Unknown starring Liam Neeson Diane Kruger

[CaRaMBa]

Synopsis:

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) 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 assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run.

On his own in a strange country, Martin seeks aid from an unlikely and reluctant source (Diane Kruger) as he 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.

“Unknown” was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (“Orphan”), from a screenplay by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell, based on the novel by Didier van Cauwelaert.

The contemporary thriller stars Oscar® nominee Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List”), Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”), January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”) and Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), with Bruno Ganz (“The Reader”) and Oscar® nominee Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”).

“Unknown” was produced by Joel Silver (“Sherlock Holmes”), Leonard Goldberg (“Charlie’s Angels” franchise) and Andrew Rona (upcoming “The Apparition”). Susan Downey, Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese served as executive producers.

Collet-Serra’s behind-the-scenes collaborators included director of photography Flavio Labiano, production designer Richard Bridgland, editor Tim Alverson, and two-time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Ruth Myers (“Emma,” “The Addams Family”). The music is by John Ottman and Alexander Rudd.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Dark Castle Entertainment, a Panda Production, “Unknown.” The film is being distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

www.unknownmovie.com

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Seems interesting, but too much like The Net, at least on paper, no?

[NagoNago]

This movie looks quite interesting. Maybe I'll watch this one

Yeah, reminds me of The Net but we will never know until we watch. Baka supernatural yung causes ng pagkawala niya ng identity or something.

[forg]

'Unknown' Takes Top Spot, 'Number Four' Is Number Three
boxofficemojo.com

Moviegoers were numb to Number Four after its marketing blitz. The wannabe franchise starter disappointed in third place. Instead, the top spot was taken by the less-hyped Unknown, and Gnomeo and Juliet was still in the hunt. Overall business was down 28 percent from last Presidents' Day weekend.

Promoted as the follow-up to Taken, Unknown dredged up an estimated $25.6 million at 3,043 locations over the four-day weekend. While its $21.8 million three-day opening was less showy than Taken's $24.7 million start, it was stronger than Edge of Darkness, and it more than tripled the last thriller featuring Liam Neeson, The Next Three Days, and more than doubled the last Presidents' Day weekend Euro-thriller The International. Ads for Unknown, which was Neeson's first proper action vehicle since Taken, declared "It's Taken meets The Bourne Identity," and Taken was laden throughout the campaign, from Neeson's character saying how his wife and life were "taken" to the word "take" from the tagline "take back your life" being highlighted. So Neeson's Taken card has been thoroughly played. Hope it was worth it. Distributor Warner Bros.' research indicated that 51 percent of Unknown's audience was female and that the majority was a demographic that the industry doesn't care about: 54 percent was age 50 years and older (the standard 25 and older demo was a whopping 89 percent).

[Red_Wolf]

Watched it last night. Daming plot twists...but I totally loved seeing Berlin in the snow.

[Lola_Rose]

From the Official PEx Movie Reviews thread.

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Since most of us couldn't stop talking about the unforgettable action-suspense thriller Taken (2008) for a week after seeing it in the Cinemas, it's no surprise that we've gotten all excited about Liam Neeson's newest suspense flick, Unknown, hoping it would be an equally edge-of-the-seat thriller, the kind of escapist adrenalin-booster romp that we crave as a break from the everyday humdrum.

This time, in Unknown, Liam takes us to the cold, grey ominous streets of Berlin as Martin Harris, an American botanist that is scheduled to attend a Biotechnology summit in the city, where the greatest scientific minds of the world will merge— the hot topic being the genetically-altered crop that could end world hunger. Harris brings along his wife Liz, Mad Men's January Jones, who looks particularly too young for the aging Neeson. Upon arrival in the snowy, blistery streets of Berlin, the red flag of suspense promptly raises as Harris accidentally leaves behind a suitcase before embarking on a taxi to the hotel. Then a string of events quickly picks up; Liz has some trouble checking in the hotel, Martin, upon realizing that he left his suitcase back at the airport, frantically hails a taxi with a woman driver (Diane Kruger), and they get into a harrowing accident. When Martin wakes up from a coma sans ID, January Jones is looking at him quizzically—and in her arm, is a less handsome Martin Harris (Adian Quinn) that she claims to be her husband. Suddenly, no one knows who he is. The only one who can possibly help him pick up the pieces of the mystery is the Bosnian illegal immigrant taxi driver.

Directed by Jaume (House of Wax), the movie lacks that smart, polished, elegant feel despite the exciting mystery, and even the strong visual presence of Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella did not elevate the movie into a classy, quality film that you expect. The action scenes were a bit sub-par to the point of okay-let-us-get-done-and-over-with-the-car-chase sort of impatience, and there were character flaws and inconsistencies, also lacking in depth and richness. Diane Kruger, Neeson's staunch ally, weirdly seems to be the hero in the film and should have taken up the movie poster instead of Neeson. In fact, the only one actor who showed exemplary performance, albeit her strange superhero role, was Kruger, with Neeson's character and performance only secondary. And January Jones was the annoying part in the film, a frosty blond that couldn't act. What's wrong with her?

Despite the unpolished feel of the movie, the nightmarish sense of losing your identity is still palpable and unsettling in Unknown, and will keep you guessing towards the unpredictable end. Was Harris' identity really stolen? Or has the accident altered his mind-- yet a conspiracy still exists? Mystery and conspiracy buffs will find the film titillating as the puzzle was laid out very well in the story, and the foreign eerie streets of Berlin actually enhanced the espionage atmosphere of the film. Also, there were a few heart-stopping, stressful kind of suspense as Harris was being hunted by the mysterious bad guys. It's the slightly flawed characterization, as well as the action scenes that came short, that reduce Unknown into almost TV movie-like instead of a blockbuster cinematic experience, but it will nevertheless hook you until the end.

Do not expect a mind-blowing high-quality action thriller with a smart and savvy screenplay, but Unknown is still a good mystery movie; enjoyable in a conventional level that, if you're looking for a suspense and mystery fix, backdropped with the refreshingly beautiful German city, it will fairly do its job. Choosing Unknown as a Friday night movie date is a safe, worth-it experience, but not something that you will giddily talk about afterwards. It is entertaining, but not wildly entertaining.

[vonjunzt]

My take: a nice thriller that suffers from some plot holes and a revelation about the protagonist that may be a little hard to swallow. (If he's a favored agent, why are they trying to kill him?) The setting, a Cold War front, is perfect for this cloak and dagger tale, and the director does a creditable job building an atmosphere of paranoia. The cast is also excellent, particularly Liam Neeson and Bruno Ganz as an ex-Stasi officer who unearths more than he should (though it's not really clear why he ends up doing what he does). Might've been truly memorable had more care been taken with the plotting.

[naturecrawler]

This movie is somehow similar to Bourne film series particularly Bourne Identity.

mga napansin ko na similarities:

-the main characters has multiple identities/passports.

-the accident involving the main characters both happened on a water

-the main characters both suffers from Retrograde amnesia/Psychogenic amnesia

-main character is an assassin

-assassination plot against a public figure

-main characters both belongs to a secret squad or operation

[nozmail]

^ thanks for the wonderful spoilers.

anyway, napanuod ko na naman sya.