Let's be honest, the very involvement of Rob Schneider in pretty much anything immediately throws it into question. Further consider how easily action flicks can fall into the trap of being stale and repetitive, and/or overcooked - especially when major action heroes are looking for their next paycheck - and it's not unfair to have doubts about 'Knock off' even before we see that the premise involves a CIA agent teaming up with a fashion designer. As soon as we start to watch, well, our worst fears are pretty well confirmed. The opening action sequence seems too bombastic for its own good, and as we're subsequently introduced to our main characters, the scenes are so stuffed with over the top zest in lieu of meaningful substance that the intended entertainment is overwhelmed as our skepticism is compounded. We get stunts, effects, and action sequences that in and of themselves are very well executed, yes, and the cast sure do act. Yet Tsui Hark's direction, too much of the acting, the pacing, the attempted humor, Arthur Wong's cinematography, Marco Mak's editing (including use of slow motion, sped-up footage, and freeze frame), instances of computer-generated imagery, and the dialogue, characters, and scene writing of Steven E. De Souza are all conjured first and foremost with a mind for blustery, overcooked, overzealous, empty, hollow, painfully gauche pizazz, and flashy style, over any consideration for earnest storytelling, film-making, or craftsmanship. It turns out that the name of this movie is all too appropriate, because calling 'Knock off' second-rate is being far too generous.
There were actually some very good ideas here, worthy of an action-thriller, and there was potential. Unfortunately, it seems that the only thing anyone involved actually cared about was making this as garishly gaudy, obscenely ostentatious, and desperately dazzling as possible. The story isn't written particularly well even on paper, and its expression here even less so. The critical stunts and action aren't even treated well, as the camerawork and editing not only embellish them with needless, tacky zing, but chop them up in a manner that reduces their visualization and overall worth. The would-be comedy is rotten in the first place, failing to earn a single laugh, and it's somehow made even worse when Schneider is involved. The acting is so roundly, horribly overblown that I really don't know who comes off worse among the cast; take your pick. True, one could perhaps say that facets like the costume design, hair, makeup, art direction, and props are well done; one could also perhaps say that these facets suffer from the same ethos that characterizes everything else in these ninety minutes - and even if they didn't, how much do they really matter in light of the overbearing tawdriness? In turn, no sooner has it begun than it's easy to almost completely check out of the viewing experience; 'Knock off' is a title that we can "watch" without remotely actively engaging. And maybe it's better that way, because who in their right mind would devote their full attention to something that is consciously this rancid?
I had low expectations when I sat to watch, and still I'm astounded by just how bad this feature is. And it certainly didn't need to be this way. If anyone involved had reined in their worst impulses, and/or if more sincere thought and care had been applied in any regard, the end result would have been significantly improved. As it stands, whatever value this has to offer - or, more accurately, what value it could have offered - is all but wholly sublimated in the constant push for explosive, zippy, fast-paced, high-strung, far-flung, far-fetched nonsense. If there's any good news here, it's that ninety minutes pass rather quickly, a wasted trip through time which is made easier to endure by our glad, necessary, partial withdrawal as viewers from the whole affair. The fact that this briskness might actually be the highlight of our ill-advised commitment, well, that sure says much about 'Knock off.' Whatever it is you think you might get out of this, I strongly suggest you reconsider, move along, and look elsewhere. This is so flagrantly, appallingly excessive and immoderate, in pretty much every capacity, that it shoots itself in the proverbial foot and quashes its own best prospects. Even for all that, this isn't the worst thing I've ever watched; I've seen the bottom of the barrel, and for as awful as the choices here were, this isn't it. Yet all told, any such distinction is decidedly meaningless, and it's necessary to vehemently recommend against this muck. There are far too many other deserving pictures to watch to ever bother with 'Knock off.'
There were actually some very good ideas here, worthy of an action-thriller, and there was potential. Unfortunately, it seems that the only thing anyone involved actually cared about was making this as garishly gaudy, obscenely ostentatious, and desperately dazzling as possible. The story isn't written particularly well even on paper, and its expression here even less so. The critical stunts and action aren't even treated well, as the camerawork and editing not only embellish them with needless, tacky zing, but chop them up in a manner that reduces their visualization and overall worth. The would-be comedy is rotten in the first place, failing to earn a single laugh, and it's somehow made even worse when Schneider is involved. The acting is so roundly, horribly overblown that I really don't know who comes off worse among the cast; take your pick. True, one could perhaps say that facets like the costume design, hair, makeup, art direction, and props are well done; one could also perhaps say that these facets suffer from the same ethos that characterizes everything else in these ninety minutes - and even if they didn't, how much do they really matter in light of the overbearing tawdriness? In turn, no sooner has it begun than it's easy to almost completely check out of the viewing experience; 'Knock off' is a title that we can "watch" without remotely actively engaging. And maybe it's better that way, because who in their right mind would devote their full attention to something that is consciously this rancid?
I had low expectations when I sat to watch, and still I'm astounded by just how bad this feature is. And it certainly didn't need to be this way. If anyone involved had reined in their worst impulses, and/or if more sincere thought and care had been applied in any regard, the end result would have been significantly improved. As it stands, whatever value this has to offer - or, more accurately, what value it could have offered - is all but wholly sublimated in the constant push for explosive, zippy, fast-paced, high-strung, far-flung, far-fetched nonsense. If there's any good news here, it's that ninety minutes pass rather quickly, a wasted trip through time which is made easier to endure by our glad, necessary, partial withdrawal as viewers from the whole affair. The fact that this briskness might actually be the highlight of our ill-advised commitment, well, that sure says much about 'Knock off.' Whatever it is you think you might get out of this, I strongly suggest you reconsider, move along, and look elsewhere. This is so flagrantly, appallingly excessive and immoderate, in pretty much every capacity, that it shoots itself in the proverbial foot and quashes its own best prospects. Even for all that, this isn't the worst thing I've ever watched; I've seen the bottom of the barrel, and for as awful as the choices here were, this isn't it. Yet all told, any such distinction is decidedly meaningless, and it's necessary to vehemently recommend against this muck. There are far too many other deserving pictures to watch to ever bother with 'Knock off.'