Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Face.Off! Face/Off is a 1997 American science-fiction action directed by John Woo and starringJohn Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Travolta plays an FBI agent and Cage plays a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume each other's physical appearance.[3] It was the first Hollywood film in which Woo was given major creative control. The film went on to gross $245 million worldwide. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Effects Editing (Mark Stoeckinger) at the 70th Academy Awards.