When news broke that someone was doing a remake of 1997’s Face/Off, reactions were mixed across the board ranging from “why would you remake such a perfect classic?” to “why would you remake such a silly premise?” Well it turns out, it isn’t a remake at all, but a direct Face/Off sequel, and the director at the helm, Adam Wingard, is just the guy to make it work.
Wingard might not be a household name just yet, but with Godzilla Vs. Kong on the immediate horizon, and now this Face/Off project, that might be about to change. After cutting his teeth with indie horror flicks like A Horrible Way to Die, You’re Next and V/H/S, Wingard pivoted slightly to do the action/thriller The Guest, with Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) and indie darling Maika Monroe (It Follows). None of these movies exactly set the world on fire critically, but they have all become cult favorites for horror fans the world over.
Wingard’s next project, a sequel to the 1999 sensation The Blair Witch Project, simply called Blair Witch, also met with tepid reviews, despite the superior budget, breakneck pacing, and visceral imagery that built on the lore of the original film. Clearly, Warner Bros. saw potential in the 30-something director, as they put him in charge of one of their biggest tentpoles in recent years, Godzilla Vs. Kong, and now it looks like Paramount Pictures is doing the same and putting their money on the up-and-coming filmmaker for another re-imagining of a popular and pre-existing property, John Woo’s high-concept cult classic Face/Off.
Starring 90s champs John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, the original Face/Off followed FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) pursuing terrorist-for-hire Castor Troy (Cage) in an effort to foil Troy’s plot to detonate a bomb somewhere in Los Angeles. Troy is knocked unconscious and ultimately into a coma before Archer gets the chance to question him. Only Troy’s brother Pollux knows the location of the bomb, but he, of course, refuses to spill the beans. Archer is then informed of a cutting-edge surgical procedure that allows people to, well, exchange faces.
The plan is for him to infiltrate the maximum-security prison where Pollux is being held and trick him into telling Archer where the bomb is. Unfortunately for Archer, Troy wakes up sans face, forces the same doctor to give him Archer’s face, and then kills the only people who know anything about the procedure or the mission. Troy takes over Archer’s life, forcing Archer to continue as Troy. What follows is a game of cat and mouse unlike any other, and it’s a total blast. The movie was both a critical and commercial success, with critics praising its style and lead performances, garnering it an 82 on Metacritic, and a global box office of over $245 million.
It is still unknown how the sequel will continue the story, but it’s unlikely that Travolta or Cage will be returning. Wingard, along with co-writer and regular collaborator, Simon Barrett, have already shown how they can make a sequel that’s equal parts reboot with Blair Witch, and they will undoubtedly take a similar approach with Face/Off. Blair Witch‘s greatest strength lies in the clear admiration that the filmmakers have for the original which seeps through every frame of the film’s incredibly tight 89 minutes. And Wingard even took to Instagram to say “I would never re-imagine or remake FACE/OFF. It’s a perfect action movie.” So he clearly has a great deal of respect for the original this time around as well.
Given Wingard’s track record with horror, it’s probably safe to assume that the sequel will play to the darker side of the story and the violence will be brutal. His movies are never bland or humourless, however, so expect plenty of winks and nods to the original, with enough laughs to keep things fun. It is doubtful anyone will be doing any double-fisted, slow-motion gun dives this time around (a Woo signature) but The Guest shows that Wingard knows his way around an action scene and will make the movie his own, to be sure.
There hasn’t been any talk of shoot dates or casting yet, though, given Wingard’s penchant for working with similar casts and crews on multiple movies, it’s easy to see Dan Stevens in the mix, especially after his two-faced performance in The Guest. Time will tell how Wingard handles a massive budget and crew with the release of Godzilla Vs. Kong still weeks away, but it’s clear he’s up to the challenge of handling beloved franchises. For now, fans of the original can bask in the insane, hyper-stylized action that is Woo’s original, complete with all the doves, unnecessary flips, and Gina Gershon one could ask for in an irrefutable action classic.
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