Intriguingly Plotted Thriller That Sadly Loses its Way

Rating: 6/10 (8 December 2013)

UNKNOWN starts with an intriguing premise: Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson), a noted American botanist, arrives in Berlin and is involved in a car crash. He wakes up from a coma without remembering anything about what happened, and discovers to his horror that his identity has been stolen by another person. His wife Elizabeth (January Jones) does not appear to recognize him, while everyone around thinks he is stark staring mad. Jaume Collet-Serra's thriller begins with an interesting premise: the film has a good sense of place, making intelligent use of the Berlin locations, with a fine feel for languages. Liam Neeson turns in a good performance as the central character, supported by Diane Kruger as his Bosnian sidekick, who has an unfortunate tendency to be involved in serious car-crashes. However UNKNOWN loses its way as the action unfolds. What started off as an interesting character-study soon becomes a conventional slap-bang-wallop actioner, with numerous car chases, fast cutting and implausible plotting. Ultimately we end up caring little for the characters and their respective fates.