Unknown (2011) Reviews

• Despite his age, Neeson still has it in him

  jdkraus2011-03-01

  Multiple people have compared this to Neeson's 2008 release of "Taken." Both have a similar concept; Liam goes on a fast-paced journey to retrieve something special that has been taken from him. This time it is not his daughter; it is his mind. Unlike "Taken," "Unknown" is more of a suspense mystery than an action flick. There are some chases and fight scenes, but that is not the main focus. The movie's plot is focus and it is unique for it is unpredictable. We are confused like Neeson's character and there are times we don't know if he will succeed. There are multiple twists and unlike most mystery thrillers, it took me more than half through the film to figure it all out. In short, "Unknown" is a fairly decent mystery thriller. Good performances. Good story for a mystery. Good music. Good cinematography—I particularly like the whole gray, dreary atmosphere that reflects the film's location's bleak weather. Good twists. Good suspense— the sound mixers must've had a kick in adding emphasis on sound effects to startle the audience. The one thing I will note is that Liam Neeson is really showing his age. This is not necessarily a bad thing; on the contrary, it helps his character out. It gets tiresome that Hollywood always uses the generic 30-something year old actor with smashing abs who is tossed into a terrible situation. It is nice to see an aging actor play an upper middle-aged man who has perhaps lost his mind while running away from people trying to kill him. My rating: ***/****

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• Finely Constructed Thriller Which Keeps You Guessing All the Way: Sort of Robert Ludlum Meets To Tell the Truth

  classicalsteve2011-02-26

  I guess if you really want to put an American in a harsh situation, have him lose his memory in a foreign country. For Americans that's probably the closest thing to Hell on Earth, right up there with being denied Monday Night Football in Hi-Def. (Just kidding) A few films have similar premises of an American being a fish out of his own waters: "the Bourne Identity", "Frantic", and "Seven Days Seven Nights". Hollywood is also replete with stories about people either losing their memories or simply being "lost" inside a political situation because of forces beyond their control, such as "the Changeling", Hitchcock's "Spellbound", "the Truman Show"; even "Total Recall" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" have similarities. The one element that saves these movies is the premise of the main character being in essentially a "no win situation". Despite how contrived or "unrealistic" the whole plot is, if the character is interesting enough, and the situation compelling enough, then you tend to run with it. Part of the fun is learning the greater story along with the character. It may have become a rather over-used plot devise, but it tends to work, in part because pieces of the puzzle can be thrown at the character without him understanding what it means. "Unknown" falls into this category of a character being trapped in a situation he does not completely understand, and the story is told almost entirely from the his point of view. After a near-death experience in Berlin, an American wakes up in a hospital room and his only knowledge is that he is Dr Martin Harris and he was there for a Biotech conference. But he has lost his identification along the way, and no one seems to believe him. He even returns to the hotel where he was supposed to be staying and finds his wife. Except his wife not only denies him but appears to be married to a man also by the name of Dr Martin Harris. Will the real Martin Harris please stand up? Starts to ring of a suspense version of the old television show "To Tell the Truth" where three people would claim they were the same person, and panelists would try to figure out who was the "real" person. I don't see "and the nominees for Best Actor are Liam Neeson for Uknown" in the near future, but at the same time it really is Neeson who makes the entire film work. His honesty as an actor delivers a performance right on the money that kept me on the edge of my seat most of the way, to the point where I really wanted to know how he would get out of this. I never quite fell out of my chair, the way I did when I saw the original "the Bourne Identity" with Richard Chamberlain, but "Unknown" is first-rate entertainment of the escapist variety. The two leading ladies also keep the entertainment level high, particularly January Jones (of Mad Men fame) who plays against type, as the loyal wife turned traitor. And Diane Kruger as a Bosnian refugee who is working in Berlin to eventually get her immigration papers reluctantly befriends Neeson and becomes an integral part of the plot. Roger Ebert in his review points out that a lot of things are too coincidental. Yeah...it's a suspense/action movie. So what else is new? If there's anything I can say about "Unknown" is you'll never find yourself looking at your watch, which is pretty high praise these days.

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• Crafty Thriller!

  g-bodyl2013-01-25

  Liam Neeson is turning into quite an action star these days despite his advancing age. After starring in the surprise action hit Taken, Liam tries his hand at another similar movie except with a much fewer body count. Unknown is a crafty little thriller set in international lands and is much better than I expected it to be. I thought this would be almost like a sequel to Taken but what I got was a tense, smartly-written thriller. This film is about a husband, Dr. Martin Harris and a wife, Liz who travels to Germany because of a press conference. After suffering in an accident, Martin wakes up to find out his whole world is turned upside down when he finds out his wife does not recognize him and an impostor has taken his place. Now, he has to face many challenges if he is to get things back to normal. Liam Neeson is making a name for himself as an action star. He was pretty good to watch in this movie. The supporting cast led by January Jones, Diane Kruger, and Frank Langella is really good as well. Overall, this is a tense thriller which is way better than the release date it had would suggest. This movie was slow at times and it reminded me greatly of Harrison Ford's Frantic, but despite some clichés, the cast and some tense moments rose this film above mediocrity. I rate this film 8/10.

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• Involving and well interpreted action-thriller

  yris20022011-02-28

  The movie sounds intriguing since from the beginning and keeps its sense of mystery and intrigue till the end: this is a good quality, once reminding Hitchcock's thrillers, with the difference that in "Unknown" the thrilling aspect cannot be separated from the frenzy typical of action movies. The result is an entertaining, involving pic, never losing its strong and quick rhythm and letting the viewer staying attached to the screen till the end. Set in a depressing Berlin covered by snow, always marked by the sad signs of a more or less distant past, a good photography gets to capture the overall gloomy atmosphere of the story and the mystery of a character whose vicissitudes seem as much incomprehensible as much needing some resolution, and an effective final twist as well. Liam Neeson plays skillfully, although not always sufficiently expressive, he gets to convey the sense of void of someone looking for some identity. A stand-out performance is offered by Bruno Ganz and also Diane Kruger supports Neeson quite well. Certainly not a masterpiece, but worth the ticket.

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• Keeps your attention

  uorrett2011-08-08

  Anyone who has watched Liam Neeson's movies have grown accustom to a character that is always thrown into absurd situations but can still somehow use wit, power and skills to get himself out. Unknown offers the same formula but it still works. This movie caught my attention from the get go. I enjoy how Liam is believable in these roles and you forget that he's getting up there in age, if anything, he makes it seem like this is what any man his age is capable of. He is awaken from a coma to discover that his identity has been taken by someone else. Worst yet, his wife doesn't seem to recognize him. With the help of the woman that saved his life, in a country that is not his home, Liam seeks about to prove himself. This movie is action packed and keeps you on the edge while you try to figure out what is going on. And I feel the ending does not disappoint. Enjoyable, entertaining, action packed and thrilling!

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