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Unknown (2011)

tomatometer

55

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 185
Fresh: 102 | Rotten: 83

Liam Neeson elevates the proceedings considerably, but Unknown is ultimately too derivative -- and implausible -- to take advantage of its intriguing premise.

59

Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 15

Liam Neeson elevates the proceedings considerably, but Unknown is ultimately too derivative -- and implausible -- to take advantage of its intriguing premise.

audience

57

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 65,804

My Rating

Movie Info

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he's willing to go

Jun 21, 2011

$63.7M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (185) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (104) | Rotten (83) | DVD (12)

May eventually surrender to convention and implausibility in equal measure, but until then, Collet-Serra grounds the conspiracy with a proper sense of mystery and mood.

June 21, 2011 Full Review Source: Film.com | Comment
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

For about an hour or so, "Unknown" is intriguing.

March 1, 2011 Full Review Source: New Yorker | Comment (1)
New Yorker
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Neeson's comforting intelligence (and a marvelous turn by Bruno Ganz as an ailing former member of the East German secret police), are not enough to prevent the film from choking on obviousness and directorial fumbling.

February 18, 2011 Full Review Source: NPR | Comment
NPR
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Unknown" obviously knows its limitations, and it doesn't bother to rise above them. It just keeps throwing the punches the audience wants and expects. It won't cure world hunger, but chances are it will sell a lot of popcorn.

February 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment (1)
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The cat-and-mouse game that the filmmakers are playing with us is only partially successful because this thriller is only intermittently thrilling. Instead of being captivated by the twist and turns, we're more likely to be rankled.

February 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | Comment
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The snow and haze that Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra keeps pumping into the street scenes seem to have drifted into the script as well.

February 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Unknown isn't offensive at all, but it isn't startlingly good either: it is a near-perfect popcorn thriller that convinces of its story despite some fairly ludicrous plot shifts and an ultimately very self-serving resolution.

August 15, 2011 Full Review Source: What Culture | Comment

The stop-start pacing, stock villains and predictable plot leave it trailing in Jason Bourne's wake.

July 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Digital Spy | Comment
Digital Spy

In a bloodless scene between two old men, there's more pathos and tension... than in any of the hyper-kinetic fight scenes or car chases that pad out the rest of the running time.

June 29, 2011 Full Review Source: The Ooh Tray | Comment

In the French-made, English-language sleeper Taken, Liam Neeson was a former CIA operative who was (outlandishly) able to thwart a sex-trafficking ring. Audiences responded vociferously to his take-charge character. His latest film, Unknown...

June 24, 2011 Full Review Source: Leonard Maltin's Picks | Comment
Leonard Maltin's Picks

I didn't believe a second of it, but I certainly had fun watching it.

June 21, 2011 Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | Comment
Aisle Seat

If you can forgive it for one twist too many, it is rewarding entertainment. (Blu-ray Combo Edition)

June 19, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

...with Liam Neeson in the lead, he makes everything we see on screen, no matter how far-fetched, seem plausible.

June 19, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

I found the time spent not so proportionate to the powerful delivery, in the end...

June 12, 2011 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

The movie is a well-performed, well-directed thriller that kept me interested the entire time.

May 20, 2011 Full Review Source: Movies.com | Comment
Movies.com

Not as well executed as Taken or with the depth of 1988's Frantic but Neeson can cover up a lot of plot problems. A good rental.

May 12, 2011 Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | Comment
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Each situation is pulled off with a by-the-numbers precision. Sorely lacking is the dark humor Hitchcock invested in similar no-one-believes-me scenarios.

May 5, 2011 Full Review Source: CinemaDope | Comment

full review at Movies for the Masses

April 13, 2011 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comment
Movies for the Masses

The freak-out scenario is thoroughly engaging, but even Collet-Serra's ceaseless velocity can't gloss over gaping holes

April 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | Comment
Shadows on the Wall

Liam Neeson is an indestructible Frankensteiny feral animal with a head injury.

April 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Movies.com | Comment
Movies.com

Why the screenwriters allowed this movie to take a nonsensical turn is 'Unknown.'

March 25, 2011 Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | Comment
KWQC-TV (Iowa)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Unknown

My biggest problem with Unknown is the vast contrast between the film's marketing campaign which presented the film as a stylish and efficient action movie in the same vein as star Liam Neeson's breakthrough actioner Taken. First off, this film is not action film. It's a psychological thriller built around a poorly

January 7, 2012
Mario M.
Mario L McKellop

Super Reviewer

Unknown starts with a great premise and then throws it down the toilet. When telling a story where the small details are crucial, you also have to apply it to the way you tell it. Is it a drama, is it a thriller or is it an action film? Sure, it can be all three if it wants but after formulaic cliche after formulaic

January 4, 2012
SirPant

Super Reviewer

    1. Dr. Martin Harris: I didn't forget everything. I remember how to kill you, asshole!
    – Submitted by Millind P (9 days ago)
    1. Dr. Martin Harris: I didn't forget everything. I remember how to kill you, asshole!
    – Submitted by Jayesh L (2 months ago)
    1. Dr. Martin Harris: Do you know what it feels like to become insane? It's a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are... Which do you think wins?
    – Submitted by rob g (9 months ago)
    1. Dr. Martin Harris: Do you know what it feels like to become insane? It's a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are... which do you think wins?
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)
    1. Dr. Martin Harris: They had me convinced that I was crazy. But when they came to take me I knew.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

Latest News for Unknown

February 22, 2011:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Unknown Opens Atop 4-Day Presidents' Day BO
Liam Neeson's latest European-set single-word-titled action thriller Unknown debuted at number one...

February 17, 2011:
Critics Consensus: Unknown's Plot Twists Too Much
This week at the movies, we've got a mystery man (Unknown, starring Liam Neeson and January Jones),...

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Foreign Titles

  • Unknown Identity (DE)
  • Sans identité (FR)
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