Jean-Claude Van Damme (“Universal Soldier”, “Death Warrant”) stars in “Knock Off”, an action film so bad that it might be the star’s worst movie. It has a very strange premise for an action flick and the storyline is needlessly complicated.

I did not really understand the plot of “Knock Off”. For some reason, Van Damme plays a fashion designer. During the British handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese, he becomes involved in espionage when explosives are found in a shipment of counterfeit jeans. There are some people that are working undercover and other playing both sides but the film is so terrible that you will lose interest in the story’s twists and turns.

Why on Earth is Van Damme playing a fashion designer? There is no real explanation as to why this fashion designer is also a martial arts master as we see him fight professional baddies like he has special forces’ training. Rob Schneider (“The Animal”, “Judge Dredd”) plays his business partner, Tommy, and he is just awful. There is one scene where there is a rickshaw race and Schneider whips Van Damme’s rear… why? Some of the villains are Russia but it is not really made clear as to whether they are mobsters, government agents or international terrorists.

The action sequences in “Knock Off” are appalling. You do not really know what is going on and the weird transition effects are completely unnecessary. The special effects for the explosions are laughable and the shot of a Buddhist monument in ruins looks like something from an independent film and not a Hollywood production. “Knock Off” features poor acting, horrific editing, pathetic special effects and awful fight scenes. I thought “Cyborg” was Van Damme’s worst film but I think “Knock Off” is slightly worse. Seriously, who thought that a film where Van Damme plays a fashion designer was a good idea?