Unknown (2011)

[Dukefrukem]

I will see this based on the last 4 seconds of the trailer (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810122285/video/22561907).

:)

[MadMan]

So its Liam Nelson being badass again in another action movie? And this one appears to have an excellent cast, too. Taken, despite being really by the numbers and cliche, was still an entertaining action movie. So yeah, I'm interested in seeing this.

[Boner M]

This is by the Orphan dude. Trailer has plenty of striking imagery. Lookin' forward.

[Henry Gale]

I liked this. And considering that I wasn't really planning on seeing it at all before I was invited to just an hour or two beforehand, it was a nice surprise.

Between this, Orphan and (even) House of Wax, Collet-Serra is three for three with me in terms of delivering just the right kind of servicable genre thrills that may not really hold up too well once they're overly deconstructed or questioned after the fact, but fufill me enough in the moment (and for enough of their runtime) to feel entertained. Plus, something about all of his movies so far have had fairly unique atmospheres and visual textures to them that go against the sort of tropes that I expect from similar output from minor tentpole thrillers and horror films in Hollywood. Unknown is made to be be distinctly European but also at the same time somewhat other-worldly to go with the disoriented state of Neeson's character, and for the most part it looks a lot better than I expected it to, especially in dealing with the typical locations for these sort of movies like the strobe-y night clubs, the cheap apartments, the white-coloured art museums and swanky, high-class hotels.

And of course there's a bunch of twist-y, turn-y revelations along the way, but the thing about them is how nicely film settles into each newly downloaded piece of information and how it allows them to take effect and become accepted as a final explanation of sorts for both the characters and the audience to continue down that line of thinking, all before it all goes into yet another 180 gamechanging direction that makes you reassess everything once again. It seems like it's the cast that most of all keeps things from seeming too silly (especially in smaller, but still extremely intense scenes like the one between Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella, or "Hitler vs. Nixon!" as one of my friends later called it), and the action — outside of one car chase scene that I unconsciously tuned out of after barely being able to follow with its many quick cuts between more and more shakiness of cars speeding in dark streets — is tightly conceived and exciting enough to go up against the more interesting and dialogue-heavy portions that mostly involve the mystery of what's at hand.

So really, if someone's expecting to see Taken 2.0 with Neeson just kicking ass the whole time and don't care for see much more, they may or may not be satisfied with what's here for the most part (because whereas that movie was barely 90 minutes long, this one is almost two hours and honestly feels a bit long, possibly because of how often it shifts gears), but even if you're on the opposite end of that like I was, I wouldn't say this is something worth rushing out to see in theatres (even in these slow months for good, big releases), but as something that'll surely be available it in a few months, however you may want to watch, it's well made enough to be watched (and kill time) on that sort of whim.

***

[Dukefrukem]

So really, if someone's expecting to see Taken 2.0 with Neeson just kicking ass the whole time and don't care for see much more, they may or may not be satisfied with what's here for the most part

So you're saying there's a chance...

[Henry Gale]

So you're saying there's a chance...

I mean, if you just love seeing Neeson at the centre of a movie, and one that has him in Berlin, frustrated and unsure of his own identity with the world seemingly against him, occasionally getting him into badass fights with the people that have wronged him along the way, then that's probably a more apt way to look at it coming from the Taken angle. WB just (understandably) did their very best to make it seem like a sequel to the other movie, so it helps that even though it isn't identical, it's still pretty good. Actually, I think it's better than Taken.

[Stay Puft]

And of course there's a bunch of twist-y, turn-y revelations along the way, but the thing about them is how nicely film settles into each newly downloaded piece of information begins to take effect and become accepted as a final explanation for sorts for both the characters to continue down that line of thinking as well as the audience, all before things go into yet another 180 gamechanger that makes everything have to be thought out once again.

Yes, I liked the way this film withheld narrative information, the way it orchestrated its many reveals. What makes it work is two things, I think: first, that the "central mystery" is revealed well before the end; and second, that each new revelation doesn't really change the game so much as the perceptual context of events.

The film is not trying to fool the audience or pull a rug out from under their feet. The film is fair, and always follows through on the consequences of every action and new revelation. The film, importantly, does not have a twist ending.

