I had planned to go to the cinema today with one of my friends, although neither of us knew what we should see. She wanted to see I Am Number Four but as you know, I've already seen that, and as it was pants I'm not in a hurry to see it again. So I suggested seeing Unknown. I'd seen the trailer a couple of times and thought it looked quite good. It was only when I put my idea forward that my friend told me she quite likes Liam Neeson, and as such she was quite happy to see this too.
How were we to know that going into the unknown would be almost as bad as re-visiting I Am Number Four?
We join the film during a flight to Berlin for Dr Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his wife Liz (January Jones). He's going to a conference there and she's come along for the ride to keep him company. Discovering on arrival at the hotel that his briefcase has been left behind at the airport, Dr Harris takes a taxi back to the airport to pick up his case but never makes it. His taxi is involved in an accident and crashes into a river. Dr Harris is pulled from the sinking car by his taxi driver Gina (Diane Kruger), but his injuries leave him in a coma. When he awakes four days later he goes back to hotel and finds that someone is impersonating him. Worst of all, is that his wife seems to be in on the act.
The first half of Unknown had me on the edge of my seat as the mystery unravelled, but I found the second half slipped into a rather unbelievable and slightly drawn out absurdity. I can't really go in to the reasons for the shift in the film's trajectory without giving away too much of the plot. Similarly I can't tell you why Martin has a doppelganger or what his objective is without giving the ending away. I will simply say that the first half of the film is good. If the second half had lived up to the expectations set by the first half, it would have been a well made, well acted thriller. But as I have already said, it did not. The film goes from being intriguing and mysterious to being almost comical with it's silly one liners and bad plot twists.
It made me long for the days when thrillers were just that and kept you enthralled all the way to the satisfying ending. A rather inadequate thriller which left the thrills in the first half and retained nothing original for the hour that followed. 6 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 6th March 2011
UK Release Date - 4th March 2011
Cast Overview:
Liam Neeson ~ Dr Martin Harris
Diane Kruger ~ Gina
January Jones ~ Elizabeth Harris
Aiden Quinn ~ Martin B
Bruno Ganz ~ Ernst Jurgen
Frank Langella ~ Rodney Cole
Sebastian Koch ~ Professor Bressler
Director ~ Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer(s) ~ Oliver Butcher (Screenplay), Stephen Cornwell (Screenplay) and Didier Van Cauwelaert (Novel)
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