Knock Off

"Knock Off," if you saw any of the previews or advertisements, appears to be just that, starring Jean-Claude van Damme as Jackie Chan, Rob Schnieder as Tom Arnold from "True Lies," and Lela Rochon as Pam Grier. But really, it's part of the continuing effort by movie distributors and producers to overcome the insidious American habit of making boring action films by bringing in new fresh talent from Hong Kong. This film, in fact, is a Hong Kong action film starring four American actors (Paul Sorvino is the CIA heavy (literally and otherwise)). I have never heard of the director, Tsui Hark, before, but in this film he combines a gun fetish almost worthy of John Woo (I said "almost") with a hyperactive editing style and overuse of disorienting camerawork that makes "Armageddon" look like "Driving Miss Daisy." The film is, of course, set in Hong Kong, and all the other actors are Chinese people speaking English. I guess it is thought that if no one's voice is dubbed, the theatergoers will be free to concentrate on the constant action endemic to Hong Kong action.

You may be saying to yourself, "But one of the people they drafted to speak English is...Jean-Claude van Damme." This is a strange thing, and one I could never quite get over. If you just listened to JCvD's dialogue, you'd swear it had been dubbed over, but his lips are moving at the same time as he speaks the words. It's like seeing Anthony Hopkins speak in that refined accent when his lips are moving to some completely different language. Ah well, it's not like we expect JCvD to suddenly have graduated from Henry Higgins' elocution classes in between "Sudden Death" and this film. The really funny thing is that the scriptwriter has sprinkled the film with the normal Hong Kong interpretations of stereotypical American behavior and slang, so we see American people who should know better speaking stilted gangsta patter or unconvincing tough talk (and we also see JCvD talking like his normal Belgian self). It sounds like I am carping uselessly, but it is a constant botherment for at least the first half of the movie, until you sort of get used to it.

On the other hand, the action itself is joyously sprightly and excessive in the normal Hong Kong manner, featuring numerous dramatic impalements which are not strictly necessary and stunts that look physically impossible. All the principals shine at this (excluding the immobile Sorvino). JCvD is, in fact, a Jackie Chan knock-off in this movie, but he's an OK one, getting at least some of the effortless physicality that I rhapsodized on at obscene length some months ago. It would be silly to complain about what you don't get, in other words, when what you do get is pretty damn entertaining. Rob Schneider is not supposed to be a big fighter, but does get a few good punches off.

But the real surprise is Lela Rochon. From her earlier experience in films dominated by emotion and at least some level of thought, such as "Waiting to Exhale" and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," one would not expect Miss Rochon to be capable of swinging herself up into cabling running along a ceiling and then wielding a fully automatic assault rifle against Russian gangsters, but she does this and more in the course of this film. Incidentally, if she had a stunt double at any point in this film, I could not tell, since all of her action shots featured her actual face (whereas Schneider finks out when asked to actually punch someone), which makes her performance all the more impressive.

The Hong Kong action movie's virtues, of course, almost imply its vices: With all the frenetic action, there is no time for plot exposition (the "Knock Off" of the title refers to the massive Hong Kong industry of making inferior copies of American name-brand merchandise for export, as dramatized by a pair of shoes JCvD wears which bear the unfortunate label "Pumma" and fall apart in the first fifteen minutes of hard use). I do not consider myself unintelligent, although I do have a habit of slinging around unnecessary vocabulary, but I absolutely even now upon reflection have no idea what any of that was about except terrorists and bombs and stuff like that, which means (I guess) that it's a good action movie.

There is also the little matter of the terrible credits music, which is annoying and stupid and even now will not leave my head ("It looks almost real...but it's a knock off"). The thing that's been impressing me about Hong Kong action movies lately, though, is that Hong Kong is still a world financial power after all the enormous battles that take place in its streets between Triad and Russian gangsters and rogue cops or mild-mannered businessmen caught up in situations not of their making. City block after city block goes down to runaway vehicles or explosions or virtual riots in this film, just as in all the rest of them, except in this film the extras are blase about it, with no real facial expression as bullets whiz past their heads and the architectural integrity of the buildings around them is jeopardized:

Hong Kong Native 1: Looks like Chang's fish market got destroyed in a police chase.

Hong Kong Native 2: Guess we'll have to go down the block.

Hong Kong Native 1: Got some bad news there too.

I swear, Hong Kong would rule us all were it not handicapped by this program of urban redevlopment.

In any case, this is an above-average film of its type with a few irritating quirks and a few nice surprises. Considering the bore I was expecting when I entered the theater, this is quite impressive. The most successful American-Hong Kong exchange program is still John Woo's over-the-top "Face/Off," but this might not be that far behind in its way.

Attractive Man Count: Unless you have a bicep fetish, 0.

Attractive Woman Count: Did I mention Lela Rochon is a hottie? Also there is a detective who is a dead ringer for Michelle Yeoh, who should be in more movies. 2.

Overall Grade: B+. Don't knock it off your list without considering it.

I really should have heard of Tsui Hark before this movie. I can only say that I rectified my ignorance quickly after discovering this legend of Hong Kong action cinema.

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