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Unknown

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Unknown (2006)

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Reviews Counted:17

Fresh:4

Rotten:13

Average Rating:4.6/10

Consensus: Though it boasts a talented cast, this thriller fails to make you care about the twisty mystery of the men's identities and situation.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 3, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: Five men awaken in a warehouse with no way out and no recollection of how they got there, only to struggle with their suspicion of each other as they try to piece together their story from... Five men awaken in a warehouse with no way out and no recollection of how they got there, only to struggle with their suspicion of each other as they try to piece together their story from available clues. One (Greg Kinnear) has a broken nose, while another (Jeremy Sisto) is handcuffed to a pipe and slowly dying from a gunshot wound. Two (Barry Pepper and Jim Caviezel) are unhurt, while the fifth (Joe Pantoliano) is tied to a chair--which is how the group wish to keep him until they figure out why he got that way. Meanwhile, the police are tracking a sinister man in snakeskin boots (Peter Stormare) with a connection to the group, and a worried wife (Bridget Moynihan) of one of the men searches desperately for her husband. But will the men kill each other out of suspicion before finding a way out of the warehouse? The second half of the '90s saw a spate of neo-noirs inspired by Tarantino's supercharged RESERVOIR DOGS. Christopher Nolan's MEMENTO (2000), though in obvious debt to Tarantino, was a breathtakingly new shot in the arm for the genre. Simon Brand's UNKNOWN is a brainy and verbose melding of the two. Making its low budget work in its favor, the script could easily be performed on a stage, as the locations number in the low single digits. Though many young pulp-drunk post-Tarantino directors have toyed with non-linear narratives, Matthew Waynee's script doesn't make the device seem rote or overindulgent. Also a small, strong cast led by Caviezel, Kinnear, and Pepper ensure this solid thriller isn't just another entry in the tough-guy crime stakes. [More]

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Joe Pantoliano, Jim Caveziel, Barry Pepper

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Joe Pantoliano, Jim Caveziel, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Sisto, Bridget Moynahan, Peter Stormare

Director: Simon Brand

Director: Simon Brand
Producer: Rick Lashbrook, John S. Schwartz
Composer: Angelo Milli
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Release:

Jan 30, 2007

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Reviews for Unknown

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1 - 17 (sorted by date)
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You wish some of the plot holes had been spackled better.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
12/15/06
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A nifty little psychological crime thriller that suggests a Treasure of the Sierra Madre for the postindustrial age.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/14/06
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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It's a good gimmick, but still a gimmick, and we're left with more confusion than tension.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
12/08/06
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
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Unknown is far from a perfect movie, but it's more amusing than many better-made ones.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/30/06
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Unknown is far from unwatchable, just undistinguished.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/18/06
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
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Gritty, gimmicky.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/10/06
Bill Stamets
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
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The movie's disinterest in character might be forgivable were its plot not riddled with holes.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/09/06
Sam Adams
Sam Adams
Los Angeles Times
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While Brand manages a couple of effectively brutal bits of violence, Matthew Waynee's gassy screenplay is all premise and no propulsion.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
11/09/06
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
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The performances are uniformly excellent, and Brand relies on his music video training to provide some tantalizing flashback clues.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
11/06/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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Tyro video helmer Simon Brand doesn't give his actors sufficient breathing room, ruthlessly chopping their scenes into monotonous hash.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/06/06
Ronnie Scheib
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
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To kill 80 minutes, the movie has to pad itself with several dull speeches and stagy moments.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/03/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
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It all comes together at the end, logically and with a twist. But it's not a game that allows the audience to play along.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
11/03/06
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
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Brisk pacing and an excellent cast of mostly B-list actors can’t make up for the commonplace premise and execution of Simon Brand’s twisty thriller Unknown.

comment Comment
11/02/06
Laura Kern
Laura Kern
New York Times
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It's not nearly as risky or as inspired as the movies it borrows from. But it keeps its audience's collective head in the game, thanks in large part to an impressive cast enacting the sometimes ludicrous proceedings with conviction.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
11/02/06
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday
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Once the paranoid surrealism of the opening scenes begins to fade, so does the film's inherent interest level.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
11/02/06
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
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The pacing is slightly off, with the action switching between the imprisoned men and the police who are trying to find them, and what should be a mounting sense of urgency inside the warehouse (think Reservoir Dogs) falters and goes slack.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
10/31/06
Jean Opppenheimer
Jean Opppenheimer
Village Voice
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The result is passable, though it’s clear that his forte lies elsewhere.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
10/25/06
Richard James Havis
Richard James Havis
Hollywood Reporter
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1 - 17 (sorted by date)
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