Face/Off is an action movie released in 1997 and directed by John Woo. The plot involves an FBI agent who undergoes experimental surgery in order to assume the identity of a notorious arms dealer in order to foil a terrorist plot. The film was praised for its stylized action sequences, strongly influenced by Woo's extensive experience from his many Hong Kong-style crime dramas. Critics also appreciated the film's emphasis upon the psychological and situational role reversals between Nicolas Cage and John Travolta's characters.

After years of chasing him, FBI agent Sean Archer (Nicolas Cage) finally apprehends the notorious arms dealer Castor Troy (John Travolta). But in order to stop the bomb that Troy has planted somewhere in the city, Archer has to get to Troy's brother, Pollux (Allesandro Nivola). In order to fool Castor's flesh and blood, Archer has to undergo experimental surgery to switch faces with the arms dealer and infiltrate his gang.