Dr Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is on his way to a conference with his beautiful wife Elizabeth (January Jones) to give a speech. On his way to the hotel room he notices that he has forgotten his briefcase at the airport which contains his speech, passport, and wallet. He leaves his wife and heads back to see if he can retrieve it. Hoping into a cab, he encounters Rita (Diane Kruger) his driver who he thinks he will never see again, but she may be the only person who can help him, after her cab is involved in an accident after a large fridge falls off the back of a van. Trying to avoid it, Rita loses control smashing into a bridge ploughing into the river below. Pulling the unconscious Martin out of the freezing cold water, Rita flees the scene due to being an illegal immigrant. Martin wakes up four days later from a coma in a Berlin hospital. After convincing the doctor to find his wife, he manages to go back to the hotel only to find his wife with another man who claims he is Dr. Martin Harris (Adian Quinn) and that she is his wife. His head starts to spin as he is certain he is Dr. Martin Harris. Is he? What is going on? Has he hit his head to hard? Or is there more sinister forces at play here? After tracking down Rita who is the only person to ever meet him in Berlin, and enlisting the help of Ernet Jurgen (Bruno Ganz) a private detective who may uncover more than he should, Liam is on his way to discover who he really is. But that's it. I can't say anymore or I will give too much away and I hate those reviewers who do that.
Let me just say this. If I can't figure out the twist, I know that I am watching a well done thriller. This movie had me stumped at what the twist was going to be and let me tell you it is very smart. Hats off to screenplay writer Oliver Butcher for doing something out of the norm. Liam Neeson plays the part to perfection. Liam is born to play these roles. He has the dynamic face and acting skills to pull it off, and let me tell you he gets put through the ringer in this film. Whether it be a crazy car chase (which was well directed) along the icy roads of Berlin, or being stalked by crazy hit men, Liam holds his own in every scene.
But let's not forget the rest of the cast. Diane Kruger is fantastic as Rita, the girl whose cab he just had to jump into to get involved with this mess. Kruger holds her own against acting legend Neeson, and brings to the role a sense of trust and kindness but also a sassy chick who will not take any bull from anybody. But I must give credit to Bruno Ganz who played Ernst Jurgen. I have never seen this old actor before, but when he was on screen he captured the audiences attention from the get go. He works well off Neeson and brings a kind friendship and understanding to a man in need.
This movie is being compared a lot to Taken. Yes they are both action/thrillers and yes they both star Liam Neeson but they could not be further apart. This one is a thinking man's thriller and director Jaume Collet - Serra brings the action hard and fast, but does not rely on it to capture the audiences attention. The movie keeps you guessing and makes you think the action scenes are a bonus, not a necessity. The movie flows very well and if I had to say anything bad about this film, I would have liked to continue the journey. Trust me, if you like your thrillers smart and interesting and not full of bloody over the top violence, see Unknown. 9/10
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