Unknown (2011)

☆ ☆ ☆

Unknown (2011) – J. Collet-Serra

There seem to be so many of these grim Liam Neeson thrillers around that I thought I should see one to see why Hollywood thinks they are worth it.  My reaction (to this one at least) is that these are by-the-numbers movies that try to include the main ingredients of other successful thrillers in order to win the box office jackpot.  However, something this formulaic and generic probably will never go down in the annals of film history as one of the greats because it is just too calculated (methinks).  Here, Neeson is a biotechnology professor who is in a car accident in Berlin that results in a four-day coma; when he awakes, without his passport, no one recognises him, even his wife, and there is some other dude claiming to be him.  In order to unravel this mystery, he finds the taxi driver, an illegal immigrant played by Diane Kruger, who was driving when he crashed, and also gains the help of a former East German Stasi official played by Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire).  Naturally, there are a few car chases, some hand-to-hand fighting, and a lot of dodging of bad guys who are stalking him.  And, a twist, a movie like this has to have a twist these days.  I’m not sure I’ll watch another of these Neeson thrillers – even when I’m too tired for a challenge, this just seemed too rote, or average, at best.