You might have fun, but I'm not making any promises

Rating: 6/10 (16 May 2011)

Well, it's February, and what does that mean? For some of us, that means it's the worst time of year for movies. Oscar flicks are milked December through January, leading us into February, where everyone has already seen the major front-runners and nothing new even comes close to appealing in comparison to those masterpieces. So, out of boredom this past weekend, I caught Jaume Collet-Serra's newest film Unknown (2011). I guess the best word to describe my experience would be "meh." We've got Liam Neeson as our big star—who doesn't love Liam?! That is, when we're not getting him confused with Ralph Fiennes (or is this just my bad?). Anyway, Neeson does what he does best, playing a bad ass, and for a quick second you want to accept this movie as an okay flick. But, after a few awesome car chases, you sink back into the story and say to yourself, "Um—What the hell? There's no way that's even possible." No spoilers here, but the conclusion is completely implausible. Unknown is filled with major plot holes, and perhaps too much plot to begin with. The enjoyment of Unknown truly lies with Liam Neeson's performance. Let's get real; he's actually a talented guy. On the other end of the spectrum, we get Diane Kruger's performance, which blows major chunks. Okay, great, she's got a German accent. Well done. But her performance as a pseudo-punk, illegal immigrant, taxi driver was a huge miscast. She and Neeson are a horrible duo with no on-screen chemistry. So, basically what I'm saying here is, it's got some good, some bad, and some even worse, but it's not the crappiest movie I've ever seen. You might have fun, but I'm not making any promises.