Collet-Serra Mixes Other Thrillers Together in “Unknown”

Jaume Collet-Serra won’t score too many originality points for his latest film “Unknown” starring Liam Neeson, but the “Orphan” director manages to mix together aspects of other thrillers to create an entertaining story.

“Unknown” ultimately just blends Jason Bourne with Bryan Mills, the badass role Neeson played in “Taken,” while adding a tad bit of Dr. Richard Walker from “Frantic.” The resulting cocktail is still enjoyable though: one part amnesiac, one part violent revenge seeker, a splash of an American teaming up with a European, and slightly diluted fighting abilities.

College professor Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) arrives in Germany with his wife Elizabeth (January Jones) to attend a biotechnical conference, where he’s slated to present to the leading scientist Professor Bressler (Sebastian Koch).  As Harris leaves the airport, his suitcase is misplaced, which rather unbelievably, he does not notice until arriving at his hotel.  The frantic professor hops a cab back to the airport; however his journey is cut short when he gets into a car accident.

Harris awakens days later in a hospital bed to discover he has been in a coma.  Surprised that no one has come to check on him, the confused man checks out so that he can find his wife.  After he arrives back at his hotel and corners Elizabeth, he’s disturbed that she does not appear to recognize him.  What’s even more frightening is that another man (Aiden Quinn) claims to be Dr. Martin Harris, and he has the documentation to prove it.

Bewildered and dejected, but not deterred, Harris tracks down his cab driver Gina (Diane Kruger), the only one that can vouch for him.  With Gina’s help he attempts to prove his identity and piece together his memory.  In the process of validating his story, Harris and Gina discover that they are in grave danger, and the pair is forced on the run until they can figure out a plan.

Though Dr. Martin Harris shares certain similarities with Jason Bourne and Bryan Mills, he sets himself apart in “Unknown” by his fighting abilities.  Unlike Mills or Bourne, Martin Harris is more vulnerable to injury. What Harris lacks in precision, he makes up for in sheer determination, because he’ll take a beating and still keep coming until the bad guy is dead.  Neeson’s unflinching fortitude in the role is part of what makes him so fun to watch.

In “Unknown” Jaume Collet-Serra creates danger and excitement through scrappy hand-to-hand fight scenes and white-knuckle car chases through the streets of Berlin.  The fight sequences are mostly shot in the same disorganized way they occur between the characters, but the driving is more skillfully cut, splicing in jumps to Harris’ maneuvers with the wheel and the stick-shift as he dodges baddies.  There’s more thriller than action, but fans of both camps should have a good time even if they’ve seen comparable movies before.

My Grade: B+