1998's "Knock Off" has the distinction of being the second collaboration between Hong Kong action veteran Tsui Hark and Belgian martial arts sensation Jean-Claude Van Damme - their first being the previous year's "Double Team" (1997) - and it also proved to be their last action picture together. Hark would return to Hong Kong after being disappointed with his two back-to-back American efforts, and Van Damme, whose popularity in Hollywood was declining steadily at the time, would make one more film in the U. S. that would see a major theatrical release (1999's "Universal Soldier: The Return") before he would retreat to direct-to-video and limited releases of his films in overseas territories. (Van Damme, of course, would make a major comeback with his French-language masterpiece "JCVD" in 2008.)
"Knock Off is yet another early fusion of East and West - before "The Matrix" (1999) made such cinematic trends a widely copied mainstay of mainstream Hollywood. Despite Van Damme's decreasing popularity in Hollywood as the '90s wore on, he WAS ultimately responsible for introducing not one, not two, but THREE legendary Asian action vets to Western audiences. Aside from Tsui Hark, he also introduced John Woo (from 1993's "Hard Target") and the late Ringo Lam (on "Maximum Risk" in 1996). "Knock Off" has the usual fast-paced editing, outrageously staged action sequences including gunfights and martial arts choreography, ensemble casting, and a threadbare plot that doesn't make a whole of sense under intense scrutiny.
Written by Steven E. De Souza (who also wrote Van Damme's camp classic "Street Fighter" in 1994), "Knock Off" takes place on the eve of Great Britain's historic 1997 hand-over of Hong Kong back to China. Fashion designer Marcus Ray (Van Damme) is a former vendor of counterfeit goods who has since gone straight with his best friend and business partner Tommy Hendricks (comedian Rob Schneider). However, the two eventually find themselves waist-deep in a plot involving the Russian mob trying to implant nano-bombs inside of counterfeit goods that Marcus and Tommy have been unwittingly selling to the United States, and also murder anyone in their way. Together with Karen Lee (Lela Rochon), the beautiful fashion exec sent to investigate the counterfeit merchandise; a local Hong Kong vice cop named Detective Han (Michael Fitzgerald Wong); and a small unit of CIA operatives led by Harry Johanson (the late Paul Sorvino), they go about punching, kicking, and shooting their way out of the Russian mob's operation.
As you can see, from the co-writer of "Die Hard" (1988), "Knock Off" is not a very bright picture. The film moves at such an incredibly fast pace that the audience actually has trouble keeping up with everything. There really is not a whole that's remarkable or memorable about "Knock Off," except for Jean-Claude Van Damme and his formidable supporting cast. Van Damme performs some incredible stunts and fight scenes, while Rob Schneider and Lela Rochon (who are both later revealed to be undercover CIA agents) do their best with the material they were given; Schneider does a few jokes that are mostly hit or miss, and Rochon holds her own in a few action scenes including an impressive hand-to-hand martial arts showdown with Van Damme and the climatic final shootout onboard a shipping freighter, and plus she's also pretty easy on the eyes.
"Knock Off" was one of the last major pictures of star Jean-Claude Van Damme from his Hollywood heyday. It wasn't his last picture altogether, since 10 years later he made a huge comeback with the masterpiece that is "JCVD."
5/10.
"Knock Off is yet another early fusion of East and West - before "The Matrix" (1999) made such cinematic trends a widely copied mainstay of mainstream Hollywood. Despite Van Damme's decreasing popularity in Hollywood as the '90s wore on, he WAS ultimately responsible for introducing not one, not two, but THREE legendary Asian action vets to Western audiences. Aside from Tsui Hark, he also introduced John Woo (from 1993's "Hard Target") and the late Ringo Lam (on "Maximum Risk" in 1996). "Knock Off" has the usual fast-paced editing, outrageously staged action sequences including gunfights and martial arts choreography, ensemble casting, and a threadbare plot that doesn't make a whole of sense under intense scrutiny.
Written by Steven E. De Souza (who also wrote Van Damme's camp classic "Street Fighter" in 1994), "Knock Off" takes place on the eve of Great Britain's historic 1997 hand-over of Hong Kong back to China. Fashion designer Marcus Ray (Van Damme) is a former vendor of counterfeit goods who has since gone straight with his best friend and business partner Tommy Hendricks (comedian Rob Schneider). However, the two eventually find themselves waist-deep in a plot involving the Russian mob trying to implant nano-bombs inside of counterfeit goods that Marcus and Tommy have been unwittingly selling to the United States, and also murder anyone in their way. Together with Karen Lee (Lela Rochon), the beautiful fashion exec sent to investigate the counterfeit merchandise; a local Hong Kong vice cop named Detective Han (Michael Fitzgerald Wong); and a small unit of CIA operatives led by Harry Johanson (the late Paul Sorvino), they go about punching, kicking, and shooting their way out of the Russian mob's operation.
As you can see, from the co-writer of "Die Hard" (1988), "Knock Off" is not a very bright picture. The film moves at such an incredibly fast pace that the audience actually has trouble keeping up with everything. There really is not a whole that's remarkable or memorable about "Knock Off," except for Jean-Claude Van Damme and his formidable supporting cast. Van Damme performs some incredible stunts and fight scenes, while Rob Schneider and Lela Rochon (who are both later revealed to be undercover CIA agents) do their best with the material they were given; Schneider does a few jokes that are mostly hit or miss, and Rochon holds her own in a few action scenes including an impressive hand-to-hand martial arts showdown with Van Damme and the climatic final shootout onboard a shipping freighter, and plus she's also pretty easy on the eyes.
"Knock Off" was one of the last major pictures of star Jean-Claude Van Damme from his Hollywood heyday. It wasn't his last picture altogether, since 10 years later he made a huge comeback with the masterpiece that is "JCVD."
5/10.