Unknown – A Warner Bros. Pictures’ Release

http://unknownmovie.warnerbros.com/

Release Date: February 18th

Rated 14A for violence, disturbing content, language may offend

Running time: 114 minutes

 

Jaume Collet-Serra (dir.)

 

Oliver Butcher (screenplay)

Stephen Cornwell (screenplay)

 

Based on the novel Out of My Head by Didier Van Cauwelaert

 

John Ottman (music)

Alexander Rudd (music)

 

Liam Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris

Diane Kruger as Gina

January Jones as Elizabeth Harris

Aidan Quinn as Martin B.

Bruno Ganz as Ernst Jürgen

Frank Langella as Rodney Cole

Sebastian Koch as Professor Bressler

Olivier Schneider as Smith

(L-r) JANUARY JONES as Elizabeth Harris and LIAM NEESON as Dr. Martin Harris in Dark Castle Entertainment’s thriller “UNKNOWN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

 

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

 

Our reviews below:

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Unknown Review By John C.

**1/2 (out of 4)

Soon after Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) arrives in Berlin for a scientific research conference, he finds himself in the back of a taxi as it plunges into the water.  When he awakens from a 4-day coma, it seems as if he never existed at all.  Previous colleagues don’t recognize him, and his wife Liz (January Jones) has taken up with another man who seems to have stolen his identity.

 

Dr. Harris tracks down the taxi driver, Gina (Diane Kruger) who saved his life from the sinking car, and enlists her help in proving his identity.  But there are unknown forces who are trying to track him down, and it’s kill-or-be-killed in order to find out who he really is.  I wouldn’t want to reveal anymore of the story, as the majority of the film’s entertainment value comes from the uncertainty of the plot.

 

There isn’t a weak link in terms of casting, but the first half of the 114-minute running time almost feels as if it’s going nowhere.  Some of the dialogue here is also uninspired and borders on ridiculous.  In its favour, the twists are all interesting and there are a few suitably tense fight scenes and chases, but Unknown ultimately brings nothing overly unique or original to the genre.

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Unknown Review By Erin V.

**1/2 (out of 4)

In action-thriller Unknown, Liam Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, a man on a business trip to Berlin with his wife Liz (January Jones).  When the taxi cab he is in crashes, he ends up in a coma for four days and no one seems to remember who he is.  His wife is with another man, who also claims to be Dr. Martin Harris – and has the I.D. to prove it.  Determined to recapture his identity, he starts a search that leads him into deadly chases, and a plot bigger than he could have ever thought of – unless he already did…

 

The acting is passable, although a little overdone at times.  The action scenes/car chases are filmed well enough – entertaining to watch, but not groundbreaking.  Much past the opening shot of clouds illuminated by the sun through an airplane window, the film stays pretty squarly in the gray-blue desatuaration territory.  The use of this and the overblown colours in the flashback scenes are choices that may feel a little overboard for some.  We get prominent credits at the beginning for the cinematographers and editors, although one has to wonder if the filmmakers took this one more seriously than filmgoers will watch it.

 

In some ways the plotline is reminiscent of the Jason Bourne films, although not identical.  Certainly, no one could call Unknown an extremely original entry into the genre, but it was better than I expected and at least on first viewing keeps you guessing.

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Unknown Review By Nicole

**1/2 (out of 4)

Unknown is an interesting mystery thriller.  The film stars Liam Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris, a scientist attending a biotech conference in Berlin, Germany.  Everything seems normal, until Dr. Harris gets injured in a taxicab accident.  After suffering s four day coma, Dr. Harris is surprised to find that no one, not even his wife, Liz (January Jones), recognizes him.  To make matters worse, someone else has his identity.  Now Dr. Harris must find out who he really is.  In the meantime, he must escape people who are trying to kill him for unknown reasons.

 

Unknown is engaging, intelligent and keeps you guessing until the end.  The acting is decent, and is definitely more believable than similar films such as Salt.  Although a few scenes are a bit violent, the violence is never graphic.  The film is more dialogue driven, with action and suspense thrown in for good meassure.

 

This is a good action flick that is sure to please anyone who wants something with a lot of excitement.

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Unknown Review By Maureen

**1/2 (out of 4)

Unknown is an action-thriller starring Liam Neeson.  This spy vs. spy story has a lot of action (car chases, violence) but not a lot of thrills.

 

The story is focused on main character, Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson), a biotechnology researcher arriving in Berlin to attend a major conference where a biotechnology breakthrough, that will alleviate world food shortages will be unveiled.

 

Dr. Harris and his wife Liz (January Jones) are looking forward to their time together in Berlin.  Their plans are destroyed when Martin Harris is in a car accident and ends up submerged in a river.  He is saved by taxi driver, Gina (Diane Kruger) and a team of medics.  When he awakens from a four day coma, Dr. Harris’ memory is compromised.  He is further confused when his wife claims to not know who he is and another Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn) is by her side.

 

The rest of the movie has the original Dr. Harris, with the help of taxi-driver, Gina and former East German spy, Ernst Jurgen (Bruno Ganz), fighting off violent attacks and gathering evidence to reclaim his true identity.

 

There is a fair amount of suspense in the plot to keep viewers interested.  However the action scenes are nothing we haven’t seen before and the dialogue and delivery somewhat uninspired.  Overall, the twists and turns are what make Unknown mildly worth checking out.  Fans of the lead actors may also be curious.

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Unknown Review By Tony

*** (out of 4)

Unknown begins quietly, as a couple named Dr. Martin and Liz Harris (Liam Neeson and January Jones) arrives in Berlin for a biotech conference. As Gina checks into the hotel, Martin, realizing his briefcase was left at the airport, gets in a cab to fetch it. The cab gets into an accident, leaving Harris in a coma for four days. Returning to the hotel, he finds that his identity and wife have been taken by another man (Aidan Quinn). Wandering the city to find answers, he seeks out the cab driver Gina (Diane Kruger) and help from ex-Stasi agent Jürgen (Bruno Ganz), while people keep trying to kill them. As his memory comes back, Harris has to move fast to avoid disaster.

With some interesting plot twists, Unknown is a good thriller, though at almost two hours a bit too long. What may have seemed confusing at the time makes sense upon later reflection, and without resorting to fake spy gadgets, so the film can be taken more seriously than Mission Impossible for example. Aside from a car chase that is neither the best or worst we have seen, the violent action is mainly close in and personal, which is more disturbing in a way than shoot-em-ups. The mainly German cast is good, particularly Neeson, Kruger, Ganz and also Frank Langella. In hindsight, Unknown might be best compared to the Bourne Series, though not as good.

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Consensus: Unknown boasts a strong cast, some interesting twists and several action sequences, however parts of this thriller feel somewhat overlong and the dialogue is often uninspired. **1/2 (Out of 4)