It's an action thriller

Rating: 7/10 (18 February 2011)

We went in apprehensive because the first review gave it 1 star. First let me say that this was a good action thriller in the same way Die-hard was made. Instead of American car crashes the Germans were behind these this time and they were quite good too. The main character lands with his wife in Berlin to attend a conference and when a attaché case is forgotten, he quickly runs back to get to the airport to retrieve it. Unfortunately this is were things go wrong because a crash in his taxi makes him end up in a nearby river unconscious. When he wakes up in a hospital without identification or memory; things go array. Diane Kruger portraits a role similar to Franka Potente in the 'Bourne Identity'. She's an asset to the hero and helps him along the way of finding his identity. There are bad guys in this too and the meshing of their evil deeds with our hero trying to stay alive keeps one on the edge of the seat. We weren't bored during the film that's for sure. Several people here commented on other movies that contained similar plots yet believe me this movie can stand on its own. Like the Fugitive the main character goes through different episodes and just gets out of a dilemma in time. The film was made in Berlin and it shows nothing but a dreary city during the winter months and that certainly set the mood. If anyone believes that graffiti is an American product, they will quickly realize that Berlin is saturated with such horrible art too. I suppose all big cities suffer from this. The characters all play their roles well and that's what counts too. It's difficult writing about such a subject without giving too much away. The bottom line is that this film has not failed on sheer entertainment and that is... what it is all about. Yes, it's unrealistic yet what isn't these days when characters must navigate through ordeals and come out of them unscathed. Hey, it's not Eat, Pray..Love, okay... So I say take your popcorn (skip the butter) and enjoy a wild ride through Berlin.