Splice : World on his shoulders: Liam Neeson’s performance in ‘Unknown’ becomes its saving grace
‘Unknown’ review
1.5/5 popcorns
Late-blooming action star Liam Neeson was always meant to headline bullet-laden thrill rides. The Academy Award-nominated star of ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Kinsey’ rocketed to fame in the action genre with 2009’s ‘Taken,’ the biggest box-office surprise of the year. The producers of his latest action venture, the ambitious but immensely disappointing ‘Unknown,’ knew exactly what they were getting when they signed Neeson, whose unique blend of fatherly wisdom, quiet intensity and effortless charm qualifies him as the ideal middle-aged action hero.
Apparently, the director of ‘Unknown,’ Jaume Collet-Serra, didn’t know what he had to work with. The Spanish filmmaker takes Neeson’s presence for granted, using him as little more than a tool with which to advance a narrative that builds toward a predictably mundane barrage of twists.
Influential biotechnology professor Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) arrives in Berlin with his wife, Liz (January Jones), to speak at a hugely anticipated summit at which a Saudi Arabian prince (Mido Hamada) will be present. As Harris checks into the hotel, he realizes he left his briefcase at the airport. On his way back to the terminal, he’s embroiled in a devastating car accident that sends him to the hospital with a limited memory of what happened and who he even is. He remembers his wife and the hotel he was supposed to stay in, but when he shows up at the hotel for the first time, Liz does not remember him.
As Harris navigates Berlin, he learns his life in America has been erased and that another Dr. Martin Harris has replaced him. Nobody will confirm his identity — his only hope is a former Stasi agent (Bruno Ganz) with a drinking problem. Harris manages to scrounge up occasional clues, signs hinting he might not be the man he thought he was.
The twist that defines the film is not necessarily ludicrous, but it’s the core problem with the production. Collet-Serra seems to believe the twist will be great enough to justify 90 minutes of throwaway action sequences and occasionally laughable dialogue — it isn’t. Any film that relies on its ending to compensate for otherwise mediocre filmmaking is unworthy of the viewer’s time, and ‘Unknown’ is no exception. For Collet-Serra, the thrill is not in telling a story but in ending it, meaning the audience members end up wasting a great deal of their time.
The first casualty of a twist-dependent thriller is the first and second acts’ predictability, with too much attention paid to the reveal and not to the events that make it powerful. No matter how large the scale, a thriller’s every plot point should be as carefully executed as its final twist. In ‘Unknown,’ not only is every action sequence aggravatingly contrived, these disappointingly bland scenes dilute the impact of the climax. As the picture winds down, there’s little left to care about.
If not for an expectedly terrific performance from Neeson, the film might have been unwatchable. Seemingly ageless, Neeson is capable of inspiring great faith in his audience despite his age and assumed lack of athleticism. When the film is at most predictable, Neeson assures us we’ll be rewarded — but only as admirers of one actor’s skill.
Published on February 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm
