Knock Off (1998)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Hark Tsui

Writer (WGA):

Steven E. de Souza (written by)

Release Date:

4 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

There is no substitute.

Plot:

Action star Jean Claude Van Damme plays a fashion designer who must join forces with a C.I.A. agent to combat terrorism.

Plot Keywords:

English Subtitles In Original | Helicopter | Terrorism | Rickshaw | Acid

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Marcus Ray
Rob Schneider	...	Tommy Hendricks
Lela Rochon	...	Karen Lee
Paul Sorvino	...	Harry Johanson
Carman Lee	...	Detective Ling Ho (as Carmen Lee)
Wyman Wong	...	Eddie Wang
Glen Chin	...	Skinny
Michael Wong	...	Han (as Michael Fitzgerald Wong)
Moses Chan	...	Officer Fong
Lynne Langdon	...	V-Six Secretary (as Lynne Frances Wachendorfer)
Ray Nicholas	...	Karl (as Raymond Leslie Nicholas)
Jeff Wolfe	...	Skaar (as Jeff Joseph Wolfe)
Michael Miller	...	Tickler
Steve Brettingham	...	Hawkeye
Mark Houghton	...	Bear (as Mark Haughton)

MPAA:

Rated R for continuous violence and brief language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Aruba | Hong Kong | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Brazil:14 (original rating) | Brazil:16 (TV rating) | USA:R (certificate #35768) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:MA | France:U | Germany:18 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

MDP Worldwide

Trivia:

A lot of quality fight choreography by Sammo Hung Kam-Bo was cut from the films final release. This included the drastic shortening of both Jeff Wolfe and Michael Miller's fights against Jean-Claude Van Damme in the finale. In the UK DVD Making Of, a glimpse of Jeff Wolfe's extended fight can be seen

Quotes:

Marcus Ray: It still doesn't prove his a knock off artist.
Karen Lee: Why are you defending the gangster? Looks like he's screwing us.
Tommy Hendricks: Oh no, with Eddie it's more like date rape.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dans la peau de Jean-Claude Van Damme (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Ten Girls

Pure Genius! A modern epic!

How can anyone hate such a beautiful film? The combination of poor dubbing, Van Damme's "acting" and "grasp of English", Schneider's queer-ass jokes, and Lela Rochon's breasts, I thought, would make Knock Off an Oscar contender for sure. In addition, it is a valuable tool for young amateur cameramen. They clearly just bought a new camera before they started filming, and were trying out all the new gadgets (when Van Damme reaches into the box of watches, or when they go into the barrel of the gun, or when they pan up from everyone's feet, or use multiple exposures to create the illusion of a quality film).

As for the soundtrack, Ron and Russell Mael deserve a Grammy, or, at eh very least, a Source Award. I mean, "It's a Knock Off" emerges as the single that will truly be the soundtrack for the lives of teens in the new milennium. All-Star Sam Hui also contributes to the album. His ground-breaking "Ten Girls" ,which goes a little sumthin' like this:

"Sal pon ass hi cow go yang si ming ming hi lo how wow bom hi sam chung gay yeah chop hay bing si ching chun may li chow mo so pli" ...is sung by Van Damme. It speaks to you. It tells you to leave the theater.

Another interesting aspect of this film is that it was the only Western film allowed to be in production in Hong Kong during the handover to China. They try to work this into the first action sequence (which is 90 minutes long and followed by the credits)by making sporadic, frenzied, obscure references to the ceremony that don't make sense or have any effect on the outcome of Van Damme's struggle against the Russian mafia.

Ultimately, if you want to see green explosions, Paul Sorvino returning from the dead, Rob Schneider and Van Damme engage in S&M during a rickshaw race, Lela Rochon's breasts, and a Russian with bronchitis chop people up with his eyeglasses, Knock Off is the movie for you.