movie and storytelling.
What's our next favorite thing in this?
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Do I get to do my gripe about the misuse of Joan Allen in this?
[00:10:55] Speaker A: I think that's important. She's an incredible actress.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: Joan Allen's an incredible actress. By the time she was cast in this film, she had two Oscar nominations, and she would get a third after this movie. And she is the most. And she's the wife character in a movie ever. She does at least get to be a wife who is a doctor.
[00:11:17] Speaker C: Smart. Right. She's doctor Wife. Right.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: She's doctor Wife.
But she should divorce Shawn Archer, like.
[00:11:26] Speaker C: A long time ago.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: She should have divorced him before any of this happened, and she wouldn't have had to be part of it, but she should divorce him. Also, she has terrible wardrobe through this whole movie. And Joan Allen is a beautiful Woman. And they wronged her. And that is my Joan Allen story speech. Justice for Jod Allen.
[00:11:45] Speaker A: Agreed.
[00:11:45] Speaker B: And CCH Pounder, but she actually. She's actually great in this movie.
[00:11:50] Speaker A: How do we feel about John Travolta in this movie?
[00:11:54] Speaker B: I'm so into it.
[00:11:55] Speaker C: I like. So I really liked Broken Arrow, which was John Woo's second film starring. Starring Christmas Slater and John Travolta. John Travolta was the villain.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:05] Speaker C: Throughout the entire movie. And it was, you know, I think he. He played the. He was. He was probably slightly less insane in Broken Arrow. So, like, he wasn't playing it up quite as much. But I don't know. I think he does a pretty good job.
[00:12:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So according to IMDb trivia, Cage and Travolta spent two weeks with each other before the film trying to get down each other's mannerisms, figuring out a specific way to match each other's cadence. When they swap personalities via face swap, do we think successful?
[00:12:43] Speaker B: I don't know if technically I'm like, oh, they absolutely nailed sounding like each other.
[00:12:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: I think what they do nail is they're like, your energy's gonna be at a 13, mine's gonna be at a 14. Well, if yours is gonna be at a 14, mine's gonna be at a 15 for the whole movie.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: And almost in a similar way where we were talking about the action sequence get bigger and bigger and bigger. It feels like they get bigger and bigger and bigger throughout the movie.
And it feels like when you're watching it, you should say, this is too much. This doesn't work. You're over performing it.
I personally cannot speak for you guys, so I feel like maybe I can. So locked into it. Absolutely.
[00:13:30] Speaker C: So I think. I think he did a really good job, the switching between the two characters, because really, there's the two. They're two main characters. And I think they balance it really well doing, you know, the Cage Archer going to, you know, trying to get his family to, you know, realize he's. He's him. His wife and stuff like that.
[00:13:54] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:13:54] Speaker C: Those. Those moments with him make him seem more normal.
[00:14:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:01] Speaker C: And then they explode later. And so, like, you get a lot of that, you know, ups and downs from him. And whereas Travolta is just pedal to the metal. Pedal to the metal, guns blazing the whole rest of the movie. Like he turns it on and just never turns it back down.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:16] Speaker C: So I'm. Yeah, I think it's good.
[00:14:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: There the Cage peaks, though. You're right. It does have more of like a peaks and valleys, but the peaks of the Cage as Shawn Archer performance are so.
[00:14:32] Speaker C: Yes. Especially like when he's doing the drugs and stuff in the apartment. Like that whole sequence with him. That's great.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: So it's him and Nick Cassavetes, who is also great in this movie. You're referring to that. I'd like to take his face off.
Which was apparently improvised, shocking, no one. Incredible. Agreed. But also the one that I always think of is the prison fight. The first prison fight where it's just him trying to get into character and his decision.
[00:15:01] Speaker C: He realizes he needs to get into.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: Character and he just starts screaming, I'm Caster Troi. I'm Castor Troy. While starting a prison riot. It's like, so massive.
And everyone around him. I feel like even within the film, it's just like. Huh?
[00:15:21] Speaker A: Like, yeah. Oh, oh, oh. All right. I guess.
[00:15:25] Speaker C: So many big swings. Just big swing after big swing.
[00:15:28] Speaker B: But I think it works. Like I. Like I was saying, like, this movie is like trash as art.
Just. I think that's a positive for me. Like, I'm like, this isn't the Andy Warhol of films. Like, yeah, this is a soup can painting of a movie.
[00:15:46] Speaker A: And I think something we mentioned last time was like, you don't see a lot of original properties like this that are just huge conceptual swings anymore, where it's just like, it's gonna be really crazy idea and we're gonna explore it in a really crazy way.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: I feel like. Well. And I'm sure this is not gonna shock you when I say this. The only action franchise that I can currently think of that is doing stuff like this is the Fast and the Furious. Where every Fast and Furious movie, they're like, we're going to space this time. It's magnets. We're dragging us safe through Brazil.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: Do you think they're going to the center of the earth in the next one? They've gone to space. They can only go in, right?
