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FACE/OFF

For John Woo's third Hollywood feature, it was announced that he would be getting back to something much closer to the Hong Kong action thrillers that made him famous. Being a big fan of Woo, especially those HK films like Hard-Boiled and A Better Tomorrow, the news raised my hopes for this one, especially when I heard that the script was very good. What a disappointment it is to find that Face/Off is much too close to Woo's previous work.

Those of you that see this picture that are only familiar with Woo from his American films may wonder what I'm fussing about, as Face/Off is a solid change in flavor from the usual Hollywood shoot-'em-ups, featuring plenty of hard-hitting action and explosions presented with a great deal of style and finesse. Well, what's bothering me is that most of Face/Off's action pieces - and plenty of the surrounding atmosphere - is lifted whole from Woo's earlier work. Men in long coats and sunglasses walk in slow-motion, a shoot-out in a church, flocks of doves, multiple Mexican stand-offs - what were once Woo's trademarks have become clichés. And what's worse: they've been awkwardly shoehorned into what could have been a really cool movie.

John Travolta re-teams with Woo as the leader of an anti-terrorist FBI unit, relentlessly hunting down freelance master terrorist Nicholas Cage, the man who'd killed his young son. After Cage is finally captured, it's learned that Cage had already hidden a huge bomb in the heart of Los Angeles. Travolta secretly undergoes an advanced surgical process which transplants Cage's face onto his (while changing his voice and body), and Travolta/Cage then infiltrates the ultra-tech prison to get the bomb's location from Cage's brother. Plot hole #1: the original script was set in the near future, making these sci-fi elements a neatly acceptable stretch. Setting the film in 1997 makes these elements laughably incongruous.

The real Cage wakes up from his coma and escapes of course, and forces the surgeons to give him Travolta's face (kept in storage), then kills everyone who knew about the switch. Plot hole #2: how could Cage/Travolta know that he'd eliminated everyone in the know?

Cage/Travolta then goes on to "go straight", making himself a powerful figure in the FBI and taking over as Joan Allen's loving husband. Plot hole #3: Travolta had asked the surgeon to restore a bullet hole scar when he returns from his undercover mission. Wouldn't the doc have double-crossed Cage/Travolta by not restoring this identifying mark? When Travolta/Cage learns how he's been screwed, he makes a desperate escape from prison. Plot hole #4: He makes his final escape by diving into the ocean, miles from shore. How the heck does he get all the way to dry land?

What saves the film is the performances of the two stars: it's impressive when an actor portrays two distinct characters in a film, but it's quite amazing to see these two first create their own rich characters, then play each other's roles convincingly, then play those characters while they slip in and out of impersonations of each other! They manage to make the most of the shifting lines between personalities, raising questions about the way we connect ourselves with the way we look. If these two stars gave these performances in a better film, they'd be competing for an Oscar next year.

THE LOST WORLD

The first film bearing the title The Lost World was made in 1925, and it represented the cutting edge in cinematic special effects for that year. 1997's The Lost World, both a quasi-remake of the first and a sequel to Jurassic Park, can share that distinction. Never have dinosaurs been portrayed with such absolute realism, and there are hundreds of them running, leaping and biting from one end of the film to the other. The film's star T-Rex is the most impressive movie monster ever. The sheer spectacle of these wondrously created beasts makes this film, like its predecessor worth watching over and over. Stan Winston, Dennis Muren, Michael Lantieri, and all the artisans working under them deserve heaps of praise for their efforts.

Why then does the film leave me feeling a bit empty? The shame of it is that director Steven Spielberg and scripter David Koepp have failed to do all they could in the story department - or is it that they've done too much? The Lost World contains almost everything from Michael Crichton's novel, plus a few things left out of Jurassic Park - plus an additional extended final act which pieces together parts from Conan Doyle's original story, King Kong, Gorgo, Dracula, and a slew of gags and shots that pay tribute to the entire giant-monster-on-the-loose genre. All of which is hastily packed into one 134 minute film. This means all of Crichton's careful exposition is dashed off in dialogue spoken on the run by sketchy characters who step into the film with only the barest introduction before they get chomped by hungry raptors and such. It should help that Jeff Goldblum, returning as cranky scientist Ian Malcolm, is made the central character this time around, but he's been transformed for his role as cranky hero (and father to the requisite stow-away kid) and is barely recognizable as the same man. Crichton's explanation for the existence of Site B (another island where dinosaurs were being raised for the park) is skimmed over so briefly that it seems like a cheap gimmick, like a dead character's twin brother returning for a sequel. An inordinate amount of time is spent on the death scenes of minor villains that we hardly know. Spielberg and DP Janusz Kaminski make things more confusing with some extremely mobile camera work - adding to the realism of the f/x while messing up their storytelling.

The Lost World, like Dante's Peak, adds considerably to the evidence that Universal is more interested in their theme park business than they are in their cinema business, readily green-lighting any film concept whose title can be amended with " - the Ride!".
Dinosaurs: ; story: ½

RIPE

When their parents die in a car accident, 14-year old fraternal twins Violet (Monica Keenan) and Rosie (Daisy Eagan) go on the lam together in search of a better life they think they'll find in Kentucky. They find themselves a temporary home living in a shack on a limbo-like army base, finding promise in the disciplined lifestyle while both threatened and drawn to sexuality in the form of the young handyman (Gordon Currie) that takes them in. A solid indie effort written and directed by Mo Orgodnik, definitely a talent worth watching.

'TIL THERE WAS YOU

An interesting story idea: a love story in which the couple don't meet until the end. However, this narrative of how Jean Tripplehorn and Dylan McDermott's paths continue to almost cross throughout their lives loses steam for no other reason than because of its own intriguing concept. Though there's a lot happening in their lives, there's plenty of time to lose patience while waiting for them to get together. Meanwhile, nothing is ever funny, dramatic, sexy, or anything enough to distract you from their impending but (it seems like forever) delayed meeting. It's the Sword of Damocles as a romance.

Here, scripter Winnie Holzman adds her name to the list of writers who try to defend their addiction to tobacco by trying to promote the false romantic image of smoking. ½

TRIAL AND ERROR

Kramer Vs. Dumber? Jeff Daniels is a lawyer sent to a small town in Arizona just days before his wedding to the boss's spoiled daughter (Alexandra Worth) to defend a rascally in-law-to-be (Rip Torn). Michael Richards, a struggling actor and Daniels' best man, goes along, determined to fulfill his duty to throwing a bachelor party for his best pal. Several drinks and bar fight later, Daniels is too bent on painkillers to appear in court, so Richards takes it upon himself to "help out" by impersonating a lawyer to get a simple continuance. And naturally fails, thereby forcing the pair to continue the ruse or face ruin. Meanwhile, both men are forced by exposure to a determined prosecutor (Jessica Steen) and an angelic waitress (Charlize Theron) to confront the truth of their lives while lying about everything else.

Trial and Error is an amusing enough comedy, spun from the tried and true plot lines that worked wonders in films as diverse as Trading Places and Bringing Up Baby. It works best in its zingy dialogue, especially in the courtroom scenes, but misfires in its overuse of broad slapstick. The wisdom of Hollywood comedy these days seems to be rooted in the unfounded presumption that a pratfall is always good for a sure-fire laugh. ½

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