A Decent 4k Upgrade
Summary
MVD Rewind’s effort to upgrade Knock Off to 4K is, fortunately, a success, making the film feel more vibrant than ever. Since the movie was shot on film and had a sizeable budget, the upgrade looks great. Previously only available in the USA in its DVD and VHS formats, the 4K restoration is strong and vivid. Devoted fans of Van Damme won’t care if the movie isn’t one of his stronger efforts (and, in fact, it was one of his weakest theatrical films), and will – and should – be eager to add this one to their collection. MVD has taken care of the elements and they’ve ported over previous special features, including a commentary by action film experts and an archival making of feature, plus a poster, and interviews, and the trailer.
Plot: A “knock off” brand of jeans with buttons loaded with explosive material will create havoc on the USA, but a couple of scrappy businessmen save the day.
Review: Jean-Claude Van Damme’s second and fatal collaboration with director Tsui Hark resulted in the hyper stylized and confusing mess that is Knock Off. Van Damme plays a happy-go-lucky businessman named Marcus Ray who peddles knock off clothes in Hong Kong. His partner Tommy (Rob Schneider) reveals himself to actually be working for the CIA on a major case, which involves the Russian Mafia and an attack against the United States. When Ray realizes that the Mafia is using the buttons on his knock off jeans as micro bombs, Ray and Tommy are thrust in the middle of an incredibly confusing plot that has them enthralled in action.
Along with Van Damme’s and Tsui Hark’s Double Team, I firmly believe Knock Off helped topple Van Damme as a theatrical marquee name. From the start, Knock Off has him delivering stupid dialogue, casting him in a buffoonish light, and the plot is incoherent and idiotic, strange considering that the script was by Steven E. De Souza, who wrote the script for Die Hard. De Souza also wrote and directed the Van Damme turkey, Street Fighter, but Knock Off is a whole different brand of bad. The Hong Kong-style aesthetics are lost in translation here, and even with some clever stunts and interesting-looking fight scenes, the movie doesn’t have the legs to stand on. Needless to say, Van Damme began making movies that were released directly to video after this.
MVD Rewind’s effort to upgrade Knock Off to 4K is, fortunately, a success, making the film feel more vibrant than ever. Since the movie was shot on film and had a sizeable budget, the upgrade looks great. Previously only available in the USA in its DVD and VHS formats, the 4K restoration is strong and vivid. Devoted fans of Van Damme won’t care if the movie isn’t one of his stronger efforts (and, in fact, it was one of his weakest theatrical films), and will – and should – be eager to add this one to their collection. MVD has taken care of the elements and they’ve ported over previous special features, including a commentary by action film experts and an archival making of feature, plus a poster, and interviews, and the trailer.