The plot twist is what kills it

Rating: 5/10 (2 January 2013)

Unknown starts off as an okay suspenseful thriller that builds up the mystery throughout the majority of its length, reminding of Fincher's The Game at times. But then, out of nowhere, comes Dracula, and basically he and Neeson reenact the infamous DOOM: Repercussions Of Evil conversation:
Neeson: No! I must kill the demons!
Langella: No, John (well, Martin. Or more specifically, NOT Martin). You ARE the demons!
This twist is so tired, unoriginal and downright banal that it tones the whole experience down. One of the opening titles says that this movie is based on some book. Well, my guess is this book is called 'The Bourne Identity, As Retold For Schoolchildren' or something like that. It's not a bad thing, though, as the first Bourne novel was too overwritten and boring as sin, but I digress. Second thing I didn't like is that Gina, Neeson's sidekick, is mostly responsible for all the action, excluding the final showdown with 'another Martin Harris'. She is the one who murders literally ALL the assassins sent after Neeson, only leaving a bland and uninteresting guy for him to show off his re-acquired hardcore fighting skills. Now, the hotel explosion and following final fight were awesome, even with the fact that I was totally uninterested in the villain. And there came the third thing that made me yawn: Neeson and Gina get new IDs, smile at each other, and everything's fine and dandy. Why don't make him kill her instead, as she was an unwanted witness? That would be surprising, that twist wouldn't be as tired.
Despite these three points, Unknown is actually okay and doesn't seem like a waste of time. Neeson is above decent, that German ex-spy is plain great, and Langella is totally not bad either. The female leads are okay, too, and I actually liked J. Jones more for being such a chameleon in a dress. Overall, it's an entertaining movie, but wounded by cliché and lazy writing.