[00:16:31] Speaker B: I can only hope, but just something that's like, it's an action movie, but it also has a really high concept sci fi element.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: And, like, consistently, like, hones to a through line with the plot. With that element, they're like, no, it'll be throughout the whole movie. Don't worry about it. We are holding on to this, not throwing it away.
[00:16:55] Speaker B: No. The commitment to this movie is called Face Off. It's about two men facing off who take their faces off.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:02] Speaker C: Like, it's perfect.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: I think it's why this Movie works. It's like we've got a good bit and what we're doing is committing to it.
[00:17:09] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: And like they.
I don't want to give it too much credit, but like they sprinkle all those elements around faces. Like the face waterfall.
[00:17:20] Speaker C: Yeah. Four or five times the Archer family touches each other's faces. Right.
[00:17:25] Speaker A: And Castor Troi loves to lick a face.
[00:17:27] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:17:28] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: So there's just like. They're like, we're all about faces in this movie.
[00:17:33] Speaker B: And it.
[00:17:34] Speaker A: Touching faces, swapping faces.
[00:17:36] Speaker B: Faces off.
[00:17:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: It works. It just does. And I talked to some people at work about this. The original week that we meant to record this. I did ostensibly threaten to fight several people that I work with who said that they would not watch this movie because they thought it was too unbelievable. And I said, but that's when you're watching it.
The way that everyone is just like. But of course we're taking his face off is. It just sells it. It just works like that.
[00:18:12] Speaker C: The nonchalance of that doctor guy, like he's not making a big deal. Like, this is the biggest invention in the history of medical science. Like me. Okay. I'm just gonna take this face off. I'm just gonna grow an ear.
[00:18:24] Speaker B: So chill and just like, you know what I can do?
Take your face off.
[00:18:31] Speaker C: No big deal.
[00:18:34] Speaker B: And it's great. We all love this movie.
[00:18:37] Speaker A: Yeah. So the premise of this movie was from co screenwriter Mike Werb, had a friend who had a hang gliding accident and they had to remove most of the skin from his face to reconstruct his bones and then put his face back on, which is how he got the idea.
So something we wanted to do was to play a little game. But first to kick that off, I'm going to give you some alternate castings that were originally proposed for this movie.
[00:19:09] Speaker B: I know some of these and they're wild.
[00:19:11] Speaker A: Yeah. So other pairs that were wanted were Schwarzenegger and Stallone.
[00:19:17] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:19:17] Speaker A: Which at the time a natural like, choice.
Other pairs that were wanted, Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford. An older guys version which I feel like would not have been as exciting.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: I think they would have been a little too serious about it.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:36] Speaker A: Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: That has a lot of potential.
[00:19:42] Speaker A: No, not for you. Okay.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: That has a lot of potential to me.
[00:19:45] Speaker A: Nope.
[00:19:46] Speaker C: I have to disagree.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: JCVD and Steven Seagal.
[00:19:49] Speaker C: Perfect.
[00:19:50] Speaker B: That has the most potential.
[00:19:51] Speaker C: I love it. Let's do it.
[00:19:52] Speaker B: Can you imagine how weirdly lethargic that would have been?
It would have been like the sleepy Version of this.
[00:20:00] Speaker A: I wonder if JCVD would have just like, slowly trudged everywhere that he.
[00:20:04] Speaker B: Well, and then just like Steven Seagal being like. And I trip you because, like, that's his whole fight style. She's like, it's all defense. I've got a ponytail.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: And then a couple more Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: That would kind of rule, actually.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: That would feel like. Be like an elevated version, as would Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: Okay. That is actually where I'm like, absolutely. Not as much as I adore both of their work, obviously, but I feel like it wouldn't have been the right kind.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:20:39] Speaker B: Of crazy.
[00:20:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:41] Speaker C: I think Al Pacino could do the right kind of crazy.
[00:20:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:43] Speaker C: I don't think Robert De Niro can do the right kind of crazy.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: I don't know. I think.
[00:20:46] Speaker A: Do you think he could take it to the Al Pacino zone?
[00:20:49] Speaker B: I don't know. I just imagine Al Pacino being like, I'd like to take his face off and then going, hooah.
[00:20:54] Speaker C: Just like.
[00:20:58] Speaker B: It'd be too much. It'd be too much.
[00:21:01] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:03] Speaker A: So if you guys had an ideal casting of a modern version of this, who do you guys think?
[00:21:16] Speaker B: So my original thought for this is, we gotta get those challengers boys back together and do Mike Feist and Josh O'Connor.
[00:21:25] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:21:27] Speaker B: But I also still want Luca Guadagnino to make it so that it's like a weird, potentially a lot more psychosexual thriller.
[00:21:35] Speaker A: Great.
[00:21:36] Speaker C: Perfect.
I'm not sure I have a good answer.
I would kind of like to still see Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes myself.
[00:21:46] Speaker A: Honestly. Yeah.
[00:21:46] Speaker B: I would kind of rule. Yeah.
You just saw Sinners. It can be Michael B. Jordan.
