Review: Just as he did in Taken two years ago, Liam Neeson tears up the streets of a European city but this time, it`s Berlin instead of Paris.
In many respects, Unknown recalls (pardon the pun) the suspense thrillers of the 80s and 90s, such as the stolen-identity movie The Net and especially Harrison Ford`s films including Frantic, Witness and The Fugitive. In fact, Liam Neeson seems to permanently sport an “oh no, but that cannot be! face of worry and shock throughout, which he presumably picked up from his K 19: The Widowmaker co-star.
Former professional boxer Liam Neeson does his tried-and-tested tough but reluctant everyman action hero act, but one gets the feeling that he didn`t need to do much here besides making that Harrison Ford face and even Neeson cannot make a line as horrible as “I haven`t forgotten how to kill you, a**hole bearable.
The supporting cast is decent, but far from perfect. January Jones seems mostly stiff and robotic, Diane Kruger is fun to watch but way too pretty to be a taxi driver living in a bad part of town, Aidan Quinn oozes enough sliminess that we can root against him, Bruno Ganz has a twinkle in his eye as the former spy who`s still got it, Mido Hamaza stands around looking dashing as the stock-character Saudi Prince Shada and Frank Langella is woefully underused in what amounts to little more than a cameo.
Unknown aspires to be The Bourne Identity and indeed Taken, playing on the paranoia of getting into a crisis in an unfamiliar city, with nobody to count on or vouch for you. Unfortunately, director Jaume Collet-Sara seems more preoccupied with cramming the movie full of stylistic flourishes and camera tricks, as opposed to meaningfully developing the plot. Most of the car chases and fisticuffs are well-shot and reasonably thrilling, and we did enjoy the sinister game of hide-and-seek set in a museum gallery. However, the whole film looks too slickly-produced and far from believable, so it is also a good thing that about midway through, it gives up the pretentious ambitions to feel realistic as it barrels towards its explosive if ridiculous conclusion.
At one point, a panicked Martin Harris tries to grasp the tremendous amount of thought and preparation that must`ve gone into having another man completely steal his identity if only a similar effort was made in creating this watchable but unsatisfying film.
Unknown is a watchable thriller, but quickly gets swallowed up in its over-the-top spiral of a plot.
Jedd Jong