25 May 2012

Better Movies Exist In Nearly Every Aspect

Well, Hollywood, you suckered me into another one. After the rousing success of "Taken", Liam Neeson returns to the same basic format in "Unknown". Unfortunately, the final product is far less thrilling and downright bad.For a basic plot summary, "Unknown" sees bio-scientist Martin Harris (Neeson) in Germany for a worldwide science convention. While oversees, Harris is involved in a traffic accident and gets banged around a bit. When he comes to, his memory is a bit scrambled and his entire identity is seemingly stolen.To put it bluntly, this film is bad in pretty much every aspect, but three really stand out:First off, Hollywood suckers us in by capitalizing on Neeson's "Taken" persona, only this time throwing in January Jones (of Mad Men fame) as eye candy. No new character ground is trod whatsoever.Second, the plot is almost a carbon-copy of the Jason Bourne series, only much less intriguing and reeking again of capitalizing on an already-done idea.Finally, and this is the truly sad part, this movie actually has a decent mystery revealed towards the end. However, the rest of the movie is so drab that you won't care about the "big reveal" when it does arrive.Basically, here is how I look at "Unknown": It tries to channel "Taken", instead rips off "Bourne", and ends up far too close to the dismal "Edge of Darkness". I'd maybe give it 1.5 stars, but I can't give it the benefit of the doubt for two stars.

Michelle Alexandria

24 May 2012

Liam Neeson's late career conversion into a bad ass action hero continues. On it's face the premise sounded dumb, but the movie is much more nuanced than the trailer would lead you to believe.

davideo-2

23 May 2012

A few quibbles, but generally a fine attempt at a thriller

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his wife Elizabeth (January Jones)arrive in Berlin for a press conference. Suddenly realising he has lefthis briefcase at the airport, Harris dashes back off to get it...onlyto be involved in a traffic accident where he nearly drowns and issaved only by heroic female taxi driver Gina (Diane Kruger.) But whenone nightmare ends, another one begins when he goes back to his hoteland finds his wife has no idea who he is, and another man (Aidan Quinn)has assumed his identity. As he goes about trying to make sense of hispredicament, he finds he really may not be who he thinks he is andpeople want him dead.The thriller is a genre that tends to work best when it's pitted withsomething high concept, maybe something slightly far fetched but with anew angle on the genre formula. Although the stolen identity plot linehas been done before (though in nothing that immediately springs tomind) Jaume Collet-Serra's European centred thriller still manages tobe an intriguing effort, where you are genuinely, if not quite on theedge of your seat, certainly very interested in finding out how it willdevelop and what will happen next. Somehow it doesn't quite maintainstandards to the end, where, as is the case sometimes, the conceptdisintegrates and it starts to verge into preposterousness, but themysterious story at the heart of it all still keeps you hooked andunravels in a way you really don't expect.Performances wise, Neeson has a solid presence as ever in the leadrole, his deep, powerful Irish brogue (in the guise of an Americanaccent) carrying him with a natural authority and making him well castto the role, while as the main female sidekick Kruger takes on anunusually unglamourous role and invests some energy in it (her nobleillegal immigrant role perhaps having a leftie political subtext toit.) In other supporting roles, Jones and Quinn have less to do,possibly because of their more limited screen time, while more extendedsupport including the likes of Bruno Ganz, Frank Langella and SebastianKoch are even more wasted. Still, the solid leads the film has are allit really needs to give it edge.There is this and that you could nit pick about the film, but in thisuninspired age, it's encouraging to see a thriller that at least seemsto be trying to do something new and take the genre somewhere it hasn'tgone before. ***

Mark

23 May 2012

Yahoo Users versus Critics

I've been a movie buff for over 40 years and just want everyone to know that Yahoo Users are better judges of the movies than the critics, who are always watching their tails when passing judgment on a movie. You're better off getting a review from a 12 year old than the so called critics.

20 May 2012

Boring snoozefest

The trailers made this film out to be an action/thriller starring the man who trained Obi-Wan Kenobi and Batman. However, it's a slow-paced boring piece of film. If you were looking for a film like "Taken", you won't find it here.

ConBug68

20 May 2012

WOW. ENJOYABLE ACTION THRILLER

Why doesn't the wife recognize the husband. Why does another man take her husband identity. Why is the husband such an expert driver. Why is the husband a science professor but yet can fight with the best of the villians and win. Why doesn't the wife show more emotion. Why doesn't anyone believe him but believe his double. And all the question come about because of a misplaced suitcase and a car crash resulting in four days in a coma, and the keys to he unfolding the mysteries all begin when he accidently comes in contact with a east Berlin inspector and a female cab driver. WOW. I have read some critics reviews of the film, who like many action film they try their best to tear them down for what ever reason and for just downright pleasure it seem , but THIS IS ONE THRILLER THAT IS WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION.

James

18 May 2012

Eh...Thought It Would Be Better

I Really didn't see the ending coming. I thought for sure someone was setting him up but that was a pretty good twist at the end but i didn't like it. The acting was good but the plot needed work. Go watch The Bourne Ultimatum again!

