Destined to remain so...

Rating: 5/10 (26 November 2011)

...or at the least rarely watched, this faux-Hitchcockian thriller helmed by Jaume "House of Wax" Collet-Sera, with a script by two writers of no renown from a novel by an author of somewhat greater reputation, simply cannot transcend the weakness of its premise or the flimsiness of its characters. Act One trades on contemporary fears of identity theft, Act Two sends our hero and his gal sidekick (Diane "Inglorious Basterds" Kruger) in search of answers, and Act Three unleashes a trick ending that fairly well beggars the imagination as well as all credulity. Leading man Liam "all kinds of movies" Neeson does what he can with the material, but none of it stretches his chops, and all sorts of other name actors take their paychecks as well, with the only genuine standout being Bruno "Downfall" Ganz as an ex-Stasi agent conveniently brought into the nonsensical fray. All in all, it's mindless entertainment of a very pedestrian sort, and makes me think that Collet-Sera's upcoming live-action version of "Akira" will be a disappointment. Next time, Liam, don't forget your suitcase, eh?