Liam Neeson film offers highlight of dismal month
Posted Feb 24, 2011 By Mark Haskins
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Tweet ThisMOVIE: Unknown
STARRING: Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger, Aidan Quinn, Frank Langella, and Bruno Ganz
DIRECTOR: Jaume Collet-Serra
RATING: 14A
EMC Entertainment - I liked Unknown. In what is usually a couple of dismal months for movies this one is a bright spot.
Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is in Berlin with his wife Elizabeth Harris (January Jones) to attend a conference on Biotechnology. As they get to the hotel Martin realizes he's forgotten his briefcase at the airport. He quickly catches a cab and rushes back to get it.
On the way his taxi has an accident and plunges off a bridge and into the river. Martin is knocked unconscious, but the cab driver, Gina (Diane Kruger), manages to save his life.
Martin wakes up from a coma four days later in a hospital. His memories are fragmented, he's confused, and he's frustrated. He knows his name, and he remembers his wife but that's about it. Knowing that Elizabeth is alone in a strange city Martin sets out to find her. He manages to get to his hotel, but when he finds Elizabeth she has no idea who he is. Even more baffling to Martin is the fact that Elizabeth claims some other man is her husband, Dr. Martin Harris (Aiden Quinn).
Martin is escorted out of the hotel by security even more lost and confused than before. He's even questioning his sanity until someone tries to kill him. Convinced there's something more going on, Martin attempts to discover the truth. The trouble is, the truth may be more than he can handle.
Unknown is a decent film. It certainly captures your attention, and I really liked how it started out slowly then sped up to an almost frantic pace. It then slowed down again, and sped back up. It was perfectly paced to maintain a real sense of tension and danger right to the end of the film.
The frantic pace combined with all the twists and turns the plot takes makes for a first rate action-thriller provided you don't think too hard about it, and you haven't already seen the trailer. Both have the potential of ruining the ending for you.
Liam Neeson is outstanding. One of the reasons the film works as well as it does is because Neeson is so good. January Jones, Diane Kruger, Aidan Quinn and Frank Langella are all excellent.
Unknown is the kind of action thriller that relies heavily on the actors giving convincing performances, and each actor does a great job. Though my favourite character in the film is Jurgen played by Bruno Ganz. Jurgen is a retired German spy helping Martin. He's a smart, tough and wily old man. It's a great character and an even better performance.
I might not rush out to see Unknown, but if you're going to the movies anyway, or looking for a night out, you could do a lot worse than Unknown.
Mark Haskins' column is a regular feature of the EMC.
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