[00:21:53] Speaker C: Yeah, sure. Right. He can just. Yeah.
[00:21:55] Speaker A: Oh, man.
[00:21:58] Speaker C: I know it's tough because, like, you really have to be able to at.
[00:22:01] Speaker A: Least kind of get Jordan and Donald Glover.
[00:22:05] Speaker B: Oh, that would be wacky. I'd be like, I think you do kind of need a weird guy.
[00:22:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Because I was like, donald Glover could go insane.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: I think so. I think the other thing that I had thought of, speaking of actors who have played twins in the Year of our Lord 2025, I did think about Robert Pattinson, but I don't know who you pair him with unless it's just also Robert Pattinson a la Mickey 17.
[00:22:32] Speaker A: Pattinson and Glenn Powell.
[00:22:35] Speaker B: That would be really charming.
[00:22:37] Speaker A: Pattinson as the crazy one, Powell as the straight laced. But then. Because I think. Because Powell can do it and Pattinson could Also do it.
[00:22:45] Speaker B: I think Powell could do it because I know he did a lot of weird, like, wig work and facework in Hitman.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: I was like, I was one of the people who didn't want to be on board for Glen Powell. And then I watched that movie, and.
[00:22:57] Speaker B: I was like, I'm so in the pocket for that. I'm so in the pocket for that, man. I'm so into it.
[00:23:02] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that. That's the one that turned me around.
But, yeah, I think he's. He's a tough.
[00:23:08] Speaker C: I'd buy that. I'd go. I'd pay to pay for that movie. I'd go see that in the theater.
[00:23:12] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. Yeah, absolutely. Though I do love the Donald Glover and Michael B. Jordan idea, too, though. Like, that rules.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: That would be super fun.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: Are there any ladies who are.
[00:23:19] Speaker A: Ooh.
[00:23:21] Speaker C: Lady Face Off. All right. That's the title of the movie. Just Lady Face Off.
[00:23:25] Speaker B: They did that with a bloodsport. They did it called Lady Bloodsport. I've seen it.
[00:23:29] Speaker C: Do it.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: Oh, who.
Who's. Who goes big, but isn't only comedy.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: I don't know. I think you can do comedy, though.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: Yeah. It could just be, like, a fun version.
[00:23:42] Speaker B: Part of me thinks action wise Charlize Theron, but I don't know who you. Is it Charlize and Scarjo?
I don't know.
She can be weird because she's. I don't. Did you guys see an asteroid city? Yeah, she's, like, really weird in that movie. I think maybe Charlize and Scarjo.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that'd be super fun. Absolutely.
[00:24:01] Speaker B: Jenna Ortega and Aubrey Plaza.
Okay. Actually, maybe that's the best one I've picked.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Actually, I think that's incredible. Like, I have loved Aubrey Plaza's late career.
[00:24:14] Speaker C: The height difference, man. Like, she's a foot and a half taller than the other one. Like, that's just a little harder to. Like, you got to add leg extensions.
[00:24:23] Speaker B: You say that the height difference is negligible, so maybe they can.
[00:24:27] Speaker C: That is baked into the plot of the original Face Off.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: Just saying. I guess maybe that is too much. But maybe Aubrey Plaza and somebody.
[00:24:34] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: Because she's so. She's so great.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Okay, do we have any closing thoughts on Face off or, like, any, like, last bits like that?
[00:24:44] Speaker B: We have to give it a chance, everyone.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: Even if you don't think it's up your alley, open your heart.
[00:24:51] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, you will be either astounded, surprised, or shocked in fun ways.
Like, there's just some. There's so much in this movie. Like, if me rattling off the bullet points of the plot didn't give that away, I don't know what else will. Oh, the magnetic boots, they were reused from the Super Mario Brothers movie. Just lots of fun little trivia and facts like that.
Like, it's just a fascinating, highly stylized.
Does not feel embarrassed of what it's trying to do.
[00:25:34] Speaker C: And just like from a historical reference, like the. The impact that it had on action. Like we talked about, you know, John Woo. Like, I think it's worth watching just for that. Yeah.
[00:25:43] Speaker B: I truly think that if this came out at the box office today, it would be the film that everyone was talking about.
[00:25:50] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:25:51] Speaker B: Just because there really is a magic to it that we don't always get in action movies anymore.
[00:25:57] Speaker A: Truly.
All right, well, with that, I think we'll wrap it up. Thank you guys for twice recording this episode with me, of course.
[00:26:07] Speaker C: Happy to do it twice.
[00:26:08] Speaker B: We can do it a third time if you want. Just for fun.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: That one's just for us.
All right, bye, guys.
[00:26:15] Speaker C: Bye. Bye.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: Five Minute Film Finder is a digital program brought to you by Pioneer Library System in Oklahoma. All opinions expressed in this episode are those of the host and not those of the organization. Five Minute Film Finder is produced, recorded and mixed by Ben Si. Theme music by Ben Si. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please email podcastioneerlibrarysystem.org Remember to, like, review and subscribe. Thanks for listening.
