More Van Damme escapades, this time with an interesting set-up which is wasted in favour of a twisty-turning tale of deception, lies, deception, cover-up, two-faced allies, baddies, and some martial arts action. Pretty much what you would expect really. Once again, fans and critics alike hated this movie, but I thought it was all right, and nowhere near as bad as people say it is.
The main problem for me was the annoying comedy at the beginning of the film (if I wanted a comedy I would rent a comedy). Okay, so it's good to see Van Damme not taking himself too seriously for once, but this comedy is irritating and silly, too. The fault partly lies with Rob Schneider, who goes over the top and just can't be serious, although by the end of the film he calms down a bit and isn't quite so annoying.
Another annoying aspect of the film is that director Tsui Hark (who previously worked with Van Damme on DOUBLE TEAM) has to experiment with weird camera angles and slowing the film down in the action scenes, of all places. These shots are just out of place and defuse some of the pace which had been building up, and thankfully they disappear by the film's end. There are other glitches, like explosions being green, but these are minor in comparison to Hark's camera-trickery.
Okay, so there isn't much of a plot, and it's basically Van Damme going along and beating up bad guys again. However, there are a few good set pieces, such as Van Damme and Schneider being chased by a mob of weapon-wielding wackos, and Van Damme taking them on one at a time; also, good moments like when a car flies out of a building , tips over a lorry and lands upright, driving off. Paul Sorvino pops up briefly too, and gets his arm eaten away by acid for his troubles.
However, it's the ending where things get better, as Van Damme takes on all the baddies on a boat. There's a lot of martial art action here, plenty of violence which all gels together and has a good pace, and more bullets than you can shake a stick at. There are stylised shots of people being blown away and flying against walls, Van Damme sliding down slippery passageways shooting, and even some throat-cutting. KNOCK OFF may not be intelligent entertainment, but Van Damme has done worse.
The main problem for me was the annoying comedy at the beginning of the film (if I wanted a comedy I would rent a comedy). Okay, so it's good to see Van Damme not taking himself too seriously for once, but this comedy is irritating and silly, too. The fault partly lies with Rob Schneider, who goes over the top and just can't be serious, although by the end of the film he calms down a bit and isn't quite so annoying.
Another annoying aspect of the film is that director Tsui Hark (who previously worked with Van Damme on DOUBLE TEAM) has to experiment with weird camera angles and slowing the film down in the action scenes, of all places. These shots are just out of place and defuse some of the pace which had been building up, and thankfully they disappear by the film's end. There are other glitches, like explosions being green, but these are minor in comparison to Hark's camera-trickery.
Okay, so there isn't much of a plot, and it's basically Van Damme going along and beating up bad guys again. However, there are a few good set pieces, such as Van Damme and Schneider being chased by a mob of weapon-wielding wackos, and Van Damme taking them on one at a time; also, good moments like when a car flies out of a building , tips over a lorry and lands upright, driving off. Paul Sorvino pops up briefly too, and gets his arm eaten away by acid for his troubles.
However, it's the ending where things get better, as Van Damme takes on all the baddies on a boat. There's a lot of martial art action here, plenty of violence which all gels together and has a good pace, and more bullets than you can shake a stick at. There are stylised shots of people being blown away and flying against walls, Van Damme sliding down slippery passageways shooting, and even some throat-cutting. KNOCK OFF may not be intelligent entertainment, but Van Damme has done worse.