Knock Off (film)

Knock Off

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tsui Hark
Produced by Nansun Shi[1]
Written by Steven E. de Souza[1]
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Rob Schneider
Lela Rochon
Michael Fitzgerald Wong
Music by Ron Mael
Russell Mael[1]
Cinematography Arthur Wong[1]
Edited by Marco Mak
Production
company
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release dates
  • September 4, 1998 (1998-09-04) (United States)[2]
Running time
 87 min.
Country United States
Hong Kong[2]
Language English
Budget $35 million
Box office $10,319,915
For knock-off (counterfeit) products see Counterfeit

Knock Off is a 1998 American action film directed by Tsui Hark, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rob Schneider. The film was released in the United States on September 4, 1998.[3] The title is a double entendre, as the term colloquially refers to both counterfeit goods as well as targeted killing. The film is one of the last in the world to feature Kai Tak Airport still in use; the airport closed in 1998.

Plot

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 (a low-quality imitation of well-known products). Their American contact, Karen Leigh (Lela Rochon), who 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. Meanwhile, Ray and Hendricks meet up with Harry Johannson (Paul Sorvino), who is a CIA agent that just happens to be a double agent for the Russian Mafia and a ringleader to the terrorists. He tells Ray that Hendricks is really a CIA agent and that they need Ray's support. Ray and Hendricks then learn that Skinny Wang (Glen Chin) is involved with the knock off jeans and they seek him out; which results in the death of Wang and the pursuit of angry workers, who are loyal to Wang and who are under the impression that Ray and Hendricks killed him. Ray and Hendricks then learn that these knock off jeans are laden with nanobombs, which were developed by former KGB operatives who are in league with international terrorists that are utilizing a Russian Mafia's scheme to bring this deadly technology to the black market and extort $100,000,000.00 in monthly revenue from the world super powers. This particular order is to be shipped to the U.S. Furthermore, we discover that the CIA headquarters, in Hong Kong, is located on Lantau Island inside a huge Buddha statue, which is later blown up. In the end, Hong Kong is safe and so is the rest of the world.

Cast

Reception

Knock Off opened in the United States on September 4, 1998 to critical scorn and box office indifference.[4][5][6][7] It took the 4th spot bringing in $5,516,2311 at 1800 theaters, with a $3,064 average for the weekend. From there it plummeted and topped out with just $10,300,000 in US ticket sales.[8] It currently holds an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 39 reviews.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Knock Off - Cast & Crew". Allmovie. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Williams, Karl. "Knock Off". Allmovie. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  3. ↑ Williams, Karl. "Knock Off (1998)". Allmovie. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ Leydon, Joe (1998-09-06). "Knock Off". Variety. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Review: Watch out! 'Knock Off' is a bomb". CNN. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  6. ↑ "Knock Off". Deseret News . Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  7. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (1998-09-07). "Knock Off Is the Real Thing: Fast, Funny". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  8. ↑ Natale, Richard (1998-09-14). "Rounders' Reaps Goodwill in Opening Weekend; Box office: Matt Damon film pulls in an estimated $8.8 million over three-day period. 'Mary' hits $140 million.". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-22.

External links

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