Sure it's all silly, but who cares, it's a lot of fun. For the reasons above, it is well above average as far as these sorts of thrillers go. It's good entertainment.


It seems like it's the cast that most of all keeps things from seeming too silly (especially in smaller, but still extremely intense scenes like the one between Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella, or "Hitler vs. Nixon!" as one of my friends later called it)

Yes, I loved that scene. Absolutley silly in terms of narrative content (that section fifteen stuff just comes out of nowhere) but Ganz and Langella are absolutley wonderful.

[Stay Puft]

Oh and as for Taken comparisons


and the action — outside of one car chase scene that I unconsciously tuned out of after barely being able to follow with its many quick cuts between more and more shakiness of cars speeding in dark streets — is tightly conceived and exciting enough to go up against the more interesting and dialogue-heavy portions that mostly involve the mystery of what's at hand.

Yeah, the car chase was the weak point in both Taken and Unknown.

Taken's chase sequence is pretty much bottom of the barrel bad, though, so I'll give the point to Unknown. I like both films, but I think I like Unknown more, even though it's not as lean as Taken.

[megladon8]

I kind of wish I hadn't watched the trailer.

It showed way too much.

[TripZone]

Best film of the year. Only film of the year I've seen.

[Sxottlan]

Yeah, the Ganz-Langella scene was wonderful. Subtle with great respect between the two. This scene would not have been out of place in some old samurai film. Ganz in general was great. For some reason I also really liked the scene of this old Cold War spy doing web research.

In general I quite enjoyed this one. I wasn't expecting much. I'm getting to like these international espionage films where it's not really centered around the British or Americans, but around a group of different national interests. I'm also glad that Neeson is having a good streak of success. The ending isn't exactly open-ended, but I could seem them try to spin a franchise off this one.

It reminded me of an old episode of Deep Space Nine from years ago when...
Chief O'Brien comes to believe the crew is working against him as well as an alien species. He goes rogue, steals a runabout and tries to warn the aliens to protect them. But then the aliens shoot him. Come to find out he was an android assassin mimicking the real O'Brien so closely that he really believed he was the Chief. He was actually meant to kill the aliens.

[Henry Gale]

Yes, I liked the way this film withheld narrative information, the way it orchestrated its many reveals. What makes it work is two things, I think: first, that the "central mystery" is revealed well before the end; and second, that each new revelation doesn't really change the game so much as the perceptual context of events.

The film is not trying to fool the audience or pull a rug out from under their feet. The film is fair, and always follows through on the consequences of every action and new revelation. The film, importantly, does not have a twist ending.

Sure it's all silly, but who cares, it's a lot of fun. For the reasons above, it is well above average as far as these sorts of thrillers go. It's good entertainment.


I agree, the movie's best attribute seems to be how, despite it being jam-packed with different threads of mystery and relying so much on the point of view of the main character, it really shows you everything you need to know in ways that are always true to what's going on in the moment, and it doesn't really try to manipulate or ret-con those things later as they're clarified or explained. Surprisingly, it's settled quite well into my mind over the last week. I mean it's still a three out of four, "does its job and not much more" sort of admiration, but I definitely do like it.

Also, I went back and edited the bit you quoted there because only now do I see how jumbled it actually was.


It reminded me of an old episode of Deep Space Nine from years ago when...
Chief O'Brien comes to believe the crew is working against him as well as an alien species. He goes rogue, steals a runabout and tries to warn the aliens to protect them. But then the aliens shoot him. Come to find out he was an android assassin mimicking the real O'Brien so closely that he really believed he was the Chief. He was actually meant to kill the aliens.

Hmm, that sounds pretty cool. I'd kind of want to check that out, but I'm just not that I would understand much of what else would be going on out of context. Plus, it definitely sounds like we did get ourselves a sweet international espionage version of it starring The Neeson.

[Dukefrukem]

7 movies in a weekend. That's gotta be close to a personal record.

edit: oh this movie was fun

[Dukefrukem]

I changed my mind. I don't like the twist. Kinda falls flat...

And why did it take them so damn long to kill him in the parking garage? If you're gonna kill someone, don't just say it over and over... do it!

[Chac Mool]

Good movie. No cheating. Liam, Langella, and the communist detective were awesome. January Jones, not so much (acting-wise, at least).