Director: Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, House of Wax)
Starring: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones
On Blu-Ray + DVD: June 21, 2011
Unknown is greater than the sum of its parts. The acting ranges from decent to bad, the action scenes are nothing new, and the plot is at times tedious and unoriginal. Having said all of that, the film still manages to be really fun and entertaining from beginning to end.
Unknown is the story of Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson), who is on vacation with his wife, Liz (Jones), in Germany. Near the beginning of the film, Dr. Harris is involved in a car crash with his taxi driver, Gina (Kruger), and his injuries leave him in a four-day coma. When he wakes up, parts of his memory are missing, but he remembers where he and his wife were staying. Upon arriving at the hotel and finding her, Liz denies knowing Martin, saying that she is married to another man who is staying at the hotel with her. The rest of the movie is centered on Martin's quest to prove that he is who he says he is as well as figuring out why his wife pretends not to know him.
Stories about amnesia are fairly common in film, but I liked where Unknown took the concept. There's a significant plot twist that I won't spoil here, but it gives the film a very unique take on amnesia. Sometimes plot twists come off as cheesy, but here it worked great and actually made sense with the story we are given. Having said that, the rest of the plot is fairly generic. In a similar vein as Taken, another Neeson-led thriller, Martin spends almost the entire movie chasing down people and getting information. However, unlike Taken, Neeson isn't spicing these scenes up with gunfights; in Unknown, he just finds them and then runs away before he gets caught. I was still interested in the story because I wanted to know how it ended, but I definitely feel like the movie would have benefited from a more well-executed story.
As for the characters and their actors, they are mostly passable. Neeson plays basically a watered-down version of his character from Taken. His journey through Unknown is intriguing and I was able to connect with him. Kruger is the standout in the film, although the character she plays is very flat. Gina's emotions are conveyed well and her actions feel realistic, even in the middle of all of the crazy things happening around her. Frank Langella's character, as well as all the people chasing Martin, are throwaway characters who I can't clearly distinguish between. By far the worst acting in the film, though, is from January Jones. As a huge fan of Mad Men, I always assumed that her wooden demeanor and emotionless performance as Betty Draper was because her character on the show is such a coldhearted woman. After seeing her in two films already this year (Unknown and X-Men: First Class), it is becoming apparent that this is just how she acts. Because of this, she never establishes a connection with Neeson and all of her scenes with him seem forced.
This review is a perfect example of what I meant at the beginning of the review. From the text, it looks like I disliked Unknown a lot more than I actually did. Outside of Jones's scenes, I was thoroughly entertained by the film and completely invested in its climax. The film's unique twist on the amnesia story is refreshing and intriguing, even if its execution isn't as great as it should be. It's not a flawless movie, but Unknown is enjoyable and well worth taking a look at.
Unknown is greater than the sum of its parts. The acting ranges from decent to bad, the action scenes are nothing new, and the plot is at times tedious and unoriginal. Having said all of that, the film still manages to be really fun and entertaining from beginning to end.
Unknown is the story of Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson), who is on vacation with his wife, Liz (Jones), in Germany. Near the beginning of the film, Dr. Harris is involved in a car crash with his taxi driver, Gina (Kruger), and his injuries leave him in a four-day coma. When he wakes up, parts of his memory are missing, but he remembers where he and his wife were staying. Upon arriving at the hotel and finding her, Liz denies knowing Martin, saying that she is married to another man who is staying at the hotel with her. The rest of the movie is centered on Martin's quest to prove that he is who he says he is as well as figuring out why his wife pretends not to know him.
Stories about amnesia are fairly common in film, but I liked where Unknown took the concept. There's a significant plot twist that I won't spoil here, but it gives the film a very unique take on amnesia. Sometimes plot twists come off as cheesy, but here it worked great and actually made sense with the story we are given. Having said that, the rest of the plot is fairly generic. In a similar vein as Taken, another Neeson-led thriller, Martin spends almost the entire movie chasing down people and getting information. However, unlike Taken, Neeson isn't spicing these scenes up with gunfights; in Unknown, he just finds them and then runs away before he gets caught. I was still interested in the story because I wanted to know how it ended, but I definitely feel like the movie would have benefited from a more well-executed story.
As for the characters and their actors, they are mostly passable. Neeson plays basically a watered-down version of his character from Taken. His journey through Unknown is intriguing and I was able to connect with him. Kruger is the standout in the film, although the character she plays is very flat. Gina's emotions are conveyed well and her actions feel realistic, even in the middle of all of the crazy things happening around her. Frank Langella's character, as well as all the people chasing Martin, are throwaway characters who I can't clearly distinguish between. By far the worst acting in the film, though, is from January Jones. As a huge fan of Mad Men, I always assumed that her wooden demeanor and emotionless performance as Betty Draper was because her character on the show is such a coldhearted woman. After seeing her in two films already this year (Unknown and X-Men: First Class), it is becoming apparent that this is just how she acts. Because of this, she never establishes a connection with Neeson and all of her scenes with him seem forced.
This review is a perfect example of what I meant at the beginning of the review. From the text, it looks like I disliked Unknown a lot more than I actually did. Outside of Jones's scenes, I was thoroughly entertained by the film and completely invested in its climax. The film's unique twist on the amnesia story is refreshing and intriguing, even if its execution isn't as great as it should be. It's not a flawless movie, but Unknown is enjoyable and well worth taking a look at.
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