**SPOILERS**Mind boggling action movie that takes place on the eve of the British colony city of Hong Kong being handed over to the Red Chinese. The movie is about this group of Russian international mobsters who plan to blackmail the world with thousands of button, or micro, bombs. The Russians hide them in knockoff, phony high priced and name item, clothes and electrical equipment as well as toys. Then threaten to detonate them if they aren't paid, like cable TV, a monthly fee of 100 million dollars.
Jean-Clude Van Damme is Marcus Ray a shady businessman who exports knockoff running shoes and jeans who gets involved up to his neck in the action. This happens when it's found out that his partner in crime the lovable and wise-cracking Tommy Hendricks, Rob Schneider, is an undercover CIA agent planning to get the goods on him, as well as his associates, in the illegal knockoff business.
It soon becomes evident that knockoffs aren't the only headache on the minds of the CIA. It's found that their, the knockoff clothes and toys, are being used as explosives by the Russian mobster and suddenly Ray becomes a good guy in stopping, together with Hendricks, that from happening. Still Ray is hamstrung by ambitious CIA agent Karen Lee, Lela Rochon, who's playing double-agent in the film. This confuses both Ray & Hndricks to the point where all thee almost end up shooting each other.
***SPOILER ALERT***It turns out that the person behind this evil and grandiose plan is non other then the CIA chief in charge of covert Hong Kong operations himself chubby Harry Johnson, Paul Sorvino, who together with even chubbier Hong Kong crime kingpin Slim, Glen Chin,are working together with the evil Russians in this crazy and off the wall criminal venture. The mindless action is almost non-stop in the movie with Ray going from rickshaw races to food fights and warehouse shootouts and finally a showdown with the Russians. This happens on an outgoing freighter loaded with bomb laden ripoffs headed for US Pacific port cities to unload and, by remote satellite control, activate them.
People in the movie seem to be killed over and over again coming back for more like walking dead zombies especially the Russian mobsters. Who have, for what at first seems like no reason at all,hoods over their heads. Later you realize that it, the hoods, were just there so you won't see or recognize them coming back to get themselves killed, by Ray & Co, all over again sometimes as much as three or four times. The leader of the Slavic mobsters himself is done in a number of times by both Ray & Lee only to come back for more. Thats until Ray, out of sheer frustration, finally finishes him off much like he would have done to a vampire. But not with the usual wooden stake driven through his heart but with a ten ton steel cargo container dropped square on top of his head!
All kinds of wild and far out zany camera angles make you dizzy following the non-stop action scenes with bad guy CIA turncoat Johnson getting the worst of it. Johnson gets knocked around all over the place then set on fire, with a bottle of deadly sulfuric acid, and then killed in a freighter explosion. Just when you thought the movie and Johnson were history he again killed in another explosion in his Hong Kong hideout. Johnson who at that point seemed to have come back from the dead has the same crazed and manic look in both scenes in both scenes that he was killed.
Jean-Clude Van Damme is Marcus Ray a shady businessman who exports knockoff running shoes and jeans who gets involved up to his neck in the action. This happens when it's found out that his partner in crime the lovable and wise-cracking Tommy Hendricks, Rob Schneider, is an undercover CIA agent planning to get the goods on him, as well as his associates, in the illegal knockoff business.
It soon becomes evident that knockoffs aren't the only headache on the minds of the CIA. It's found that their, the knockoff clothes and toys, are being used as explosives by the Russian mobster and suddenly Ray becomes a good guy in stopping, together with Hendricks, that from happening. Still Ray is hamstrung by ambitious CIA agent Karen Lee, Lela Rochon, who's playing double-agent in the film. This confuses both Ray & Hndricks to the point where all thee almost end up shooting each other.
***SPOILER ALERT***It turns out that the person behind this evil and grandiose plan is non other then the CIA chief in charge of covert Hong Kong operations himself chubby Harry Johnson, Paul Sorvino, who together with even chubbier Hong Kong crime kingpin Slim, Glen Chin,are working together with the evil Russians in this crazy and off the wall criminal venture. The mindless action is almost non-stop in the movie with Ray going from rickshaw races to food fights and warehouse shootouts and finally a showdown with the Russians. This happens on an outgoing freighter loaded with bomb laden ripoffs headed for US Pacific port cities to unload and, by remote satellite control, activate them.
People in the movie seem to be killed over and over again coming back for more like walking dead zombies especially the Russian mobsters. Who have, for what at first seems like no reason at all,hoods over their heads. Later you realize that it, the hoods, were just there so you won't see or recognize them coming back to get themselves killed, by Ray & Co, all over again sometimes as much as three or four times. The leader of the Slavic mobsters himself is done in a number of times by both Ray & Lee only to come back for more. Thats until Ray, out of sheer frustration, finally finishes him off much like he would have done to a vampire. But not with the usual wooden stake driven through his heart but with a ten ton steel cargo container dropped square on top of his head!
All kinds of wild and far out zany camera angles make you dizzy following the non-stop action scenes with bad guy CIA turncoat Johnson getting the worst of it. Johnson gets knocked around all over the place then set on fire, with a bottle of deadly sulfuric acid, and then killed in a freighter explosion. Just when you thought the movie and Johnson were history he again killed in another explosion in his Hong Kong hideout. Johnson who at that point seemed to have come back from the dead has the same crazed and manic look in both scenes in both scenes that he was killed.