Nice Thriller But the Ending Doesn't Quite Work

Rating: Null/10 (16 March 2011)

Unknown (2011)
*** (out of 4)
Fairly entertaining thriller has Liam Neeson playing Dr. Martin Harris who travels to Germany with his wife (January Jones) as he's about to give a speech on biotechnology. Martin forgets a piece of luggage so he heads back to the airport but along the way his cab wrecks and he's knocked out. When he wakes up he has no memory of who he is but bits and pieces slowly start to come back. When he's able to reach his wife she says she has no idea who he is so Martin must try and figure out who he is and why his wife says she doesn't know him. UNKNOWN isn't a masterpiece and it's not going to be confused with a Hitchcock film but if you don't mind a nice little "B" picture then it offers up enough entertainment. I think what makes the film work so well is that you've got an actor of the caliber of Neeson who can make you believe things even when the screenplay starts to become a tad bit silly. Neeson is really getting good at playing in these types of movies and while this one here doesn't reach the levels of TAKEN he still makes it good enough for a viewing. I thought Neeson did a very good job during the scenes where he's struggling to remember who he is. This part of the screenplay allows for the acting to tell the story and Neeson does very well with it. The first hour or so is mostly story driven as we don't get any lousy action scenes and for the most part you're zipping along with Neeson trying to figure everything out. Many will remember Diane Kruger from Tarantino's INGLOURIOUS BASERDS but she delivers a very good performance here as the taxi driver who helps Martin try to figure out his past. Neeson and Kruger have some nice chemistry together and they make for a fun team. It was nice seeing Aidan Quinn again as he adds nice support as the man claiming to be Martin. Bruno Ganz nearly steals the film as a German investigator who believes Martin is telling the truth and sets out to help him. Frank Langella appears late in the film so you should know what that means. For the first hour the film is pretty much a roller coaster ride with a story that works very well because it keeps you guessing and there are enough good twists and turns to keep you interested. With about a half hour left we start getting into some rather silly action sequences and before long the brain turns itself off. I will admit that I was guessing up to the very end and I didn't see the final twist coming but at the same time I found the explanation of everything to be rather weak. It's a nice twist but in this type of film it's best not to feel cheated but I did to a point. With that said, the first hour is so good and the cast in such fine form that it makes the film worth seeing.