Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Prismark10 Knock Off is the film that marked JCVD's rapid decline as a Hollywood star. It does looks like a cheap knock off of a martial arts action comedy movie. I can only guess that Jackie Chan rejected the original script.Set in Hong Kong in the eve of the British handover of the colony to the Chinese, which in no way explains why the place is crawling with CIA operatives. Jean Claude Van Damme plays Marcus Ray who is involved in fake fashion designs with Tommy Hendricks (Rob Schneider) as well as taking part in Rickshaw races.However Ray and Hendricks must stop the Russian mafia who are smuggling fake goods with micro bombs inserted inside.The plot is a confusing mess, so are the fight scenes. The special effects are bad with green smoke and explosions. The acting is hammy, by the late 1990s it was obvious that only Pauly Shore was below Schneider in marking a film as comedy death if one of them appeared in it.

badfeelinganger Though the jokey lines seem out of place, the somber tone of this 1998 action movie makes the political subtext more sincere and less grandiose than usual , One of Van Damme's best movies ever..Action-packed , cheesy , Whatever you think of Jean-Claude Van Damme's acting skills, there is no denying his acumen when it comes to career-development choices. Graduating swiftly from his early, funnier films (Black Eagle) to martial-arts contest movies (Kickboxer), there was even a brief moment following Universal Soldier when stardom beckoned. But then he chose to anchor his place in the mainstream by turning to Hong Kong action flicks, a sub-genre which largely supplanted the Schwarzenegger-Stallone heroics of the 80s. Knock Off is the fourth movie in six years in which Van Damme has teamed up with cult eastern directors, and his second outing for Tsui Hark after Double Team. It is of interest only in that this is far more the director's picture than his own.Tsui's imprimatur is apparent in both the convoluted plot (involving nano bombs and Russian gangsters) and the staging of the fight sequences. It has long been accepted that Van Damme's fans don't come to his films wanting the labyrinthine complexities of The Big Sleep, but they do expect plenty of roundhouse kicks, splits and at least one 'butt shot'. Knock Off has none of these, Tsui seemingly preferring to show off his own techniques rather than his star's. The fight sequences are often filmed in disorienting close-ups, while slow and fast motion, freeze frames and Evil Dead-style crash zooms whip up plenty of sound and fury to camouflage the central emptiness.

callanvass This gets some vile hate from not only Van Damme fans, but action movie fans as well. I can see why as well. It's got a really poor script, and a half-assed story to go along with it. What I can't grasp, is some Van Damme fans calling this his worst movie. Get real! Have you watched Second in Command, Derailed, Double Team, or Black Eagle, among some others? I'm a big Van Damme fan, and this movie isn't as bad as those I've listed. It has some excellent cinematography, as well as some expertly done, staged action sequences. One thing I'll give a lot of credit to this movie is some of the action scenes. The director Hark Tsui shows off plenty of flair and style, whether it was some slick POV shots, or the effective zoom-ins. It was really cutting edge stuff. The finale on a boat is absolutely wild, filled with great fight scenes. The Green explosions, which are assisted by CGI were pointless, though. I don't normally care about story when it comes to action movies, but the story is, so incredibly poor that it's impossible to ignore. The acting ranges from solid to poor. Jean-Claude Van Damme is fun in this film. He's got energy to spare, and isn't afraid to ridicule himself in some scenes. Sadly, in a couple scenes, especially the scene involving a parkade, you can tell some of the kicks are being done by a stuntman. Van Damme is very quick, but not THAT quick. Van Damme is a legitimate martial artist, so that was a bit discouraging to see. Aside from that, he was fun. Rob Scheider doesn't convince as the CIA type. He's the comedic relief, and he isn't all that funny. I just didn't buy him in that role. Lela Rochon is gorgeous and gives a very seductive performance. Remember those legs, wow! Paul Sorvino is slumming it here, no doubt about it. He was merely OK. Final Thoughts: It's definitely tolerable and keeps your attention, but the fights are nowhere near enough to bring this film up to proper coherency. It's not as bad as people say, but it's far from a good movie. Watch it once if you're a Van Damme fan, or an action fan, and then forget it even exists 4.8/10

