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.
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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.
Anyone who has watched Liam Neeson's movies have grown accustom to a character that is always thrown into absurd situations but can still somehow use wit, power and skills to get himself out. Unknown offers the same formula but it still works. This movie caught my attention from the get go. I enjoy how Liam is believable in these roles and you forget that he's getting up there in age, if anything, he makes it seem like this is what any man his age is capable of. He is awaken from a coma to discover that his identity has been taken by someone else. Worst yet, his wife doesn't seem to recognize him. With the help of the woman that saved his life, in a country that is not his home, Liam seeks about to prove himself. This movie is action packed and keeps you on the edge while you try to figure out what is going on. And I feel the ending does not disappoint. Enjoyable, entertaining, action packed and thrilling!
This century has seen Liam Neeson in real leading roles, when his character "permeates" the whole movie and is strong and quick-witted. Taken 1 and 2 are best known, Unknown has - for some reason or another - remained in their shadow. In my opinion, the script of the latter is much stronger, has more twists-turns and unpredictable moments - me being a fan and active viewer of crime thrillers could not guess what kind of background could Neeson's character Dr. Martin Harris really have. Sequence of the events is logical and chases are visually enjoyable. The ending in general is predictable, apart from the very last scene.
Well, all the cast is excellent, not only Liam Neeson; Diane Kruger and Bruno Ganz are the supporting actors more time on screen and they are really good. In short, Unknown is really worth watching - especially if you have not read spoilers :)
Well, all the cast is excellent, not only Liam Neeson; Diane Kruger and Bruno Ganz are the supporting actors more time on screen and they are really good. In short, Unknown is really worth watching - especially if you have not read spoilers :)
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.
Über talented ensemble of actors and the trademark style of the director delivers on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense, despite a preposterously convoluted story.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra ('The Commuter') surrounds the mature action star Liam Neeson with an ensemble of actors who deliver superb performances.
It all sets up to be a first-rate suspense film, except the story itself is like one of the more fantastical types Rod Serling might have used in his 'Twilight Zone' TV series that presses the boundary of believability.
Unknown delivers on "entertainment", and I recommend seeing the film, but leave your storyline expectations with the cloakroom before viewing.
Collet-Serra uses a similar style of suspense-film story telling seven years later in 2018's 'The Commuter', once again teaming with Neeson in the lead role - if you liked that movie, you will like this one as well, which is a notch or two better overall.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra ('The Commuter') surrounds the mature action star Liam Neeson with an ensemble of actors who deliver superb performances.
It all sets up to be a first-rate suspense film, except the story itself is like one of the more fantastical types Rod Serling might have used in his 'Twilight Zone' TV series that presses the boundary of believability.
Unknown delivers on "entertainment", and I recommend seeing the film, but leave your storyline expectations with the cloakroom before viewing.
Collet-Serra uses a similar style of suspense-film story telling seven years later in 2018's 'The Commuter', once again teaming with Neeson in the lead role - if you liked that movie, you will like this one as well, which is a notch or two better overall.
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
- Runtime
- 1h 53m(113 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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