Face Off
Classic 90s action. Travolta must wear the face of Nicholas Cage in order to trick the terrorist's brother into giving the location of a bomb. When Cage steals Travolta's face and assumes his identity, the shit hits the fan. Some really over the top action sequences to be had here. The beginning of the movie feels a lot like the climax of a film. The acting is really great. Cage and Travolta swap performances surprisingly well. Props to both of em.
Action is a bit out there for me. I really dug the plot but felt if the reins had been pulled in we could have had a better film focusing on suspense and psychological drama. The best scenes are not the action scenes but the scenes where Cage (Travolta) is tormented by wearing the flesh of his son's murderer.
Easy to see why this has lots of fans. The idea is a great one and I would love to see another exploration of it.
Cine-Meter, 7/10
Mono-Meter, 6.5/10
Where Eagles Dare
A personal favorite and somewhat forgotten 60s action gem. Major Smith (Richard Burton) is dropped into Nazi territory with a team of operatives, one of whom is Lt. Schaffer (Clint Eastwood). Their objective is to get to a castle high in the mountains and rescue a captive American general who is a key player in the upcoming D-Day invasion. Or so it seems...
Alistair Maclean proved he was an action pioneer with The Guns of Navarone and once again proves he knows how to dish out the awesome. The seemingly to the point plot I transformed into a two hour epic adventure with as many twists and turns as it has explosions.
Oh, special note to the explosions. This may be a petty thing to praise, but these things are beautiful. Sharp contrast to the deep blue snowy environment, the rich oranges and yellows jump out. They are spectacular. Easily some of the best pyrotechnics I have ever seen in a movie. This movie out-Michael Bays Michael Bay before he invented Michael Baying. And ol Bay cannot compete with these beauts. Even my friends agreed and called Bay a ripoff after seeing the film's first fiery plume.
But enough of explosions. Burton and Eastwood are just fantastic together. One hell of a dynamic duo. They are smart, setting up things early on in the movie that eventually come into play during the final thrilling act. Funny that Burton calls Eastwood a punk at one point. Wonder if he was inspired. These two are in top form. Eastwood doesn't seem to view this film highly, regarding it a part of his career that was mostly fluff movies as he called them. I really do believe it is one of his best. He calmly dispatches Nazis with knives, silence pistols, machine guns, dynamite. One of the epitomes of badassery. Burton delivers a great lead as the intelligent but brutally determined Major Smith. Sadly this is the only film of his that I have seen but I will be seeking him out because he is just great here. Another epitome of badassery.
The action is great. What other film can say it ha Clint Eastwood dual wielding German MP 40s? None I tell you! We have gondola fights, castle shootouts, bus chases, airplane chases, the works. There are a few flaws such as cars exploding at the touch of a feather, a typical Hollywood error. It really isn't hard to just have a car fall down a cliff and crash without the fireball. Save that for the bridge.
...that bridge. So beautiful. Damn it! I must move past the explosions!
The supporting cast delivers the goods. Mary Ure and Ingrid Pitt I like a lot as te two female spies who help set the stage for the castle mission. And they work great with those MP 40s let me tell you. And dynamite which happens to make
SHIT!
The cinematography is worth more praise than I can ever give. Every shot in this film is a work of art. Character close ups are hardly bland and showcase the actor's talents well, the long shos of the setting are breathtaking and then there are the....other elements involving heat that are photographed very nicely.
Yes. See? I didn't directly mention explosions.
DAMN IT!
The pacing of this film is unique among action films. It starts off very slow, giving us a full 40 to 50 minute period of establishing the setting and characters before everything gets started. This makes the journey longer and more epic, and makes the destination ore rewarding. This film is paced properly. The opening act provides a backdrop of urgency as well as introducing us to our heroes and their objective, the action appears at regular intervals but not enough to make it overdone, and the characters are given enough exposure to make us care about the outcome of their mission.
On a final note, Brian G Hutton does a very good job at directing. He would go on to direct Eastwood's second and sadly final WWII adventure, Kelly's Heroes. Both of these films are made by a guy who knows how to do action right. Michael Bay doesn't have shit on this guy, and it is a damn shame that he isn't still dishing out the action, adventure, and explosions.
...
Son of a BITCH!
Cine-Meter, 8/10
Mono-Meer, 10/10
I need to check out Ice Station Zebra. Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown in an action movie written by Alistair Maclean? Sign me up!