Dana Stevens

18 May 2012

But if you dig Liam Neeson as an action hero, you could do worse than this fast-paced, cheerfully ridiculous, generally satisfying romp.

Saad Khan

17 May 2012

Its not Taken but very close. Little long but the suspense was indeed Something no-one has expected!

UNKNOWN – CATCH IT ( B+ ) Unknown is pretty good attempt in revivingthe success and method of Taken. Liam Neeson has somehow stronglyemerged as an action hero thanks to immensely successful surpriseblockbuster "Taken". Unknown is also as thrilling as Taken was andfilmed in beautiful foreign locations but the only thing I didn't likepersonally was the length of the movie. The story which could have beeneasily told in 1/2hr movie was told in almost 2hrs. Anyway the suspensewas worth it though I think some of the action chase sequences wereforce just to cash on Taken. Liam Neeson was a perfect choice and trustme he has our sympathy. It's very rare to see an action hero abrilliant actor as well. So, in this case Hollywood as well as theaudience is lucky to find him. Dianne Kruger is fantastic. Here Ireally want to talk about January Jones, she was Ice-Cold (though thisis not the movie, she is playing Emma Frost). My memory of JanuaryJones's acting is very forgettable. First time I saw her in 2003 in"American (Pie 3) Wedding". And after almost 4 years she becamehousehold name in USA with her performance in critically acclaimed "MadMed" (Which I yet have to see, so can't comment how great she is in MadMen). Considerably her critical acclaim she must be brilliant on MadMen but here she was Gorgeous yet Ice-Cold or maybe she was supposed tobe like that as he role required? I'm confused. Overall, it's not Takenbut very close. Little long but the suspense was indeed somethingno-one has expected!

Steve

16 May 2012

Awesome, Liam does it again!

If you liked Taken, you'll like this. Not a dull moment, I thought it was great. The story was great, the acting was great - go see it.

Jason Grant

15 May 2012

Not great, good for a boring evening

An unnamed CIA agent (Neeson) is hired to go undercover at a BioTechnology convention in Berlin along with his partner (Jones) who isacting as his wife for the set up. The couple are there to assassinatea scientist who has developed a new crop of corn that would possibly beable to end world hunger. However, this is not revealed until late inthe film.Neeson's character wakes up in a Berlin hospital after having just wokeup from the wreck induced coma. Forgetting who he is, he believes thathe is Dr. Martin Harris; which is is his cover to execute the CIA plan.He is convinced that his partner is in fact his real wife as theirfictionalized back story becomes reality for him. Further into thefilm, people begin attempting to murder him. It is obvious that becausehe has the ability to compromise the assassination plan, people wanthim dead.He teams up Gina (Kruger), the taxi driver from the crash, in order tofight those who wish him harm. Once he starts to recover some of hislost thoughts, the assassination plan comes back to the man's memory.He decides that it is necessary to try to stop the assassinationattempt. After much exciting action packed scenes; he does all of thissuccessfully, leaving this film to end on a happy note.In all truthfulness, the viewer must completely abandon all sense oflogic for this movie to be enjoyed. Sure, there is an amazing twist inthe film once it is realized who Neeson's character really is and; ofcourse, the trailers for the film give the viewer a completelydifferent preconceived idea. If you want to kill two hours and justblank out for an evening; Unknown is the perfect film for that. Just donot expect the movie to change your life.

secondtake

14 May 2012

Weak in the knees...some great action and suspense, but wobbly wobbly logic

Unknown (2011)If you don't mind implausibility on a platter, and lots of formulastuff packed into a modern day Berlin thriller, you might just likethis movie. It's well made, in physical terms, and the acting is goodif nothing distractingly good.But boy do you have to look the other way time and again as the actorsdo ridiculous things. Even when the biggie (huge) twist occurs partwaythrough, it doesn't change the unreasonable behavior of many of theleads, both on the good side and the bad. And most of it was avoidable,maybe just a matter of expedience to get to the next creepy moment, orthe next fistfight (there are a couple of doozies), or the next carchase (there is an epic pair of those, too).I like Liam Neeson the way you might like a lonely neighbor forThanksgiving. He's warm and a gentle guy, sort of big and sort ofhandsome and totally regular. I don't think he's an amazing actor, forsure, but he holds his own as a seeming biotech research whiz going toan international conference. At first the leading woman in his life ishis wife, but that doesn't last long, and the real star as his femalecounterpart is pan-Euro, German born actress Diane Kruger, who is sharpand excellent. Oddly, she plays an illegal immigrant who isn't Germanat all, and pulls it off completely.You might compare this movie to any number of recent internationalintrigue movies, but this one has at its core a particular kind ofbrain washing, or memory lapse, that is an echo of Jason Bourne (and abit more believable, in a way, since Neeson doesn't play a superhero inany sense). It also has a resemblance to a recent Liam Neeson movie,"Taken," where he again plays the disgruntled everyman on the warpathfor justice against his dignity (his daughter was kidnapped in thatone). I did mention, though that the movie patently absurd. I'll give oneexample at the start--he forgets his briefcase at the airport andrealizes this at the hotel and instead of just popping his head in thedoor to tell his wife he's going back to get it, he just hails a caband is gone. Then, in the cab, there is no cell service. In downtownBerlin. Okay, it's a conspiracy, and they've tampered with his phoneand his wife is really a double-agent plant and so it's all logical.Except not quite. You'll see.But because it's so implausible, you do give up worrying about it beingat all true and just go for the fantasy, like maybe "Minority Report"gets away with by just setting it a bit in the future. "Unknown," withits wishy-washy title, is hard to hate, because it's fast and fun, butit's hard to especially like or admire, either. That much is known.

