Taking the Unknown Identity.

Rating: 7/10 (5 April 2011)

Having loved Liam Neeson in Taken I would have been mad to have missed this. Having seen it, it's not hard to notice the film felt like a mixture of The Bourne movies and Taken. Despite this, the film stood firmly on it's own two feet as a solid and enjoyable action movie.
Prior to seeing this I was worried Liam Neeson would play the part of the protagonist (Dr. Martin Harris) too similarly to the one he played in Taken, but this was not the case at all. Although he still plays a character who has excellent skills in combat, Martin Harris is a victim who has lost quite literally everything and must fight in order to take it back. Neeson clearly depicts this to the audience, making you sympathise with his desperate situation and personally I wanted to help him find out what happened.
The film felt like a journey of steady progression towards finding the truth behind his apparent memory loss, but it is far from an easy journey as whenever Harris comes to some sort of logical answer, he is tripped up either by armed henchman breaking down the door and chasing him through the streets, betrayal, and unexpected turns in the plot. It is understandable if some viewers would become frustrated by this, but I found it increased the tension building towards the end of the film.
The ending itself was not too surprising, but rather a logical answer that made sense. I am glad, however, the writers chose this approach over a far more confusing and possibly over-the-top ending. I felt satisfied with what I had seen and believed the approach to be necessary, even if it was not over-whelming.
With some great shots of Berlin, tense and fun action scenes it is a solid experience, even if this concept has been used before. I don't know much about the making of the film, but it is likely they used 'The Bourne Identity' as a starting point. But don't let this put you off this brilliant entertainer!