Liam Neeson is the screen's new action hero. In Unknown he proves that his success in the film Taken was not a fluke. Neeson carries himself very well and he reminded me of Harrison Ford in The Fugitive, another unlikely character forced into being a man of action.
Neeson is Dr. Martin Harris, arriving in Berlin with his wife to give a lecture at a bio-tech convention. When he accidentally leaves his briefcase at the airport and returns to retrieve it his taxi is in an accident and plunges into the river. When he awakes from a coma four days later his memory is fragmented. Or maybe it's everyone else, because he remembers who he is, but no one else, including his wife seems to know him. In fact his wife is with another man named Martin Harris who seems to share all the same memories as the first Dr. Harris.
Paranoia begins to build when Harris thinks he is being followed. The female cab driver won't talk with him about the accident and his doctor thinks he may have suffered serious brain damage. As Harris tries to put together the puzzle of his life some very troubling things begin to emerge.
Unknown is highly reminiscent of the Bourne Identity, including the excellent European locations. Setting the film in Berlin adds to the characters sense of isolation, confusion and strangeness. Nothing is familiar to him, including who he is. The movie also stars January Jones as the wife, Diane Kruger as the taxi driver and Aidan Quinn as the second Martin Harris.
Unknown is a very solid thriller that is elevated by Liam Neeson's performance. There are no ridiculous shoot-outs with bullets that never hit anyone. There is an extremely well edited car chase through the streets of Berlin and many finely choreographed and shot fight scenes. The film almost stretches plausibility to the breaking point, but does succeed in tying up loose ends and giving a satisfying conclusion to the mystery. Definitely worth a look.
At The Movie House rating *** stars
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