13 May 2012

Gripping and Neeson is awesome

While on a business trip in Berlin with his wife Elizabeth (January Jones), Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) gets into a bad car accident. Martin wakes up in a hospital and is told he was in a four day coma and suffering memory loss. All he can remember is that his wife was in Berlin with him before the car accident and that she must be worried. After awhile he remembers what motel they were staying at and rushes to find her. When he catches up with Elizabeth, she claims she has no idea who he is. In fact she is with a man who claims he is the real Dr. Harris. Martin now has to convince the authorities and himself that he's not crazy and that he is the real Martin Harris. Ernst Jurgen, a retired German spy (Bruno Ganz) and Gina (Diane Kruger), a taxi driver who's in Berlin illegally are the only people who seem to believe him. This puts them in danger when men wielding guns are after Martin. Unknown is excitingly fast paced and puts the viewers on the edge of their seat. While Liam Neeson is as good as Mel Gibson (Edge of Darkness) at playing a part where he's not only looking for answers, but revenge as well. Kind of like in Darkman, Taken and even the A-Team lol. All in all, Unknown is a fun mind bending thriller that is worth checking out.

Frank Swietek

13 May 2012

Grows increasingly ludicrous as it proceeds, ending up shattering the suspension of disbelief necessary for such thrillers to avoid becoming comically implausible.

11 May 2012

You Dont Know What You Have Until Its Erased.

This review is from: Unknown (DVD) Hello All,This is another movie I had to go and see on opening day, Liam Neeson is one of my favorite actors and did he deliver another outstanding performance in this thriller, WOW. As soon as the movie started I was glued to the screen until the credits came up, that's how good the movie was. This film has it all, suspense, mystery, drama, and a little thrill all in one. I thought the entire cast worked well together; and Frank Langella was classic as an antagnoistic character. I wasn't expecting the twist near the end, which made the movie much more exciting. Who would have thought the true identity of Neeson would be that of a terrorist, I'm just glad he was able to change at the end. Another great movie in 2011; and it wasn't a superhero one either, this year we have been bombarded with superhero movies. I like those type of movies, a couple is fine, but 8 is a little 2 many, and it's just August. THX,-Kris L. CocKayne

Brendan

11 May 2012

Really?

Wow, this is a 23 million dollar film? I mean i give it credit forhaving a somewhat interesting idea...but did it execute at all. Noway!!! The plot would stall for 30 minutes and then in literally 1minute it would accelerate forward, without any logical explanation forthe current events.Also, the camera shots seemed like the camera man was having a seizureduring fight scenes. The characters would begin to fight, and then thecamera would shake so fast that the screen would blur, and all of thesudden the fight is over for some reason.Thirdly, Liam Neeson used more Jedi mind-tricks on people than in StarWars: Episode 1. I found that quite humorous.This movie had a great idea. But failed, in every way. The actorsstopped acting halfway through the movie, the camera shots were poor,and the plot was extremely extremely slow, and then someone would hitthe gas, and the story would fly, and then brake again.Rated a 2. One of the worst movies I've scene in a while. it didn't geta one because of the fantastic character name of Hurg Jergen, orwhatever.

09 May 2012

Interesting and Enjoyable

This review is from: Unknown (DVD) I rented this from Amazon and I really enjoyed it. It is an intelligent thriller because it doesn't rely just on special effects but there is solid action and dialogue. While the story may not be entirely original I think it is well-executed and suspenseful. I will be purchasing this dvd.

Lou Lumenick

09 May 2012

Plot holes you can drive a truck through are ultimately less important for your enjoyment than how they set up the film's big set pieces.

09 May 2012

Loved it.

This review is from: Unknown (Amazon Instant Video) most of the time i'm able to predict the ending of these types of movie. I did not see this one coming. VERY good movie.

dazzking

08 May 2012

Un-intelligent should have been name of this movie!

Having only read the reviews of this movie and their associated ratingsafter watching this production, I find it hard to disagree with themajority of plot comments and general lack of common sense observationsmade.However it's not the worst movie made this year by a long shot (piratesof the Caribbean 4 takes that award), it's a take your brain out movie,try not to apply any notions of normal behaviour and it's watchable, ifa little bit laughable most of the time.The movie is definitely not as bad as people on here make out,certainly not a 1, 2 or 3 out of 10 score. But each to their own!