DVD Reviews

Unknown - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Jul 8, 2011, 12:47 GMT

The star of Taken and The A-Team jumps back into action with brute force! Liam Neeson plays 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 ...more

Liam Neeson has an accident and goes into a coma. When he awakens, he finds that another man has taken his place at the convention he’s attending in Germany. Even worse his wife seems to be in on the switch. This action packed twist on an old plotline has much to offer.

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his wife Liz (January Jones) are in Berlin to attend a biotechnology summit sponsored by an Arabian sheik. The two arrive at their hotel and Martin realizes that he has left his briefcase back at the airport. He jumps in a cab driven by Gina (Diane Kruger) and rushes back to the airport.

He tries to text Liz but his phone about his hurried departure, as she was checking into the hotel while he was outside, but his phone cannot get a signal. On the way back, the cab gets into an accident and flies into the river. The unconscious Martin is saved by the cab driver, who hurries away since she is in Berlin illegally.

Martin is in a coma for four days and awakens confused yet anxious to get back to his wife. When he arrives at the hotel, he tracks Liz down at a cocktail party but his reunion is only more confusing as she claims not to know who he is and then her husband Dr. Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn) arrives and only bewilders Martin even more.

He can’t determine if he is hallucinating from his accident or that something sinister is afoot. His worst fears are realized when assassins begin to stalk him and he has to rely on Gina and an ex-secret police officer named Jurgen (Bruno Ganz) to try and ferret out the conspiracy and find out how involved his beloved wife is in it.

The basic plotline of a person checking into a hotel, having to leave for a short time, and then returning to find that no one knows who they are and doesn’t remember them checking in has certainly been used before (I recall an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents using the device).

When I saw that Joel Silver’s Dark Castle Productions had a hand in the film, I was expecting a supernatural or horror element, but what I got was a good action/adventure film with Liam Neeson taking the reins.

Neeson gets to play Martin in several different variations and does well differentiating between them all. He’s joined by his accidental acquaintance cab driver Gina and Kruger also garners some sympathy as the lady looking to scrape together enough money to buy her papers.

She finds herself involved in Martin’s explosive pursuits much against her will, but she has to partner up with him since she is now a target as well. Several of the supporting roles shine. Bruno Ganz plays a world-weary, cancer stricken private eye that seems right out of a film noir.

It would’ve been nice to see more of this character since Ganz portrays him so well. Frank Langella also shows up as Martin’s colleague and adds a fine portrayal for his short screen time. Once the action gets started it’s easy to get caught up in Martin’s plight and get swept along in the pursuit.

Unknown is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.40:1). Special features are sparse and consisting of two high definition featurettes (Liam Neeson: Known Action Hero (5 minutes) and Unknown: What is Known? (4 minutes)). Pretty disappointing.

Unknown certainly knows how to lay on the action and intrigue. Neeson adds action hero to his resume and is given ample support from several of the characters. It’s an exciting case of stolen identity that goes down well with some popcorn.