Unknown (2011)

Plot

Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity.

Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he's willing to go to uncover the truth. An effective thriller with a well deserved twist in end.

Review

Remember Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) from Taken (2008), a loving dad & an ace CIA spy, and so here he is again, racing against time and villainy, this time in “Unknown,” another sleek, preposterously amusing thriller. This movie largely banks on the spectacle of Mr. Neeson’s character — here, a botanist, Dr. Martin Harris — pursuing a much younger woman. In “Taken,” the bait was a kidnapped daughter, while in “Unknown” it’s a blank-eyed wife (the suitably cast January Jones). After landing in Berlin and driving to their hotel, the doctor and wife are separated when he realizes that he has left his briefcase at the airport. Hopping in a cab driven by Gina (Diane Kruger), he soon ends up in an accident that leads to a dunk in a river, but Gina saves him from drowning. It’s no wonder that Martin, wakes up in a hospital without any identification, after a day sleep & looks baffled. Fear and jagged memories of his wife drive him out of the hospital and into an increasingly tangled, sticky web, one in which his wife doesn’t seem to know him, and neither does anyone else. Later, Dr. Martin went on a search to resort the up-downs with the help of Gina.......

“Unknown” is loosely based on a 2003 French novel by Didier van Cauwelaert, published in English as “Out of My Head,” though its truer inspirations are those Bourne series in which Matt wakes up with a lump on his head and asks the great essential question, Who am I? That same existential cry fuels the first “Bourne” movie (2002), which “Unknown” apes in large and small ways. However, Bourne is confused in half of the movie, where as Martin knows what to do.

Overall, an ingenious script that echoes concepts, plotting, pace and intrigue from mysteries such as Nowhere Man, Frantic and The Bourne Identity. Once again, Liam Neeson shows his prowess in choosing projects of high interest and executes a performance that connects well with his audience and added another feather in his collection of Schindlers list, Taken, Star Wars, Batman Begins... Director Jaume Collet-Serra has pulled it off again, following on the heels of another successful thriller, Orphan. This director is a rising star. To put this in context, “Unknown” is a good flick and worth to watch.

Moral of the story: don’t ask the taxi driver to load your suitcases!:)

IMDB Rating: 7.2

Best Quote i like in this movie: Do you know what it feels like to become insane? It's a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are... Which do you think wins?