Unknown

Oh My God! We have a good movie this week!

You can never count out Liam Neeson. He even made The A-Team semi-watchable. Now, in Unknown he's Martin Harris - a well respected academic in Germany for a big scientific conference with his beautiful wife, Liz (January "I'm here to look beautiful" Jones). While rushing back to the airport to retrieve a briefcase he left behind, the taxi gets into a horrible accident, and Martin slips into a coma for four days.

Upon waking, the doctor tells him it may take some time for his memory to come back, and he might suffer from fractured or mixed up memories. Of course, once Martin starts to remember why he is in Germany, the man leaves the hospital against his doctor's will and rushes back to the hotel to find his wife.

However, Liz doesn't recognize him, and shows the hotel the man she knows as her husband, Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn).

Who is the real Martin Harris?

What is going on here?

Unknown is a movie that lives and dies by the twist. Now, don't get all upset and claim I revealed there is a twist and ruined the movie for you. You knew there had to be one to explain why Neeson's character is so confused. Luckily, writers Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell (based on a novel by Didier Von Cauwelaert) deliver this one with some surprise for the audience, but with enough build up to where we believe it when we learn what it is, instead of feeling like it was some idea straight out of nowhere.

Butcher and Cornwell don't give us a film full of twist after twist and detail after detail, but director Jaume Collett-Serra fills in the holes with some good tension, lots of action to excite the audience, and some fun camera work playing off reflections and timing to make us fear what might happen next and visually stimulate us. Plus, the series of near misses will drive you nuts, as well as make you laugh a little bit. Most of all, Collett-Serra keeps us wondering about the truth and resolution throughout the movie.

However, the real attraction in Unknown is Liam Neeson. I can't think of another actor who can convey that sense of urgency and frustration that we feel as Martin tries to piece his life back together. Never one-dimensional, Neeson reminds us Martin is angry as people don't believe him, heartbroken his wife may be lost, fearful that she could be in danger and more. Just looking over his shoulder at someone who might be following him, Neeson shows more acting skill than you will see in the entirety of a Big Momma's House movie.

If you think about it, I'm sure you will find some holes and weaknesses in the movie and story, and the plot could have more depth, but Unknown is an entertaining film, especially for Neeson fans.

Unknown is rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content.