Let’s keep this review short. I woke up one morning and much to my surprise Liam Neeson, of all people, has turned himself into quite a capable action hero. At his age, shouldn’t he be doing Romantic Comedies or Dramas? Not beating the snot out of people and running around crowded German Streets. Another thing I’m coming to realize is that any Country that I have an interest in visiting, I shouldn’t watch a Liam Neeson movie. He made me paranoid about going to Paris after watching the excellent Taken and now I have no desire to visit Germany.
When I first saw the trailer for Unknown I was skeptical. How would they make this premise work? A man wakes up and he doesn’t know who he is? On it’s face, it sounded dumb, but the movie is much more nuanced than the trailer would lead you to believe. Writers Oliver Butcher (screenplay), Stephen Cornwell did a great job of constructing a scenario that’s both believable and a bit scary. Neeson’s character is in a car accident and he still remembers, for the most part who he is, but everyone around him, including his wife has forgotten him that leads to a situation where he starts to doubt himself and as this happens, so does the audience.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra (best known for the awful House of Wax) dangles the mystery in front of us just enough to keep us interested, but doesn’t sit on it until we stop caring. Collet’s vision of Germany is at times beautiful, but for the most part this dark, dank, dreary, snowy place that doesn’t feel safe. The pacing on this movie almost flawless, it’s about 15 minutes too long, but the reveals in the third act make the Journey worth taking. There are a lot of really interesting and surprising twists and reveals, a great character comeuppance moment that made me go “Oh my god, they actually did that.” This isn’t the type of movie that I would watch multiple times, but it’s a fun ride the first time through.
Final Grade B
EM Review by
Michelle Alexandria
Originally posted 02/20/2011
Unknown was filmed in Berlin, Germany – which is nowhere near Russia.
Oh, and Jaume Collet-Serra also directed the spectacularly creepy Orphan. I should have mentioned that in my review, but went for the House of Wax cheap shot, too. My bad.
“Unknown” is a mystery-thriller set in Berlin. An American is almost drowned in a taxi accident and awakes in a hospital four days later. Someone has assumed his identity and it appears that his wife will not tell the truth. Now people are trying to kill him. Lots of deadly violence, car chases, and danger.
GRADE = “B-“