When a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.When a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.When a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 3 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
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. 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. 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. Liam Neeson plays skillfully, although not always sufficiently expressive, he gets to convey the sense of void of someone looking for some identity. A stand-out performance is offered by Bruno Ganz and also Diane Kruger supports Neeson quite well. Certainly not a masterpiece, but worth the ticket.
Beforehand I didnt expect anything from this movie, I just wanted to watch a B-movie, with lots of action and thrills, to keep me awake. But I got more than I expected, and although I was sleepy when I started watching it, I was wide awake midway through. This is just another one of those unmistakable well made Liam Neeson thrillers.
If you liked the Liam Neeson Taken series then you will surely love this movie as well. It' s fast, suspenseful and with lots of slick and cool looking photography and editing. I mention these technical details, because lots of action movies just dont get it right when it comes to fastpaced action photography. This one does.
Liam Neeson travels abroad with his wife for business. He gets into a car accident by himself and when he wakes up in a hospital, someone else has taken his identity.This story might sound ridiculous, and for sure, it is a bit of a ridiculous story, but it is executed in such a way that is still quite suspenseful and captivating.
There are many resemblances with the Bourne movies. Memory loss, being chased by assasins in foreign countries (Germany), fast action sequences and lots of suspense. It is a really decent action thriller, which the fans of this genre will surely have a good time with. It is a bit better than the average action movie, although dont expect originality either...
If you liked the Liam Neeson Taken series then you will surely love this movie as well. It' s fast, suspenseful and with lots of slick and cool looking photography and editing. I mention these technical details, because lots of action movies just dont get it right when it comes to fastpaced action photography. This one does.
Liam Neeson travels abroad with his wife for business. He gets into a car accident by himself and when he wakes up in a hospital, someone else has taken his identity.This story might sound ridiculous, and for sure, it is a bit of a ridiculous story, but it is executed in such a way that is still quite suspenseful and captivating.
There are many resemblances with the Bourne movies. Memory loss, being chased by assasins in foreign countries (Germany), fast action sequences and lots of suspense. It is a really decent action thriller, which the fans of this genre will surely have a good time with. It is a bit better than the average action movie, although dont expect originality either...
Liam Neeson is turning into quite an action star these days despite his advancing age. After starring in the surprise action hit Taken, Liam tries his hand at another similar movie except with a much fewer body count. Unknown is a crafty little thriller set in international lands and is much better than I expected it to be. I thought this would be almost like a sequel to Taken but what I got was a tense, smartly-written thriller.
This film is about a husband, Dr. Martin Harris and a wife, Liz who travels to Germany because of a press conference. After suffering in an accident, Martin wakes up to find out his whole world is turned upside down when he finds out his wife does not recognize him and an impostor has taken his place. Now, he has to face many challenges if he is to get things back to normal.
Liam Neeson is making a name for himself as an action star. He was pretty good to watch in this movie. The supporting cast led by January Jones, Diane Kruger, and Frank Langella is really good as well.
Overall, this is a tense thriller which is way better than the release date it had would suggest. This movie was slow at times and it reminded me greatly of Harrison Ford's Frantic, but despite some clichés, the cast and some tense moments rose this film above mediocrity. I rate this film 8/10.
This film is about a husband, Dr. Martin Harris and a wife, Liz who travels to Germany because of a press conference. After suffering in an accident, Martin wakes up to find out his whole world is turned upside down when he finds out his wife does not recognize him and an impostor has taken his place. Now, he has to face many challenges if he is to get things back to normal.
Liam Neeson is making a name for himself as an action star. He was pretty good to watch in this movie. The supporting cast led by January Jones, Diane Kruger, and Frank Langella is really good as well.
Overall, this is a tense thriller which is way better than the release date it had would suggest. This movie was slow at times and it reminded me greatly of Harrison Ford's Frantic, but despite some clichés, the cast and some tense moments rose this film above mediocrity. I rate this film 8/10.
I wanted to love this film, as I'm a big fan of Liam Neeson.
