Unknown is much like any action film: it is filled with car chases, fights between the main character and the antagonists trying to capture him out to get him, and several twists and turns in the plot. A cast of familiar faces and an interesting story line make it a good film, though not a memorable one.

Liam Neeson stays true to the acting style he displayed in Taken (2008), in which he played a former spy searching for his missing daughter in a European setting. In this movie, he once again plays the role of the victim, though he does not display the same fist fighting ability he did in Taken. Still, however, the fight scenes and car chases are both realistic and engaging. The cast includes Diane Kruger, who is known for Inglorious Basterds (2009) and National Treasure (2004) and who plays Gina (the taxi driver), and January Jones, who is known for the television series Mad Men (2004) and who plays Elizabeth Harris (Neeson’s wife).

Now, moving onto the plot. Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, a biochemist traveling with his wife to Berlin for a conference. While leaving the Berlin airport, Harris accidentally leaves his briefcase on the luggage cart, and he and his wife go to their hotel. When Harris realizes that he does not have all his luggage, he takes a cab toward the airport. However, on the way back to the airport, a traffic accident puts him in a comma and leaves his identity for the taking. He is then chased around Berlin by people who he believes are the same people that stole his identity.

The acting in the film was well done and the characters were well developed. When Dr. Harris loses his identity, the audience is invested in the story; everyone feels his pain and is just as confused as he is. As he fights the antagonists and investigates to find out who he is, the audience is with him, wanting to know what his final fate will be.

But the story is not that simple. Some of the curves in the plot seemed jammed in and would leave the movie-goer disappointed and in disbelief. Overall, however, the plot is definitely interesting and the cinematography makes the film worth watching.

4 stars out of 5