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Unknown
- Review Date: February 15, 2011
- PG-13
- Genre: Thriller
- 2011
Common Sense Media says
Disappointing, often-violent thriller has one good twist.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that even though it has one great plot twist, Unknown will disappoint those who liked star Liam Neeson's last thriller, Taken. It has quite a lot of violence, mostly centered around big, brawling fistfights, car chases and crashes, and explosions. Brief flashback scenes show a married couple kissing and making love (no nudity). Language is infrequent (a couple of uses of "s--t" is the worst of it), and while the bad guys use an array of mysterious lethal/knockout drugs, there are no "real" drugs. Overall, the biggest problem is that it's slow and uninvolving, with a downer of a message ("you can't trust anyone") and a main character who isn't particularly sympathetic or admirable.
What's the story?
Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) arrives in Berlin with his wife, Liz (January Jones), to participate in an important biotechnology conference. He discovers that he's left his briefcase at the airport and hops in a cab to retrieve it. The cab crashes and goes into the river, and Harris goes into a coma. When he wakes up, he tries to re-enter his life, only to find that another man (Aidan Quinn) has taken his place and that his wife doesn't recognize him. He enlists the aid of the cab driver -- a skittish, scrappy illegal immigrant named Gina (Diane Kruger) -- as well as a former Nazi secret policeman, Ernst Jürgen (Bruno Ganz), to help him figure out what's going on. Unfortunately, mysterious forces are out to stop him at all costs.
Is it any good?
In Taken, Neeson became an unlikely grown-up action hero, and the movie was a hit. There, he was cunning and crafty and working actively to rescue his daughter. In UNKNOWN (which is based on a 2003 French novel), he's a victim and almost helpless, and the movie fails to recapture the same magic. Director Jaume Collet-Serra spreads the drama out too far and the movie turns sludgy and slow, with the exception of the action scenes, which are choppy and junky, perhaps in an attempt to cover up their lack of logic.
Then comes the movie's big twist -- which is a good one and has the power to explain even the biggest head-scratchers of the first 90 minutes. But it doesn't help with the movie's pacing, lack of character depth and emotional involvement, and over reliance on silly, implausible fights and chases. Old-time character actors Ganz and Frank Langella provide a few brief moments of pleasure here and there, but otherwise, this is a dud.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the movie's violence. Is it thrilling or disturbing? Why? How does it compare to what you might see in a horror movie?
Is the main character justified in going to extreme mesures to retrieve his identity? What consequences does he face for his actions? Do the ends ever justify the means?
Did the movie's big twist work for you? How did it work? How does it change everything that came before it?
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AGE
Outcast against the world with new twist
I found it to be quite different from the other movies you could categorize in this genre of someone unexpectedly being left alone in the world and the whole world is against him.
One of the different things about it is that this outcast is portrayed as quite normal and not a super hero that can easily deal with impossible situations a la Jason Bourne. Another good feature is the plot which leaves relatively few holes within a significant twist. Different from other movies, the twist was quite unexpected and tight. I found the pace to be quite good, although you could argue some more editing could improve it.
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AGE
Disappointing thriller with a good twist
2.5/5
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.
ok this movie isn't TAKEN, but mildly satisfying action thriller. it is very slow moving and the first 30 minutes were quite boring and painful to watch. my Flixster friends really liked it but i didn't that much. 55% Rotten Tomatoes rating is quite fair. i am not saying it is a bad movie, but i didn't liked it. i was not feeling well so i had to take Tablets, i think it was the drowsiness that i did not got into this movie, because i don't remember absolutely nothing about this movie. thats is terrible. i would have loved it but on the basis of what i felt i am reviewing it, i don;t think i would be able to watch this movie again.
The Bourne Identity kind of felling but that one was far better. Taken was good. i read a critic saying it is very twisted but i didn't saw anything like that in it. the final twist was good. less but appropriate action in it. movie was unpredictable. plot was entertaining and makes you guess at several parts. plot turns a bit over the top at times but Liam makes it grounded. screenplay was fair, not much bad or good, some final touches were needed.
direction was sharp i must say but didn't quite impressed me the way it should have. story was entertaining. editing of some sequences was very tightly done. cinematography was very good, i liked the locations and all. background score was awsome. really good. Liam Neeson was perfect choice for this movie always. i like him in these kind of flicks, he could have been done a slightly better job though. Diane Kruger was good, January Jones was very plastic in it, i don't like her. other supporting cast was below average. ofcourse acting wise these kind of movies lack that punch and it won't any awards.
the car crash and car chasing scenes were good. this movie to some way is good. an interesting and tensed movie. i would blame my condition for not liking and getting this movie. if you are a Liam fan you will watch it for sure.
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AGE
Skip it!
This movie was very confusing, especially at the end. The ending, in my opinion, was terrible. You could call it a twist, but it seemed to me that the director was trying too hard to make the audience surprised. It was well-acted and the action was frequent and exciting, but this thriller just didn't make the cut for me. However, after a night of seeing it, I now do understand the ending.
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AGE
unknown
pg13 for some sequences of intense violence and action,some sexual content and brief strong language
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AGE
Intense violence and some other themes but not a bad movie
It was a good movie I really liked it i would say it has violence which can be intense and some romance between the main character and this wife otherwise it's not a bad movie
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AGE
Good, but not great
It's far from Neesons best film, but it still got some good stuff in it. However, it's more of a mystery drama than an action film so don't go in expecting it to be like Taken. The plot was good and deffiently had some on the edge of your seat moments and the twist was pretty good too, but it does start out slow but once it picks up it gets pretty involving. There is some violence in the movie but it isn't that graphic besides some blood. Besides that, theres a breif non-graphic sex scene flashback that last about a minuite. If your looking for a good Mystery movie than i would deffiently check this out. However, if your looking for an Action Thriller, i would just go rent Taken.
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AGE
really good performance liam neeson! but u only need to tell them that ur martin harris once not a billgion times!
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| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Director: | Jaume Collet-Serra |
| Cast: | Diane Kruger, January Jones, Liam Neeson |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Run time: | 113 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | February 18, 2011 |
| DVD release date: | June 21, 2011 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content |
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