zardoz-13 "Knock Off" is a knock-out! The title of this Jean Claude Van Damme actioneer refers to cheaply made goods sold as counterfeit versions of designer brand name products, such as watches, baby dolls and track shoes. Asian action movie maestro Tsui Hark, who helmed "Double Team," has teamed up again with the Muscles from Brussels and they have forged a first-rate, rock'em, sock'em yarn about global smuggling and terrorism set against the scenic backdrop of exotic Hong Kong. While previous Van Damme vehicles have rarely strayed from their sober, straight-up storytelling strategies, "Knock Off" delivers its karate chops with comic kicks that boost it far above the usual kung-fu fare. No, Van Damme is not trying to imitate Jackie Chan with his Charlie Chaplin-esquire martial arts antics. Instead, Hark and Van Damme finally appear to be having fun sending up a genre where plot and character take the backseat to body blows.Street hustling playboy Marcus Ray (Jean-Claude Van Damme of "Maximum Risk") once specialized in knock off merchandise, but he has reformed recently and gone legitimate. Paired with abrasive business partner Tommy Hendricks (Rob Schneider of "Judge Dredd"), Marcus lives life to the hilt in Hong Kong as a sales representative for V-Six Jeans. He races around town in his sleek BMW singing his favorite tunes while Tommy struggles to keep their business afloat. The bubble bursts for Marcus abruptly when he learns that his adopted brother and long-time competitor Eddie (Wyman Wong) has gotten caught up in an evil conspiracy to smuggle knock-off wares with miniature explosives.These micro-bombs resemble harmless wristwatch batteries until they are detonated. Although the KGB developed these easy-to-conceal explosive devices, the Russian mafia somehow got their grubby paws on them. Joining forces with another sleazy knock-off artist, Skinny (Glen Chin), they plan to inundate the U.S. market with their imitation inventory. Eventually, when enough stuff winds up stateside, Skinny, the Russian mafia, and a mysterious mastermind behind the plan aim to extort huge sums ore trigger the fireworks.While plot bristles with incredible, hyperbolic action sequences, explosions, and tough-guy gab, the filmmakers deviate from the usual obligatory set-pieces. Instead of a car chase, a nifty rickshaw race through heavily thronged Hong Kong generates excitement and comedy. A nerdy looking Russian villain sports spectacles whose lens double as razor-sharp blades. The acrobatic gunfight take on added suspense because they are staged on ships whose heaving decks hurl giant cargo containers perilously toward our heroes and villains.When Eddie uncovers these tiny mines in his staples, he scuttles the shipment to the bottom of Hong Kong Bay. The greedy villains retaliate and set him up. Actually, Eddie dies when he rifles his own safe and finds it booby-trapped with a small rocket that turns him into a Roman candle. Meanwhile, the bad guys prey on Marcus and Tommy. The Hong Kong Royal Police question our protagonists about poor Eddie, but Marcus and Tommy play dumb. Dumb buys them with the fuzz, but dumb fizzles when the feisty international sales vice president, Karen (Lela Rochon of "Waiting to Exhale"), shows up and demands answers. Confronting them about shipments of bogus jeans, she accuses Marcus and Tommy of cheating V-Six out of $4 million.Matters grow complicated when Marcus discovers that Tommy works undercover as an agent for tip-lipped CIA honcho Harry Johansson (Paul Sorvino of "Goodfellas") in Hong Kong. The CIA operates out of an elaborately disguised headquarters, concealed in James Bond fashion, in a gigantic Buddhist shrine atop a mountain on Lantau island. Somehow, Marcus and Tommy stay one step ahead of the fleet-footed, gun-toting Russian henchmen and manage to lay their hands on a videotape that implicates Karen in the black market.The rousing Steven E. De Souza screenplay is the stuff of which formula melodramas are forged. Having written hits like "48 Hrs" and "Die Hard," De Souza knows his craft by heart. Several elements distinguish the De Souza screenplay. Indeed, the story boasts a beginning, a middle, and an end. The ending is especially cute with its O'Henry flavor. Not only is this yarn well-woven, but "Knock Off" also packs a surprise or two. Marcus and Tommy defy an endless gauntlet of danger. Happily, Van Damme impersonates a civilian instead of the usual cop hero who headlines such sagas.Although the action gets a little confusing at intervals, "Knock Off" emerges as a lively, top-drawer action opus. Budgeted at $35 million, this Van Damme dazzler benefits from its tongue-in-cheek storytelling and the signature visual genius of veteran HK director Tsui Hark. Hark rivals Hong Kong colleague John Woo of "Face/Off" fame. Hark supercharges the high octane antics of "Knock Off" with his neat bag of cinematic tricks. Clocking in at a trim 91-minutes, this polished adventure epic careens along at a kinetic, whirlwind pace. Hark uses slightly speeded up footage (like the vintage Sean Connery James Bond movies) to give the hand-to-hand combat action a giddy, light-hearted edge.Despite his highly self-publicized cocaine addiction, Van Damme looks in tip-top form, though he performs fewer bone-crushing stunts. Moreover, the Belgium martial arts sensation is either getting more comfortable in front of the camera or director Tsui Hark goaded him into acting rather than making faces. Rated R for its big-screen violence and profanity, "Knock Off" should satisfy hardcore Van Damme devotees.