History Film / FaceOff

* BadBoss: While disguised as Archer, Castor has no problems leading a police raid on the compound housing his gang, which results in all of them dying.

'''Castor Troy:''' I torched all the evidence that proves you're you, okay? So, wow! ''[looks at his watch]'' Looks like you're going to be in here for ''[in na-na voice]'' THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS! Now, I have got to go. I've got a government job to abuse and ''[whispers into Archer's ear]'' a lonely wife to fuck. Oh, I'm sorry, make love to! God, I miss that face!\\

'''Castor Troy:''' Yeah, well, beats paying the bill, huh? Come on, uh, if a face lift costs five grand... ''[shows Archer's wedding ring on his hand]'' See anything you like?! ''[cut to Tito bound, gagged, and being doused in gasoline]''

'''Castor Troy:''' I torched all the evidence that proves you're you, okay? So, wow! ''[looks at his watch]'' Looks like you're going to be in here for ''[in na-na voice]'' THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS! Now, I have got to go. I've got a government job to abuse and ''[whispers into Archer's ear]'' a lonely wife to fuck. Oh, I'm sorry, make love to! God, I miss that face!

** Castor Troy genuinely loves his eccentric idiot-savant brother Pollux. He refuses to kill him even after Pollux accidentally betrays their location to Archer by personally paying for the private jet (instead of letting one of their cronies do it) as most terrorists would have, sheds tears when Pollux dies and even ties his shoelaces for one last time before leaving.

* BookEnds: Archer's first encounter with Castor Troy in the movie has Castor singing, "Ready for the big ride, baby!" before he attempts to stab Archer and gets kicked into the jet. In their final encounter, as he's dying on the pier after getting speared, he repeats this song.

** Castor kills an undercover FBI agent he caught early on, then kills several more over the course of the film.

* DidTheyOrDidntThey: It's implied that Eve Archer ''probably'' [[BedTrick had sex with Castor]] while he was impersonating Sean, but this is never explicitly stated. The two of them definitely did sleep in the same bed together, but it's never stated or shown if anything more intimate happened. Clues include the fact that Castor taunted Sean that this was his goal, Eve's glowing contentment with their "renewed" relationship and the traumatic way she and Sean react when she reminds him that she and Castor had been "living as husband and wife" for a week. These give the impression this was the case, but nothing is certain.

* ISurrenderSuckers: Castor pretends to surrender to Archer in the hangar standoff when it turns out Archer was bluffing him about his pistol having one bullet left. As he's breaking down, with Archer's pistol pressed to his forehead, he suddenly grins and replies "Well, I think you'd better pull the trigger, 'cause I don't give a fuck! ''[sings]'' I'm ready, ready for the big ride, baby!" and it turns out the whole time that he's been secretly drawing a knife from his back pocket. The trick fails to work on Archer, who catches it just in time.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After the standoff with both Archer and Castor, and the ensuing hostage situation, Jamie runs to her mother, regretting having accidentally shot her father in the confusion of the moment.
** Castor also appears to have this expression after he realizes he's shot Michael,

*** Really, even taking into accout that it's Troy-as-Archer leading them, the agents raiding the penthouse appear to give zero fucks about limiting any potential collateral damage and just shoot the place silly. At least two unarmed hangers-on die in the crossfire.

* SexyCoatFlashing: When Castor "locates" and disarms Sinclaire, the animated graphic of a woman flashing a mink coat while audibly moaning, "Oh baby, oh!" plays over the words 'You disarmed me!'
* SharpDressedMan: John Travolta, whether playing Archer or Castor, spends most of his time wearing three piece suits. Cage also sports some nice clothes.

'''Sean Archer''': I bust-----I believe Sean Archer busted you for stalking the UN Secretary General.\\

** Deitrich's crony Aldo and escort Livia are both shot in the penthouse shootout, but Livia is still concious and clutching her stomach after being shot and Aldo remains standing as the camera cuts away, leaving their fates slightly ambiguous.
* VillainOfAnotherStory: Burke Hicks could have been the BigBad of a slightly different movie, as he once stalked the U.N. Secretary General before TheHero arrested him, is familiar with international terrorist Castor Troy, and is played by Creator/ThomasJane. However, he spends the entire movie locked up in a shady BlackSite that he has no inclination to risk trying to escape from, and is friendly with the undercover Archer due to never suspecting his real identity.
* VillainousValor: In the penthouse raid scene there's plenty of this. Dietrich stands in plain sight firing his shotgun at invading cops. A thug in a red jacket is seen trying to get the two hanger-ons to safety. One or two thugs briefly shields Archer, Sasha and Adam. And one of the gangsters (whose easy to keep track of from his white pants) goes absolutely ham with GunsAkimbo on the agents dropping through the skylight.

