The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by
The plot is as incomprehensible as the dubbing and many of the special effects are neither special nor effective.
Aruba, Hong Kong, United States · 1998
Rated R · 1h 31m
Director Tsui Hark
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rob Schneider, Lela Rochon, Paul Sorvino
Genre Action, Adventure, Thriller
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Marcus Ray (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a sales representative for "V SIX" jeans, and his partner, Tommy Hendricks (Rob Schneider), are about to be busted for selling "knock off" jeans. Their American contact, Karan Leigh, who by the way is not only their employer but a CIA agent sent to find the mole in their operation, is threatening them with a jail term if they do not prove their innocence.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by
The plot is as incomprehensible as the dubbing and many of the special effects are neither special nor effective.
San Francisco Chronicle by Bob Graham
The ridiculous complications might have worked if there had been an awareness of how absurd they are.
A stunningly lethargic, uninvolving piece of crap.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
It's amazing how boring an action movie can be when there's absolutely no point to all of the sound and fury.
Working from a formulaic script by Steven E. De Souza, Hark employs a variety of visual stratagems to keep the action fast and flashy.
The New York Times by Lawrence Van Gelder
Knock Off runs breathlessly over land and water in familiar comic book fashion, offering more action than sense and next to nothing in the way of suspense, humor or romance.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Van Damme and his cronies (including Lela Rochon, Paul Sorvino, and, for no immediately graspable reason, Rob Schneider as Van Damme's rabbity sidekick) race, speed, shoot, chop, and zip through scenes of such festive mayhem, plot is a clunky afterthought, like a lopsided fake Prada label on a cheap nylon knapsack.
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Hong Kong action pioneer Tsui Hark is in high form here, tricking out the bare-bones story with disorienting camera angles, trick photography and virtuoso action sequences.
Austin Chronicle by Russell Smith
In essence, the whole Knock Off experience can be summed up neatly in four words: loud, stupid, blurry, frenetic.
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