Knock Off

Set in Hong Kong in 1997, as the handover to China approaches, Knock Off follows Marcus Ray, a jeans company representative who is also working as a CIA agent. When counterfeit versions of his brand's jeans begin circulating, he and his business partner Tommy Hendricks look into where the fakes come from. Their investigation draws them toward a smuggling operation involving hidden explosives and Russian interests, turning a case of pirated goods into something far more dangerous.

Tsui Hark directed the film, the eighteenth of thirty-one features in his directing career and the one following Double Team in 1997; Zu Warriors came later, in 2001. Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rob Schneider star as Marcus Ray and Tommy Hendricks, with Lela Rochon, Paul Sorvino, Michael Wong and Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung among a credited cast of twenty-four. The screenplay is by Steven E. de Souza, and the production was mounted by TriStar Pictures, MDP Worldwide, Film Workshop and Knock Films A.V.V.

Released in September 1998, Knock Off had a budget of about 35 million US dollars and took roughly 44 million worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 4.9 out of 10 from around 17,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.4 out of 10 from about 413 votes. A critics' rating of 3.6 out of 10 from 43 reviews places it below even the muted audience scores.