Knock Off
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) | Release Date: September 4, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
3
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
It's fast, light and funny and not top-heavy with special effects and epic-scale destruction. Read full review
70
VarietyJoe Leydon
Working from a formulaic script by Steven E. De Souza, Hark employs a variety of visual stratagems to keep the action fast and flashy. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Though the jokey lines seem out of place, the somber tone of this 1998 action movie makes the political subtext -- nearly obscured by the expected double crosses, extravagant destruction, and incongruous-buddies shtick -- more sincere and less grandiose than usual. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Essentially just an above-average Hong Kong action movie, but as such, it's still far better than just about anything else Van Damme has done. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Van Damme and his cronies (including Lela Rochon, Paul Sorvino, and, for no immediately graspable reason, Rob Schneider as Van Damme's rabbity sidekick) race, speed, shoot, chop, and zip through scenes of such festive mayhem, plot is a clunky afterthought, like a lopsided fake Prada label on a cheap nylon knapsack. Read full review
50
The New York TimesLawrence Van Gelder
Knock Off runs breathlessly over land and water in familiar comic book fashion, offering more action than sense and next to nothing in the way of suspense, humor or romance. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleRussell Smith
In essence, the whole Knock Off experience can be summed up neatly in four words: loud, stupid, blurry, frenetic. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Hong Kong action pioneer Tsui Hark is in high form here, tricking out the bare-bones story with disorienting camera angles, trick photography and virtuoso action sequences. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
The ridiculous complications might have worked if there had been an awareness of how absurd they are. Read full review
25
San Francisco ExaminerEdvins Beitiks
An amusement park special, screaming from start to finish with no brakes, no plot and no acting to speak of. Read full review
10
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
A stunningly lethargic, uninvolving piece of crap. Read full review
0
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)John Haslett Cuff
The plot is as incomprehensible as the dubbing and many of the special effects are neither special nor effective. Read full review
0
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It's amazing how boring an action movie can be when there's absolutely no point to all of the sound and fury. Read full review
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