Lets get this out of the way, if youre expecting Taken again, then youre going find yourself sorely disappointed with Unknown. Sure it features Liam Neeson running all over a European city and kicking a few arses along the way, but the truth of the matter is that its not as pacey, brutal or as entertaining as the brilliant 2008 thriller. However, thats not to say that Unknown isnt still worth a peep.
The film sees Neeson as Martin Harris, a happily married physicist whos visiting Berlin with his wife for a biotechnology summit. One fateful car ride later and Harris knocks his head and falls into a coma for four days, only to wake up and find that another man has taken over his life. Naturally, things take a tense turn as Harris takes to the streets of the German capital in a bid to find some answers.
Despite the filmmakers best efforts to piggy-back off Takens well-deserved success, Unknown is actually a perfectly watchable film in its own right. Neeson is as engaging as ever, theres a ton of twists and turns and, while its not the scrap-a-minute riot that you may expect, Liam does get to crack a few skulls. However, it suffers badly from pacing issues. Its so slow in fact that by the end of the 108 minutes, youre left feeling like youve been watching for a couple of hours and change. Its a shame really because had they tightened it up a little bit, they could have potentially had another short, sharp, brutal Liam Neeson stunner on their hands. Instead, its a passable action thriller that wouldnt be anywhere near as watchable were it not for its superb lead.
In terms of high definition picture quality, things are much rosier. The image is razor sharp and brings stark clarity to those close ups of Neesons face. Dark shades are handled well with no artefacting or other hiccoughs to grumble about. Similarly, establishing shots look amazing while the dank, bleak palette of the film compliments the mood perfectly. Similarly the audio is tip-top. The Dolby track immerses you throughout whether Harris is in the middles of a car crash or legging it from gun-toting assassins, its nothing short a crystal clear aural treat.
Unfortunately the extras arent up to much as all we get are a handful of humdrum featurettes and a bunch of cast and crew interviews thatll demand nobodys attention.
In all it makes Unknown a bearable but disappointing thriller but also a pretty mean showcase disc for Blu-ray.
Overall Verdict: A mildly disappointing film that looks and sounds stunning. I cant stress enough though, dont expect it to be another Taken.
Special Features:
Unknown: The Story
Behind the Scenes
Liam Neeson: Known Action Hero
Interviews with Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger, Jaume Collet-Serra and Joel Silver
Trailer
Reviewer: Jordan Brown