Movie fans worldwide having been dying to see Liam Neeson take on another action role since he headlined the extremely well received Taken, and finally they’re wishes have been granted, thanks to Unknown; the new movie which once again drops Liam Neeson into Europe, against seemingly impossible odds.
This time however he’s not searching for his kidnapped daughter, but his own identity (which has in fact been kidnapped by another man); as minutes after the film opens he suffers an unexpected car crash, only to awake from a coma days later and return to his posh German hotel, to find his wife (January Jones, X-Men: First Class) is not only ‘pretending’ she doesn’t recognize him, but is actually with another man (Aidan Quinn, Legends of the Fall) who claims to be her husband Martin Harris; the man Neeson is convinced he is.
On the path to uncovering why his wife is pretending she doesn’t really know him, we’re presented with an extremely flimsy explanation of it being memory loss due to Martin’s coma (which is never believable to anyone watching, or Martin himself), and watch as Martin enlists the help of the cabbie who was drove him into the car crash (an illegal immigrant played by Inglorious Basterds’ Diane Kruger), tries to find some form of ID, and contact some of his friends back home for proof of who he is, uncovering a number of plots, conspiracies, and crimes along the way to finding out who he is.
Neeson plays Harris as well as he played his role in Taken; with his silence, gruff demeanor, and quick-to-violence attitude, speaking volumes and perfectly suiting the part; but the problem with Unknown is that, unlike Taken, it’s deathly slow, has no where near the same amount of action, and simply feels like a much less successful re-tread of something we’ve seen before; essentially Unknown is Bourne meets Taken (a sentence that will make more sense once the revelations about Martin’s purpose in Berlin become apparent), and somehow, it just doesn’t work.
Unknown isn’t a bad movie, it’s just fallen into a number of pitfalls that unfortunately make it less enjoyable than it should have been; the pacing is off, the plot’s fairly boring, and while the action (or what there is of it) is solid, the location is perfectly suited to the film, and the cast is acceptably strong (featuring not only Neeson, a rather flat and dull January Jones, and the always interesting Diane Kruger, but also an appearance from The Box’s enigmatic Frank Langella); making it watchable, but far from what we hope will come from Taken 2, and likely far from the action-packed, conspiracy-laden, adventure most people were hoping for.
Picture:
Unknown comes to Blu-ray with a stunning video transfer which features perfectly natural fleshtones, superb detail, and accurately rendered textures that pop off the screen, and make everything look as real, and sharp, as it possibly can. The greenish hue that covers the entire movie is well placed, and bathes the film in interesting and week realized colours that give the movie an interesting tone, and only help accentuate the solid black levels, and nice level of mild, yet film-like, grain.
It’s not a flawless transfer; as there are one or two soft shots here and there, and a couple of minuscule instances of artifcating that are extremely difficult to spot; yet Unknown’s picture comes pretty close, and should more than satisfy anyone who’s interested in watching the movie, and seeing Neeson get involved in another European mess.
Audio:
Unknown’s 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix is also of similarly high quality; sporting a consistent level of ambient noise, strong bass, excellent directionality, and seamless pans,
which only serve to compliment the film’s crisp and clear dialogue, and the engaging, 360 degree, action packed soundtrack; which is sure to please any fan of the film, and any action fan in general.
Extras:
Sadly the selection of special features included on the Unknown Blu-ray ca’t live up to the stellar standards reached by its video and audio presentation, as aside from the trailer, they consist of a mere three options, which are all little more than promotional filler; ‘Liam Neeson: Known Action Hero’ features the stars briefly discussing working with Neeson, while the behind the scenes featurette repeats some of the other interviews, and simply adds in how much they and other people love the film, and other interviews consist of much of the same; making for an easily skippable selection.
The Bottom Line:
So while the picture and audio quality on the Blu-ray release of Unknown are both superb, they alone are not enough to warrant buying the disc (and certainly aren’t helped by the disappointing selection of bonus content); as the film itself feels slow, dragged out, and can’t hope to live up to the action movie it’s been billed as; because wooden characters, an underdeveloped and frankly boring plot, and tired pacing, make for a film that’s a far cry from what it should have been, and nowhere near as good as either the Bourne movies, or Taken (while it attempts to be both).
Unknown is worth renting, simply because it’s an average movie and a Liam Neeson film is always worth a watch, but it’s definitely not one you’re going to watch again. Rent Unknown, watch it, and then, if you want to remember why you thought a Liam Neeson action film was a good bet, re-watch Taken; because it’s far, far, better.
