Half “Taken” and half “The Bourne Identity,” Liam Neeson’s latest thriller “Unknown” lacks the scintillating sizzle of such like-minded thrillers but will pass for decent entertainment. If you want a rental that offers a tiny bit of mental involvement, a fair bit of thrills, and beautiful women named Diane Kruger and January Jones, this might be a decent way to spend a Monday movie night at home. You won’t complain or be disappointed; you’ll just be content.
The high concept thriller follows Martin Harris (Neeson), who awakes from a coma after a car wreck in a Berlin taxi driven by Gina (Kruger) to find that his wife Liz (Jones) doesn’t recognize him. In fact, there is nothing other than a lost passport to prove his identity. In order to get his life back, Martin must get to the source of this deep running conspiracy, and he will stop at nothing to reclaim what was once his.
It’s really an intriguing premise, and if you watched the trailer (or saw it a million times in theaters during December 2010), you can basically skip the first hour. The set-up was done perfectly in two minutes there, and it was a little unnecessary to prolong the trailer. The second hour is where things get interesting, yet by the time the movie’s “twist” comes around, I was just ready for it to end. The movie squanders an opportunity to really cash in on the idea, which is a little disappointing, but at least it doesn’t totally tank. There are much worse thrillers than “Unknown;” then again, there are also much better. C+ / 
