UNKNOWN

Unknown stars Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hr. and 49 minutes.

Plot: Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he's willing to go to uncover the truth.

To me Unknown makes one giant mistake. The whole marketing scheme tried to make this movie look like Liam Neeson's previous hit Taken. When really these movies are very different. When stuidos do that it just doesn't make any sense and I think it just confuses movie goers. With that said Unknown is an ok action thriller. Liam Nesson is comfortable here as a man who may not be who he thinks he is. Liam Neeson is an all around good actor so anything he does is pretty good. He wasn't outstanding or anything but he does a decent job. DIane Kruger is fine as the taxi driver who gets caught up with Liam Neeson's character because she just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. January Jones who plays Neeson's "wife" is average and while she delivers her lines in a weird almost monotone voice she is still very good looking and not a horrible actress. The whole plot kept me very intrigued and interested but once the final twist comes i found myself having mixed feelings about it. In some ways it works and makes sense but in a way I felt let down and after being interested for most of the film i was like "Oh that was it". Its just one of those twists that I didn't hate but I felt it could have been done better.

The action in the movie is average and because of the confusing marketing strategy your left waiting for Liam Neeson to start kicking some ass but that doesn't really come until the third act of the movie. For me the most tense part of the movie was when Martin was reaching for a pair of scissors to cut loose his zip tie handcuffs before the bad guys came back to kill him. That scene was done very well and I was on the edge of my seat.

Overall Unknown was ok but nothing great or special. Liam Neeson was fine but i was just waiting for him to start kicking some major ass and as I said he really doesn't start doing that until the end. This movie falls in line of some of it worked and some of it didn't. It started out very well and I was intrigued by the mystery of the whole plot, but the final twist is somewhat of a letdown.

B-