WATCH "FACE OFF" TRAILER HERE

Face/Off is the story of FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) who has spent the last 6 years hunting down a terrorist/assassin named Castor Troy (Cage). Troy had attempted to assassinate Archer, but ended up killing his son instead. Acting on a tip, Archer and a team of FBI agents move in on a jet that contains Troy and his brother and partner-in-crime, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola). The jet runs into a hangar and the brothers try and escape. Castor kills a number of agents in a huge gun battle, but he is eventually put in a coma by Archer and Pollux is captured. However, it is revealed that Castor and Pollux were hired to blow up some part of L.A. using a biological weapon. After Archer interrogates some of Castor's henchmen, it becomes apparent that Pollux is the only one other than his comatose brother who knows where the bomb is and he will only talk about it with his brother. A government official tells Archer about a new surgical technique where one person's face can be transferred to another (see face transplant). Archer realizes that this is the only way that he can "become" Castor Troy and get the information he needs out of Pollux. He agrees, but due to the secrecy of the operation, he cannot tell his wife and daughter or anyone else in the agency. The operation is a success, and Archer (now played by Nicolas Cage) is transferred to the security prison that houses Pollux.

At the prison, Archer manages to get the location of the bomb: it's in the L.A. convention center. However, the real Castor Troy wakes up from the coma and he captures the doctor who performed the surgery and has Archer's face put onto his. Troy (now played by Travolta) and his men then burn all the people who knew about this operation and set fire to the building, thus destroying all the evidence and documentation that connects the two of them. Castor then visits Archer in prison and boasts about switching faces and then has his brother Pollux set free. He has Pollux "confess" to the location of the bomb and defuses it, thus becoming a hero, and uses his power to conduct raids on rival criminals throughout the city. He then goes home and interacts with Archer's family. In the prison, Archer manages to escape with the help of another prisoner and gets back to L.A. Archer then visits an old friend of Castor's, Dietrich Hassler (Nick Cassavetes), and wants him to help kill "Sean Archer". However, Castor learns about Archer's arrival there and has an FBI task force raid the house. A huge battle starts and Archer gets Castor's ex-girlfriend, Sasha (Gina Gershon) and her young son (by Troy) out of the house. Archer and Troy end up fighting each other and in the process, Pollux Troy is killed and Archer escapes.

The FBI Director Victor Lazarro shows up in Castor's office furious at the bloodbath that happened at the house. Victor tells Castor (still impersonating Archer) that he is terminating his so-called war on terrorism and wants his raids to stop. Castor kills Lazarro and tells everyone that he had a heart attack. As Castor is promoted to FBI Director, Archer goes back to his house and tells his wife what happened and pleads with her to believe him. She finally believes him when she sees that their blood types don't match just as Troy starts getting suspicious of her. Troy and Archer's wife go to Lazarro's funeral, unexpectedly meeting Archer and Sasha. A fight breaks out, Sasha is killed, and Troy gets away on a boat. After a chase, a furious Archer kills Troy, gets his face back and goes back to his family, adopting Troy and Sasha's son.

It is likely that Woo used clear symbolism for the names of his main characters. Castor and Pollux are characters in Greek mythology, two brothers killed by an archer, a clear reference to the primary protagonist. The Greek influence in the surname Troy could be seen as confirmation of this idea.