Neeson is sleepwalking through his role, and Diane Kruger has very little to do, but both of their performances look masterful in comparison to January Jones' excruciating turn as Neeson's wife – seriously, who told this woman she could act? Aidan Quinn pops up in a minor role which makes you wonder what happened to him, and Frank Langella is in the movie even less. UNKNOWN has a familiar look and feel to its storyline and few things that take place during the running time will come as a real surprise. Thematically, though, I was most reminded of the excellent Roman Polanski thriller FRANTIC, which saw Harrison Ford searching for his missing wife in Paris. Then there are the plot twists and turns, and the whole amnesic storyline which brings THE BOURNE IDENTITY to mind.

Neeson's trapped in Europe again, fending off various bad guys, although this is far from being an action movie the fight scenes, unlike those in TAKEN, aren't up to much. The film it most obviously recalls is TAKEN, the top-notch action flick which reinvented Neeson as an action star. Having just watched the movie, it failed to fulfil any of my expectations and turned out to be a rather unappetising mix of three rather more recent films. At first glance, this seems to be a slightly supernatural thriller about a man being haunted by his own doppelganger, bringing to mind the Roger Moore flick THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF. UNKNOWN is one of those silly films which rehashes the same themes and plots of other, better movies in an attempt to make some money, instead of thinking up new, original concepts.

Certainly not a masterpiece, but worth the ticket.Reviewed by Leofwine_draca 5 / 10 Familiar mish-mash A stand-out performance is offered by Bruno Ganz and also Diane Kruger supports Neeson quite well. Liam Neeson plays skillfully, although not always sufficiently expressive, he gets to convey the sense of void of someone looking for some identity. Set in a depressing Berlin covered by snow, always marked by the sad signs of a more or less distant past, a good photography gets to capture the overall gloomy atmosphere of the story and the mystery of a character whose vicissitudes seem as much incomprehensible as much needing some resolution, and an effective final twist as well.

The result is an entertaining, involving pic, never losing its strong and quick rhythm and letting the viewer staying attached to the screen till the end. The movie sounds intriguing since from the beginning and keeps its sense of mystery and intrigue till the end: this is a good quality, once reminding Hitchcock's thrillers, with the difference that in 'Unknown' the thrilling aspect cannot be separated from the frenzy typical of action movies.

Unknown 2011