Unknown (2011)
Directed by Jaume Collet Serra
Written by Oliver Butcher, Mandy Richardson, Stephen Cornwell
Starring Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger, Aidan Quinn, Frank Langella
Release Date February 18th, 2011
Published February 17th, 2011
The transition from respected 'Actor' to action hero has been stunningly seamless for Liam Neeson. All it took in fact was one role, that of a man with a special set of skills and a kidnapped daughter in some Euro slum. “Taken” became an action phenomenon because Neeson the actor gave the over the top action gravitas; his acting as a badass became a whole new iconic identity as an actor.
With his new thriller “Unknown” essentially a pseudo sequel to “Taken” Neeson is set to fully monetize his new icon status.
Dr. Martin Harris and his wife Elizabeth (Mad Men's January Jones) arrive in Berlin looking like any other tourist of means. But when Martin leaves his briefcase behind at the airport and is nearly killed in an accident on his way to retrieve it the happy couple takes a shocking and disturbing turn.
Waking four days later from a coma in a Berlin hospital Martin can't remember how he got there and cannot understand why his wife never came looking for him. Returning to their hotel where he is supposed to be attending a scientific conference Martin makes a horrific discovery, Elizabeth doesn't know who he is and another, very similar looking man (Aiden Quinn) is posing as Dr. Martin Harris.
Is Martin crazy? Did the blow to his head completely scramble his brain? Why can't he get anyone he knows on the phone? All will be answered and while those answers will eventually become unsatisfying and even blindingly ludicrous, the journey toward those answers is a rollicking thriller ride that fans of “Taken” will find impossible to resist.
All I wanted from “Unknown” is for Liam Neeson to punch a bad guy in the throat and on this meager request Mr. Neeson delivers in spectacular fashion; “Unknown” may not be an official “Taken” sequel but Neeson delivers the kind of action badassery audiences crave from his newly minted action hero persona.
Yes, “Unknown” goes completely looney tunes in the last reel as Frank Langella arrives in the role of God of Exposition and ruins everything with explanatory dialogue that may as well have been delivered directly to the audience, but again, it's about the getting there.
Bruno Gans damn near steals “Unknown” right from under Liam Neeson. Playing a former member of the East German secret police who Martin turns to in order to find himself, literally find out who he himself is, Gans delivers a performance of measure and precision that would be Oscar worthy in a movie that academy members would actually watch.
Bottom line, fans of “Taken” will not be able to resist the nasty, violent charm of “Unknown.” Liam Neeson's astonishing talent for elevating B-movie material with his professionalism and imposing physicality is one of the great revelations of this short filmic decade. Neeson has changed the way we look at him as an actor as well as the action genre in general with the quality he brings to lowbrow material.
