At midnight on July 1, 1997, the United Kingdom turned over the colony of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. Instead of being fully absorbed into the communist country, Hong Kong was named a Special Administrative Region of China. But the place had changed a bit. A lot of the filmmaking talent that had made Hong Kong an exciting place left to work in Hollywood or other countries. But at least two people were eager to make a film in Hong Kong during this time: Jean-Claude Van Damme and Tsui Hark (Once Upon A Time in China). The duo had just made Double Team with Dennis Rodman (from the Chicago Bulls) in Europe and now wanted to make a film in Hark’s Hong Kong. Knock Off put Jean-Claude Van Damme in the dangerous world of fashion and manufacturing.
Something wild is happening off the waters of Hong Kong as scuba divers open up a shipping crate. As dolls float out, an explosion goes off. Somehow this leads to a wild boat chase between Russian mobsters and Hong Kong cops. Oblivious to all this is Tommy Hendricks (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo‘s Rob Schneider). He’s setting up a fashion show for the V-6 jeans line. He can’t reach his business partner Marcus Ray (Bloodsport‘s Jean-Claude Van Damme). Turns out Marcus is down at the warehouse looking for his goods. He encounters shipments of counterfeit or knockoff goods including sneakers from Pumma and the baby dolls like the ones that were found in the sunk shipping container. Marcus was one of the kings of dealing knock offs before he went legit with V-6 jeans. Before Tommy can get on his case, Marcus has to grab him for a cross-city rickshaw race that includes his adopted brother Eddie Wang (Sons of the Neon Night‘s Wayman Wong). The two were tight in knockoff world. During the race, Eddie cheats by swapping off with a fake Eddie so he can get a quick ride to a spot near the finish line. This subterfuge goes wrong when a group of Russian mobsters grab the fake Eddie. Marcus attempts to save who he thinks is he brother which leads to a massive wreck in a restaurant that bangs up Tommy. Back at the office, Tommy and Marcus learn from Karen Lee (Waiting To Exhale‘s Lela Rochon) that they’re the victims of a massive counterfeiting operation with jeans that rip apart easily. Marcus realizes how his victims felt when he was on the other side. The Russians are still searching for Eddie and others around the city. Why? Marcus finds out what’s happening along. He also grasps the truth of why Tommy brought him aboard on this jean business. There’s a lot of stuff blowing up around town. How does all this counterfeit merchandise and destruction link to the Handover of Hong Kong?
Tsui Hark gives us a look at Hong Kong during the summer of ’97 without getting political. We almost see royalty making a cameo from the big ceremony. This was the last major film to shoot Kai Tak Airport before it was shut down. Knock Off represents a world a changing world on many levels for the city.
Ron and Russell Mael are listed as the composers. You might know them as the band Sparks (as seen in Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers). They perform the theme song at the end of the film.
Tsui Hark and Jean-Claude Van Damme deliver on the action when the fights go into overdrive. This was shot before digital cinema so it’s impressive the camera tricks Hark pulls off to capture the muscles from Brussels busting up Hong Kong before the Chinese can get their hands on the land. Sammo Hung directed the second unit so that added to the action being ramped up in several scenes. While I’ve never found Rob Schneider that funny (even from his Saturday Night Live days), I can’t get enough of seeing him getting busted up on screen. Even Jean-Claude pops him a few times. I do feel cheated that it’s a stunt person taking the hits. Ultimately Jean-Claude Van Damme provides his own comic relief in the film between serious fight scenes. Knockoff proves that designer jeans are the perfect premise for Jean-Claude Van Damme to bust up Hong Kong for a fond farewell to its colony status.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. You don’t lose sight of JCVD’s kicks. The Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. Both mixes sound fine so you’ll hear all the explosions and hits – the sounds that matter in a JCVD flick. The movie is subtitled in English.
Trailer (1:53) puts the action on the big changeover of 1997 and how Jean-Claude Van Damme is caught in the middle. Somehow Rob Schneider is supposed to help him out.
MVD Rewind Collection presents Knock Off. Directed by Tsui Hark. Screenplay by Steven E. de Souza. Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rob Schneider, Lela Rochon, Michael Fitzgerald Wong, Carmen Lee & Paul Sorvino. Running Time: 91 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: December 10, 2024.