This was a pretty good movie. It was overall enjoyable to watch, and it had good twists to the story. It was action packed, and as such Neeson delivers. January Jones is, unfortunately, a terribly cold actress and is the same character as all of her other films. I do like Diane Kruger though, and she was fairly charming in this.
I enjoyed watching it. It's a good weekend, sit-down-and-enjoy thrill movie, as one would expect from its description. It is by no means a movie I'd recommend for its artistic merit, but it definitely delivers in the traditional thrill-seeker movie. The plot is pretty good as well, and well executed.
This was a pretty good movie. It was overall enjoyable to watch, and it had good twists to the story. It was action packed, and as such Neeson delivers. January Jones is, unfortunately, a terribly cold actress and is the same character as all of her other films. I do like Diane Kruger though, and she was fairly charming in this.
I enjoyed watching it. It's a good weekend, sit-down-and-enjoy thrill movie, as one would expect from its description. It is by no means a movie I'd recommend for its artistic merit, but it definitely delivers in the traditional thrill-seeker movie. The plot is pretty good as well, and well executed.
A man (Liam Neeson) is in a horrible accident, and when he recovers, no one knows who he is, including his wife, in "Unknown," a 2011 film starring Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger, Aiden Quinn, and Frank Langella.
We've seen this plot, or a derivation thereof, many times: the man who disappears and everyone denies his existence to the person who accompanied him (So Long at the Fair, Dangerous Crossing), or the man who suddenly isn't who he says he is (The Net). The plot of "Unknown" is the latter, and Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) attempts to investigate why someone (Aiden Quinn) is now Dr. Martin Harris and with his wife (January Jones). To do this, Harris must first find the taxi driver who saved his life (Kruger). Meanwhile, he desperately tries to reach a professor (Frank Langella) back at his college who can verify his identity.
This type of film, when done well, as this one was, moves quickly and has lots of actions in order to cover up the plot holes. There usually are some, but if the film is good, one doesn't mind. I have to say I really enjoyed this film, filmed mostly in and around Berlin. Good performances, very exciting, a couple of dandy car chases, and a neat twist. Highly recommended.
We've seen this plot, or a derivation thereof, many times: the man who disappears and everyone denies his existence to the person who accompanied him (So Long at the Fair, Dangerous Crossing), or the man who suddenly isn't who he says he is (The Net). The plot of "Unknown" is the latter, and Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) attempts to investigate why someone (Aiden Quinn) is now Dr. Martin Harris and with his wife (January Jones). To do this, Harris must first find the taxi driver who saved his life (Kruger). Meanwhile, he desperately tries to reach a professor (Frank Langella) back at his college who can verify his identity.
This type of film, when done well, as this one was, moves quickly and has lots of actions in order to cover up the plot holes. There usually are some, but if the film is good, one doesn't mind. I have to say I really enjoyed this film, filmed mostly in and around Berlin. Good performances, very exciting, a couple of dandy car chases, and a neat twist. Highly recommended.
Did you know
- TriviaFilming in Berlin proved very difficult as the city was undergoing its coldest winter in 20 years at the time.
- GoofsJurgen tells Harris that Stasi agents were taught that an innocent man always stuck to his version of truth while a liar reformulated his ideas. Actually, Stasi doctrine taught the exact opposite: a liar has invented a pre-programmed version of the facts and cannot change it, while someone innocent knows how to reformulate his speech and does it.
- Quotes
Dr. Martin Harris: Do you know what it feels like to become insane, doctor? It's like a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are. Which do you think wins?
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits are shown as clouds being viewed from an airplane blow past... not so crazy, except that it actually makes one of the credits unreadable.
- ConnectionsEdited into Action Jackson (2014)
- SoundtracksElevation
Performed by Sultana Ensemble
Written by Yoel Ben-Simhon (ASCAP)
Published by Lovecat Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Lovecat Music
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Desconocido
- Filming locations
- Tresor, Berlin, Germany(night club scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $63,686,397
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $21,856,389
- Feb 20, 2011
- Gross worldwide
- $135,710,029
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content