One Of The Craziest Action Movies Ever Made Is Free On YouTube

1 week ago 12

Published Jul 23, 2026, 11:55 AM EDT

Ryan Northrup is a Senior Staff Writer on ScreenRant's Movie & TV News team, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and reviews. A graduate of McMaster University, Ryan began his career in public relations before attending Vancouver Film School. There, he built lasting industry connections and optioned a feature film screenplay.

YouTube just scored an action classic.

Action as a genre continues to evolve. In the early 1980s, hulking heroes played by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone would gun down dozens of enemies without suffering so much as a scratch. The release of Die Hard in 1988 changed things, introducing more of an everyman hero in Bruce Willis' John McClane, who still killed plenty of bad guys but did so while taking a major beating. With their balletic choreography, the John Wick movies have marked another evolution of action cinema, but classics from decades past continue to appeal to viewers.

One of those enduring action classics is now easier than ever to revisit, as Face/Off (1997) is streaming for free on YouTube with no subscription required. Directed by John Woo, the film is unfortunately only available for free on YouTube in the U.S.

Face/Off features a particularly wild premise. Starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, the movie follows FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) as he surgically swaps faces with comatose terrorist Castor Troy (Cage) in order to go undercover and foil an attack. When Troy awakens and uses Archer's face to assume his identity, the two men engage in a deadly battle to reclaim their identities.

The inventive conceit resonated with audiences, as Face/Off went on to gross $245 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. Critically, the film was also a win. Praised for its style and for Woo's signature exaggerated action, Face/Off enjoys a strong 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Popcornmeter coming in a little lower at 82%.

Prior to Face/Off, Woo had made a name for himself with movies like The Killer (1989), Bullet in the Head (1990), Hard Boiled (1992), and Hard Target (1993). Woo's action sequences are often heavily stylized, featuring plenty of slow motion and what has been dubbed "bullet ballet," as gunfights become dance-like experiences.

Face/Off arrived at high points for Travolta and Cage. For both actors, the '90s was a period of renewed success. Travolta, after making it big with Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978), experienced a '90s comeback with films like Pulp Fiction (1994), Get Shorty (1995) and Broken Arrow (1996).

Cage, on the other hand, won an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas (1995) before then embracing an action hero persona. In addition to Face/Off, the latter half of the decade saw the star leading movies like The Rock (1996) and Con Air (1997).

Face/Off 2 has been in the works for several years now, but has struggled to get off the ground. Adam Wingard (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) was previously attached to direct, but he reportedly dropped out of the movie earlier this year, with Paramount opening the project up for pitches from other filmmakers.

Though Woo, Travolta, and Cage have all gone on to make dozens of films since, Face/Off remains a genre highlight for all three. Given the movie's age, it's possible younger generations have yet to experience the movie's face-swapping action madness, meaning its availability for free on YouTube could result in its fanbase growing even larger.