** Subverted with Sasha. Castor views her as a wet-blanket type, but she turns out to be more than capable with a gun during the shootout with Castor's SWAT teams.

* BookEnds: Archer's first encounter with Castor Troy in the movie has him singing, "Ready for the big ride, baby!" before he attempts to stab Archer and gets kicked into the jet. When he's dying on the pier after getting speared, he repeats this song.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] with Castor Troy, an indiscriminately murderous scumbag. He beats up Jamie's boyfriends for trying to rape her and gives her a knife for self defense. However, earlier in the film he also threatened to rape Jamie ''[[RelativeButton to her father's face]]''. He shows that he's serious when, during the standoff in the climax, [[LecherousLicking he licks her face while she thinks Troy is her father]]. In the opening Troy also shows shock when he accidentally shoots Archer's son, but when he visits the boy's grave with Archer's weeping wife he looks more bored than remorseful. The only definite redeeming trait he ends up with is [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes his love for his brother Pollux]].

--->'''Castor Troy:''' OK, Victor, I'll, uh, give the taxpayers a break. ''[puts his hand on Lazarro's shoulder]'' But I've got something to confess. I don't think you're gonna like it.
--->''[puts his mouth on Lazarro's ear]''
--->'''Castor Troy:''' ''[angrily]'' I ''am'' Castor Troy! ''[throws Lazarro to the floor and punches him in the chest hard enough to stop his heart completely]''

--->'''Sean Archer:''' This is between us. Leave them out of it.
--->'''Castor Troy:''' No. You should have left ''them'' out of it. Your son was an accident. I wanted to kill you. But, you took it so personally! Why couldn't you just kill yourself or let it go?
--->'''Sean Archer:''' No father could.
--->'''Castor Troy:''' No brother could either. ''[Castor's girlfriend Sasha comes in with a pistol in hand]''
--->'''Sasha Hassler:''' Neither could a sister. Hey baby. ''[She tosses a spare gun to Archer, as Archer has Castor's face]''
--->'''Castor Troy:''' ''[annoyed]'' Sasha, what the fuck are you doing here?
--->'''Sasha Hassler:''' Gee, Archer, I'm crashing the party. You okay, baby?
--->'''Sean Archer:''' Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks.
--->'''Castor Troy:''' Sasha... baby, ''I'm'' Castor. ''He's'' Archer.
--->'''Sasha Hassler:''' And I'm bored. Put the fucking gun down.

* BadHabits: In Castor Troy's introductory scene, he plants a bomb in the Convention Center while disguised as a priest. Then he dances away and headbangs to a choir singing "Hallelujah", before stopping to grope a blonde choir girl. (In a deleted scene, he also kills a janitor who catches him in the act and makes it look like an accident)

* BecomingTheMask: Despite the premise, more or less averted save for one scene. When Archer starts fighting another prison to prove to Pollux that he is Castor, he comes dangerously close to actually killing the man by bashing his face in with a serving tray. He snaps out of his state just become he does though, and is clearly horrified by what he was about to do.

* BookEnds: The first encounter with Castor Troy in the movie has him sing, "Ready for the big ride, baby!" before he attempts to stab Archer and gets kicked into the jet. When he's dying on the pier after getting speared, he repeats this song.

** Also, the voice chips that give Archer and Castor the other's voice when they acquire those respective faces end up proving a problem for Archer when he realizes he doesn't sound like himself.
** After the attempted rape scene, Castor gives Jamie a butterfly knife and shows her how to stab someone in the leg with it. In the climax, when he uses her as a human shield against Archer in the church standoff and prepares to execute her, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard she takes out the knife he gave her and stabs him the way he taught her!]]

-->'''Sean Archer:''' ''[jams pistol to Castor's neck]'' Give up, Castor! Your time's up! ''[beat]''
-->'''Castor Troy:''' ''[laughs]'' Well, you better hit me, Sean, 'cause you got only one bullet left!
-->'''Sean Archer:''' So do you!

* EvilIsPetty: At the end of the final battle, Castor-as-Archer realizes he's screwed, since Archer-as-Castor has him pinned to a wall with a speargun aimed at his gut. He musters just enough strength to grab the bolt and tries to mutilate Archer's stolen face with a piece of shrapnel in one last act of hateful petty spite.

