Implausible at a few parts but it kept me engaged throughout

Rating: 6/10 (10 March 2011)

The lessons I learned after watching this movie - one: never leave your briefcase at the airport. Two: Mercedes-Benz makes damn sturdy taxis. Three: Liam Neeson continues to be a badass even when he's nearly 60.
"Unknown" is mostly a mystery thriller - Liam Neeson's character awakens from his coma after an accident to find out that someone else has taken his identity - and nobody believes him. The plot weaves through the streets of Berlin and some shady characters - with the all too typical thriller lesson of not trusting anyone.
The film is briskly paced, there are slow moments but every 10 minutes there's an action sequence liven up the film, and it's especially during the last half of the film that the action sequences pile up after another. The action is fast and brutal for a PG-13 movie, and is shot quite clearly without annoying shaky camera for the most part, especially during the car chase scenes, while the fluid editing completes the job by adequately pacing the film to be fast or slow if necessary.
And then there's Neeson. Here he is surrounded by both old and new familiar faces. There's Aidan Quinn and Frank Langella as the people with mysterious vibes, and then there's Diane Kruger and January Jones as the lovely-looking ladies but yet there's something not quite right about both of them. German actors Bruno Ganz ("Downfall") and Sebastian Koch ("The Lives of Others") round out the impressive supporting cast, with Ganz commanding the screen every time he appears. But it is Neeson, his age becoming more visible as the years pass, still giving a high- energy and determined performance that becomes the heart of the film and thus cements him as an (late-blooming) action hero/star of this generation. He is believable in the fight scenes, and his humble charisma gets the audience firmly on his side.
And yet this film has its ups and downs. On the positive note, Jaume Collet-Serra's direction keeps the actors focused and the action intense, with the cinematography of Berlin showing both its glamorous and gritty side, what with its blueish hue and whatnot. John Ottman and Alexander Rudd provide a tense music score to the action. On the negative side, some parts had me suspending my disbelief in certain scenes. There is a twist at the end of the movie which I admit did not really see coming, but it wasn't exactly original as I've seen this plot device done in another movie before.
But overall, it's a very solid thriller. It gripped my attention from start to finish, and it kept me guessing on many occasions. It too, made me think a bit about the bad guys - how smart and terrifying their methods are to get what they want at the expense of other innocents. Will this win any Oscars, no. Will Liam Neeson fans love it, I guess so. Will this entertain, definitely. I wouldn't mind watching this again if I had the time and company.
P.S. This would make a great advert for Mercedes Benz cabs in Germany.
Overall value: 66/100