"Unknown" is Your Father's "Bourne Identity"

Rating: 6/10 (18 February 2011)

The title to this review is actually a compliment. "The Bourne Identity" was a great thriller with a younger cast while "Unknown" is a great thriller with an older cast. Both provide a good story involving a case of amnesia.
I will always stand by my initial reaction from two years ago when I first saw "Taken." I felt a bit taken or at least that my money had been taken. Liam Neeson is a fine actor, who at that time, I felt should be more of a dramatic fellow rather than an action guy. I am now taking into consideration his action scenes from "Star Wars Episode I" and "The A-Team" and feel that he can hold his own with the action movies.
"Unknown" begins with Dr. Martin Harris (played by Liam Neeson) and his much younger wife, Elizabeth (played by January Jones) landing in Berlin for a conference where Martin is scheduled to give a speech. They are about to check into their hotel when Martin realizes that he forgot his briefcase. He jumps into a cab without telling his wife. On the way back to the airport to retrieve his misplaced briefcase, there is an accident where he ends up hitting his head and is in a coma for four days.
After Martin awakens, he finds that his wife is still attending the conference but Martin has been replaced by another man (played by Aidan Quinn). Martin (the one played by Neeson) along with audience is confused on what is happening here. He has no way to prove who he is while the imposter has all the correct paper work to prove that he is the real Dr. Harris. It becomes frustrating to be a part of this because logic tells you that the real Dr. Harris is Neeson and not Quinn.
The story evolves when Quinn and Neeson are unintentionally synchronizing their dialogue trying to explain who the real Dr. Harris is to another character. It's quite humorous, as it is intended to be. Through this clever story line, the audience is being drawn in closer while Neeson's character is being chased around the city by a mystery man who looks very German. I don't know if it is possible to look "very" German but this guy did a good job at looking the part.
After some running around and a car chase with Martin's (Neeson) new found co-conspirator, Gina (played by Diane Kruger), he ends up asking for assistance from an ex- East Berlin Secret Police officer (the story does take a page from the "Blatant Coincidence Playbook" but the audience accepts it and moves on with the story). Once the Secret Police are involved, the story goes a little deeper into why Dr. Harris was in Berlin in the first place.
The film finally climaxes where all is revealed on why all of this happening. Aside from a few minor plot holes (such as - why didn't Martin use the Internet more to prove who he was?) we are given the answer on why Neeson's character was "Unknown" and why it all makes sense.
Should you see this movie? Yes, it's a good European thriller that will keep you engaged throughout the entire film. There is a car chase that seems tacked on to give the audience a jolt from all of the spoken dialogue. If you liked any of the "Bourne" movies with their European settings and action sequences, chances are this film will entertain you.