* FieryCoverup: When Castor visits Archer in Erehwon Prison to taunt him. He flashes a newspaper article in Archer's face headlined "Deadly Inferno at Walsh Institute". Cue flashbacks of Dr. Miller, Dr. Walsh, and Tito tied up, bound and gagged as Leo and Lars douse them in gasoline. Then a hand flicks a cigarette lighter and drops it in the puddle, causing a fire that destroys the lab.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Castor meets Pollux at the airfield, he says "Buddy, if I didn’t love you so damn much I'd have to kill you, bro." [[spoiler:Pollux dies at the hands of Archer, while Archer is wearing Castor's face]].

* FourIsDeath: There are four characters (Castor Troy, his brother Pollux, and henchmen Leo and Lars) that are always playing an antagonistic role throughout the film. Also, Pollux, Lars, and Leo are the only other people that know Troy has Archer's face after Lars and Leo burn the Walsh Institute and the Special Ops team in charge of the operation.

-->'''Sean Archer''': I want to take his [[TitleDrop face...off]]!
-->'''Dietrich''': ''[copying the gesture]'' The face.....off. ''[Archer collapses on a bed]'' No more drugs for that man.

-->'''Castor Troy:''' Where's his body? I want to see his body.
-->'''Wanda:''' It hasn't been recovered yet.
-->'''Castor Troy:''' ''[angrily]'' "It hasn't been recovered yet"?! ''[beat]'' Get the LAPD on this!
-->'''Wanda:''' Even if he is alive, Castor isn't stupid enough to come back to this city!
-->'''Castor Troy:''' You-you ''must'' trust me. He's already here.

** Archer, wearing Castor's face, is told he has a visitor at the prison. He is in the visitor's room, the door opens, and he comes [[IncrediblyLamePun face-to-face]] with....Castor Troy, wearing Archer's old face. To drive the point home, we have Archer just staring straight on for about 30 seconds, thinking "[[FlatWhat What?]]" as Castor smirks, then cockily strides towards Archer, and breaks into a grin:
--->'''Castor Troy:''' Whoooo-wheeee, you're good lookin'! Ya ''hot!'' ''[He advances on Archer]'' It's like looking in a mirror, only ''not.'' ''[beat]''
--->'''Sean Archer:''' Troy?
--->'''Castor Troy:''' Now ''that'' [[JustBetweenYouAndMe is between us]], OK?
--->'''Sean Archer:''' But you were--were, uh...
--->'''Castor Troy:''' In a coma? Nothing like having your ''face'' cut off to disturb your sleep! Read the newspaper lately? ''[flashes a newspaper article in the real Archer's face headlined "Deadly Inferno at Walsh Institute" with Dr. Walsh's picture]''
--->'''Sean Archer:''' You killed them?
--->'''Castor Troy:''' Yeah, well, beats paying the bill, huh? Come on, uh, if a face lift costs five grand... ''[shows Archer's wedding ring on his hand and shouts]'' See anything you like?! ''[cut to Tito bound, gagged, and being doused in gasoline]''
--->'''Sean Archer:''' Tito! ''[A hand flicks a cigarette lighter and drops it in a puddle of gasoline, sparking a fire that spreads towards the hostages]''
--->'''Castor Troy:''' I torched all the evidence that proves you're you, okay? So, wow! ''[looks at his watch]'' Looks like you're going to be in here for ''[in na-na voice]'' THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS! ''[quietly]'' Now, I have got to go. I've got a government job to abuse and ''[whispers into Archer's ear]'' a lonely wife to fuck. Oh, I'm sorry, make love to! God, I miss that face!

--->'''Castor Troy:''' One of yours, Sean?!
--->''[beat. Castor shoots her in the back]''
--->'''Sean Archer:''' Shit!

-->'''Dr. Malcolm Walsh:''' What's this about?
-->'''Castor Troy:''' Dr. Walsh! I was just enjoying some of your, uh, greatest hits here. Oh, and I hope you don't mind. I partook in some of your, uh, your groovy painkillers. You know, this is fabulous work. This is... ''[sees the surgery videotape finish]'' Bravo! Bra-[[PrecisionFStrike fucking]]-vo! ''[claps]'' Oh, god, this is excellent! Bravo!
-->'''Dr. Malcolm Walsh:''' What do you want? ''[beat]''
-->'''Castor Troy:''' ''[claps his hands three times. Castor's skinless face is reflected in Dr. Walsh's glasses]'' Take one ''goddamn'' guess.

** During their stand-off, Castor tries to shoot Archer, only to realise that his gun is empty. A similar scene happed in Woo's ''Film/HardBoiled''.

* VerbalBackspace: Archer nearly blows his cover on his first day in prison when he recognizes another inmate he busted on an unrelated case.

