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Jack Reviews: Unknown (2011)

When watching the trailer for Unknown I was very excited to watch this preview and expected a lot, as the film reminded me of Liam Neeson’s 2008 action packed Taken. However if you watch this film, you will come to realise very soon that this is not Taken 2, as I did, and will be severely disappointed. Unknown is the story of Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) who is involved in a car crash in Berlin and as a result is in a coma for four days. Upon waking, Elizabeth (January Jones), his wife of five years, no longer recognises him. But, if that wasn’t bad enough, there is someone else claiming that he is Dr. Martin Harris and even has all the same documents. Harris struggles for people to believe him while being hunted by almost everyone, resulting in his growing paranoia and a lack of trust of those around him. To find out the truth Harris tracks down taxi driver Gina (Diane Kruger) in an attempt to discover his past in order to redefine his future. The film is a brainless exercise to pass a couple of hours without being taken seriously at all. Though, the fight scenes, at times, are very entertaining and there is quite a cool car chase towards the end of the film. But, the thing that really bothered me about this film was the total disregard towards the small details. At moments the dialogue became cringe-worthy with much of the cinema laughing during these moments. The editing during the fights scene was so quick it was hard to see who the hell was hitting who. And finally I just didn’t see a rapport between any of the characters with much of the acting below par. However, Neelson I feel does play the role very well and at 57 shows he can compete with actors half his age and can still teach them a thing or two. As I said before, you cannot really compare this film with Taken as it is hard to have a change of character from a government secret agent to a biotech and still give off the true badass aura. The film seems as if it is forgetting which genre it is trying to portray: combining crime drama, action blockbuster, and mystery thriller into a confusing mess. It is an OK film but remember to leave your logic behind before viewing this film. 2/5 Unknown is in cinemas March 4.