In 2018 I went to an Ozzy Osbourne concert. 4/5 of the band, including Ozzy, were kind of just rocking and having a good time, taking it easy. It's an easy gig. But on stage left, we had Zakk Wylde; one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. He doesn't even need to care about how the song is played because he can just shred the whole time. He made the show both boring and exhausting, and the set was like two hours long. Much like Face/Off, with a strong hook and all-star cast. I see John Travolta on the poster and assume it's going to be a great film. All the acting was great and the practical effects were stellar. It would have made a great comic book, but instead it's an action movie with a capital A. Nearly every scene suggests a one in a million chance of success over failure and it's a success every time for our hero Archer, against bad guy Castor; both played by both John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.
The action scenes just go on for way too long and it's very clear every time something happens which might come into play later. So there are no surprises, but we don't notice because everything is so violent and extreme amidst constant face-touching. Archer wants to rip Castor's face off and I want to rip my own face off and smoke a cigarette in the hospital with no face. Let's see those rankings.
1. Raising Arizona
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Adaptation
4. City of Angels
5. Gone in 60 Seconds
6. Matchstick Men
7. Vampire's Kiss
8. Face/Off
9. Honeymoon in Vegas
10. The Family Man
11. The Weather Man
12. The Croods
Well said. Was def era of huge star power phoning in “shoot em up” films. Low plot, low dialog, cool explosions and car chases. I remember seeing this in the theatre, but then promptly forgot all about it until people started making ironic/sarcastic jokes about it decade later. Plus I always, in my head, get this and Broken Arrow with John Travolta, Christian Slater. Same formulas, relative dynamic shared between Travolta and Cage. Totally Hollywood cranking out bland blockbusters.
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