Unknown (2011)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The first must-see film of the year.

'Unknown' won't be everybody's cup of tea, something that is clear from reading the reviews and the mixed critical reception for it. It did have good potential, with an idea that although very familiar seemed interesting and the always watchable (and more often than not very good) Liam Neeson is enough to peak anyone's interest.Potential that wasn't quite lived up to fully. Enough of 'Unknown' does work, or at least to me it did (not everybody will agree and that's fine by me), but also from personal opinion what could have been a pretty good film turned out to be an above average but uneven one that could have done much more with what it had. It entertains and intrigues, but doesn't wow. Mostly 'Unknown' is a good looking film. the cinematography is slick and stylish, that and the suitably bleak setting often adding to the atmosphere created, and the lighting is moody and neither garish or drab. Editing is mostly tight. It's nicely scored, not intrusive but having presence, and the direction is solid.There is enough taut suspense and fun to keep one gripped and a few interesting twists. The action excites and the more dramatic scenes don't fall into the trap of losing momentum. Liam Neeson is likeable and commanding, while charming Diane Kruger and an immensely engaging Bruno Ganz as the most interesting character fare best of the rest of the cast. Frank Langhella similarly makes his mark, although his role is small. Sadly, there are exceptions to the acting, with Aidan Quinn blandly uncharismatic in his role. Worse is January Jones, playing her character as too much of the frostiest ice queen which to me seemed a wildly inappropriate approach to her character. The characters generally are pretty sketchy and too much of the dialogue is hammy and vague. While enough of the film grips, it does get preposterous, credibility-straining and less clear in story in the later stages up until the final twist and ending that is neither clever, original or satisfying. In the busier moments, the photography/editing tended to go wayward and look rushed rather than the controlled and slick film most of the film has. In summary, decent if unexceptional film that's worth staying known. 6/10 Bethany Cox

'Unknown' is a decent enough thriller that keeps you interested and guessing until the end. The story has potential but is ultimately let down by some far-fetched scenarios and plot holes.In the opening few scenes alone there's one coincidence too many - Dr. Harris forgets his suitcase, crashes into a river on his way to retrieve it (after a container falls off the vehicle in front), and is then saved by a taxi driver who goes on to risk her own life (again) to help him find out who he is.I can't say that I didn't enjoy 'Unknown', it was a good 2 hours of entertainment, but it would have been a damn sight more enjoyable if it was believable too.

I decided to watch this movie because it had Liam, the Harrison ford of the second millennium, the cute Kruger and a change of locations with Berlin. In addition, the story sounded like a mystery. Now, the result is average, not totally awful but not worthy of a second watch. I have never went there and maybe it's due to winter time but this Berlin looks a cold, industrial city that surely don't have the beauty of Paris or London… Then, i didn't understand why Kruger doesn't play a German girl ?? About the plot, it's a sort of reboot of « frantic » : same professor, same hunt in a foreign country, same companies game, same help from a young woman, same little flat… Maybe the difference is the twist but there, there is a lot of inspiration from « XIII ». The action sequences are maybe well orchestrated but they are totally unbelievable, especially the car chase ! At the end, my last question is why it's a french movie when everything and everyone aren't not french ???

UNKNOWN, another one of recent action star Liam Neeson's winter season offerings, is fairly entertaining, but also very implausible. Liam Neeson plays Martin Harris, a scientist who is attending a biotech conference in Berlin with his wife. Or is he? After an accident, he is left with no identification and no proof of who he is, and everyone is claiming they don't know him. He then proceeds to find out who he is. This type of mystery/thriller has been done before, although perhaps not as slickly as this one. The movie ERASED, starring Aaron Eckhart comes to mind, although that pales in comparison to this in terms of just about everything. Liam Neeson once again shows that he makes a capable, if unexpected, action star and he also has the acting chops to give it some weight. January Jones as his wife, however, is practically a non-entity. She practically sleepwalks through her limited role and doesn't really give off anything resembling human emotion, although that might have been on purpose. To accurately describe my reasoning would delve into spoiler territory, so I'll just leave it at that. Diane Kruger also gave a good performance as an immigrant taxi driver who helps out Liam Neeson's character. Aside from him, she's given the most screen time and is given a nice back story, to boot. Rounding out the cast are Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella. Although neither one of them had a lot of screen time (one might say they were underutilized), they did own the few scenes they were in. In terms of technical quality, the film was decent. There was a fair amount of hand-held camera-work, but none of it was too "shaky" and the fight scenes were comprehensible. There was even a couple good car chases. There was also some nice on-location shooting in Berlin, although the visual palette of the film didn't really bring out anything spectacular. Narrative-wise, the film is preposterous but still fun. There was a couple of moments where I laughed out loud due to how ridiculous things were, but overall I just accepted that the whole premise was far-fetched and went with it. Now, being mostly a dumb action movie, you wouldn't expect it to have much in the way of pertinent themes or sociopolitical commentary, but they did manage to shoehorn some in via Bruno Ganz's character, a former Stasi agent and a Saudi prince who is bankrolling a GMO project. Nothing too deep is said, but it was nice that they acknowledged that these things exist. As a whole, the movie is OK. It moves along at a good pace and is never boring. Still, discerning moviegoers would be justified in skipping it if they don't like this brand of action movie.