** Subverted with Sasha, who Castor seems to view as a wet-blanket type, but turns out to be more than capable with a gun during the shootout with Castor's SWAT teams.

** Castor taunts Archer at the prison with his own wedding ring. Archer does not take it easily given that it indicates that Castor has killed Tito (and everyone else who know about the plan).

* AmbiguousDisorder: Pollux Troy is said to have a high IQ and is very skilled at building things, but he has NoSocialSkills and struggles with any task that doesn't involve creating weapons of mass destruction.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Castor shows disdain of Archer neglecting his wife in order to continue on pursuing him when in fact, he himself has been neglecting his ex-girlfriend to continue on with his terrorist activities.

* BringMyBrownPants: Archer refuses to give in to Agent Miller and Dr. Walsh's proposal for him to take Castor Troy's face to get information on the bomb from Castor, saying "I'll get his gang to talk! That's what I do!" GilliganCut to Archer roughly throwing two of Castor's men out of the observation room and Tito quipping "Damn! What is that smell?" as Archer grilled one of them so intensely that he shit his pants.

* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: Obviously, there's no known way to do a full face swap yet. They at least say that it's a newfound, cutting-edge technique (so don't pretend this isn't fiction), plus some alterations to make their bodies alike in other ways. However, Archer and Troy still have different builds which would be a dead giveaway for people who know them well, since those can't be altered (they aren't even with the fictional surgical wizardry).

In order to find where Castor has planted the bomb, Archer is forced to have Castor's face surgically transplanted onto him so he can get close to Castor's nerdy brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola). Except, while Archer (now played by Cage) is away, Castor wakes up from his coma and forces the doctors who performed the surgery to do the same to him, and then murders them and everybody else who knew about the operation. With his new face, Castor (now played by Travolta) begins inserting himself into Archer's life, including wife Dr. Eve Archer (Creator/JoanAllen) and daughter Jamie Archer (Creator/DominiqueSwain).

* [[invoked]]ActingForTwo: And in brilliant execution, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage each spend time as Sean Archer and as Castor Troy.

** The magnetic clamp boots that the prisoners wear look like the boots worn by the Goombas in ''Film/SuperMarioBros''.

* UncertainDoom: The thug in the white pants and the one in the red jacket aren't explicitly killed in the penthouse shootout, although the man in red is last seen either falling or jumping, and ''a'' figure with white pants and similar boots is seen sprawled across a table, although without clear injuries, in the background of one scene (although his face isn't in focus).
* VillainousValor: in the penthouse raid scene there's plenty of this. Dietrich stands in plain sight firing his shotgun at invading cops. A thug in a red jacket is seen trying to get the two hanger-ons to safety. Another thug briefly shields Archer, Sasha and Adam. And one of the gangsters (whose easy to keep track of from his white pants) goes absolutely ham with GunsAkimbo on the agents dropping through the skylight.

** Even if its for selfish reasons and Castor genuinely enjoys taking over Archer’s job and all the perks that comes with it.

** Not even the SWAT teams are immune given the number of agents at Dietrich's apartment who are shot while wearing paramilitary gear and sub-machine guns. The Los Angeles FBI field office has to be suffering a severe shortage of men to adequately staff it by the end of the movie.

* BigNo: Sean Archer yells this when he saw no helicopter was on the rooftop during his escape from Erehwon.

* SoftWater: Archer jumps from the helipad of the oil rig into the sea, to no ill effect.

In February 2021, Creator/ParamountPictures finally announced a sequel has been greenlit, with Creator/AdamWingard (of ''Film/YoureNext'', ''Film/DeathNote2017'', and ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' fame) as director and his buddy Simon Barrett writing, with a currently unknown release date. It's also unknown if Travolta Will return as Sean Archer, or in any capacity, same for Cage.

In order to find where Castor has planted the bomb, Archer is forced to have Castor's face surgically transplanted onto him so he can get close to Castor's nerdy brother Pollux. Except, while Archer (now played by Cage) is away, Castor wakes up from his coma and forces the doctors who performed the surgery to do the same to him, and then murders them and everybody else who knew about the operation. With his new face, Castor (now played by Travolta) begins inserting himself into Archer's life, including wife Dr. Eve Archer (Creator/JoanAllen) and daughter Jamie Archer (Creator/DominiqueSwain).

** After the attempted rape scene, Castor gives Jamie a [[ButterflyKnife butterfly knife]] and shows her how to stab someone in the leg with it. In the climax, when he uses her as a human shield against Archer in the church standoff and prepares to execute her, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard she takes out the knife he gave her and stabs him the way he taught her!]]