Russian agents searching for something underwater find a crate as Hong Kong police close in. They accidentally open the crate and baby dolls float to the surface before being detonated. Some Russian agents and a Hong Kong detective pursuing them survive. Downtown, Tommy Hendricks is arranging a fashion show for "V-Six" Jeans. His partner, Marcus Ray shows up late after inspecting a warehouse of their goods where he sees several knock-offs, including the exploding dolls, peddled by a Hong Kong gangster, Skinny. Marcus and Tommy then participate in a rickshaw race during which Marcus' adopted brother and friend Eddie cheats to win by switching with a body double. The body double gets kidnapped by Russian agents and Marcus gives chase. Ultimately, they kill the fake Eddie and Hong Kong police arrest Marcus and Tommy, but release them without charges. Back at their office, an executive from V-Six, Karen Leigh, claims a shipment of jeans was counterfeit and Marcus and Tommy are responsible for over $5 million of losses. She agrees to let it go if they go to the warehouse that switched the fake jeans and identify who did it. Meanwhile, the Russian bosses kill the agents who failed to reclaim the dolls and get tipped off by Skinny that V-Six is onto them and is going to their warehouse. When Tommy gets kidnapped at a restaurant, Marcus follows him and finds him talking to his CIA handlers. He is a CIA agent sent to discover the counterfeiters who used Marcus, "the king of knock offs," as his cover. That night, before they arrive at the warehouse, a truck bursts out. Marcus gets on top of it and when it ultimately crashes they find it full of tiny discs. Tommy's boss, Harry Johansson, determines they are powerful "nanobombs" at their base inside a Buddha statue. Believing Eddie to be in on it, they go to see him. Eddie fingers Skinny as the counterfeiter; he found out they had bombs in the merchandise and tried to have it dumped in the ocean before the Russians found them. He opens a safe to give them proof, but it explodes, killing him. Tommy and Marcus have to fight their way out of the building. Tommy obtains security footage on the way out. Marcus kidnaps Skinny and takes him back to the CIA base in the Buddha. There, the security footage reveals Karen was in the warehouse just before they were. At the office, she handcuffs Tommy and prepares to kill him. After Marcus leaves, the Buddha explodes, and Marcus races to the office to save Tommy. After a fight, she reveals she's CIA as well, and the three team up. While Marcus changes, the Russians kidnap Karen and Tommy, and Marcus finds a bomb detector in Karen's things. He realizes the jean studs are the nanobombs and checks the computer for the shipping manifest. He and the Hong Kong detective from the opening scene race to the port where Karen and Tommy are being held. Tommy is relieved to see Harry on board, but Harry reveals he is a double agent intending to ransom companies for not detonating the nanobombs they have been secretly planting in manufactured goods all over the world. Marcus and the detective board the barge and fight through all of the Russians, eventually escaping just before Harry detonates it. Karen plants a handful of the nanobombs on Harry's boat as well, which explodes. They find the detonator in the water and take it. Two months later, Tommy and Marcus talk in a bar. Tommy still has the detonator. In a distant room, Harry, still alive, is planting nanobombs on a toy. Tommy carelessly activates the detonator, destroying the building Harry is in, in the distance.
Knock Off opened in the United States on September 4, 1998. It took the 4th spot and grossed in $5,516,2311 at 1800 theaters, at an average of $3,064 for the weekend. From there it grossed a total of $10.3 million in US ticket sales.
Reception
Knock Off holds an 8% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 39 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Muddled plot; stiff acting." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D+" on an A+ to F scale. Joe Leydon of Variety called it "an exuberantly cheesy action opus" that is made worth watching by Tsui Hark's directing despite its confusing and formulaic plot. Paul Tatara of CNN wrote that it is "the most incomprehensible mess I've ever had to sit through", and Jeff Vice of the Deseret News called it "incompetent in almost every aspect of filmmaking". Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times, however, called it Van Damme's best film to date and said it has crossover appeal due to its humor.
