29 Years Ago Today: Epic Action Movie That Defined the '90s Released
On this day, 29 years ago today, a blockbuster film with the most outrageous plot hit the big screens. Fast forward to the present, and it's celebrated as one of the most iconic action movies of the decade.
The '90s were a defining time for the action/adventure movie genres. Films like Die Hard 2, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Heat, The Fugitive, The Rock, Speed and The Matrix scored big at the worldwide box office and set a new golden standard for pulse-pounding films in a time when CGI was still years away from its peak.
On June 27, 1997, a completely absurd-sounding film called Face/Off was released in the United States and Canada. But director John Woo knew what he was doing the entire time, while John Travolta and Nicolas Cage silenced the critics with near-flawless performances as we'd never seen before.
Travolta stars as FBI Agent Sean Archer, bent on avenging the death of his young son, Michael. Wanted terrorist Castor Troy (played by Cage) accidentally killed Michael during an attempt on Archer's life.
Early in the film, we see Archer and the FBI corner Troy and his gang. During the confrontation, Troy suffers serious injuries and falls into a coma, but not before warning Archer that he has set up a bomb in an undisclosed location in Los Angeles.
With the bomb set to explode in a matter of days, Archer and his FBI colleagues scramble and fail to get information out of Troy's criminal allies. That sets the stage for the ridiculous film plot that, ultimately, put this film into legendary status.
John Travolta and Nicolas Cages 'Swap' Faces in 'Face/Off'
With Castor Troy in a coma, Archer's team proposes the wildest of ideas to stop the bomb: A face transplant operation, where he'll literally take on Troy's "face" to assume his personality and physical appearance. A group of surgeons cut off Archer's face and put it away in storage before attaching Troy's to his head.
The plan? For Archer (with Troy's face) to go into the prison and seek information on the bomb from his brother, Pollux. Archer will then relay the information to his FBI colleagues and stop the bomb.
That's before the bewildering twist: Castor wakes up from his coma and realizes he's faceless. His colleagues kidnap the head surgeon of the facial transplant and force him to put Archer's face on Castor's. With the real Archer in prison, Troy can now assume his identity as an FBI agent and live freely while abusing his power within the bureau.
What follows is pure cinema. The more charming, soft-spoken and charismatic Travolta perfects Cage's over-the-top, excessive and energetic acting style. Cage goes from playing the ruthless, coldhearted terrorist to the sympathetic, desperate father and husband bent on saving his family and colleagues.
The off-the-charts performances by Travolta and Cage, paired with Woo's explosive, fiery action scenes and John Powell's exemplary movie score, helped Face/Off blow expectations out of the water. According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $245.7 million worldwide.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 8:00 AM.