UNKNOWN

You know something is up when a mild-mannered bio-chemist suddenly has badass race-car driving skills while fleeing assassins through the streets of Berlin.

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is a world-famous scientist who arrives at an important convention in Berlin with his beautiful wife (January Jones) at his side.  Except while checking in the hotel he realizes that he forgot his briefcase at the airport, so he jumps into the nearest cab... which turns out to be the choice that will turn his life upside-down.

A seemingly random and horrific car accident lands Dr. Harris in the hospital with amnesia. Bits and pieces come to him; he asks for his wife, and he remembers his name. A news story on the hospital TV triggers the memory that he is in Berlin for a science conference at a renowned hotel. But when he goes to the hotel to find his wife, there is another man at her side (Aiden Quinn) claiming to be Dr. Martin Harris! In fact, our Liam-Neeson-Dr.-Harris' own wife treats himself as a crazed stranger. What. The. Hell.

Unknown has Martin Harris (Liam) running around town, and running from bad guys who are inexplicably (to him) out to kill him. With the help of the cab driver from the accident (Diane Kruger), bit by bit he starts collecting facts and clues to what the hell is going on.

Unknown has lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing and entertained. There are many points early on in the story that seem scoff-worthy (boy, can that scientist drive!), but to the screenwriters' credit these moments are eventually pulled together in the final revelations. The thriller also gains some credibility by casting fine actors like Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella in small but effective roles. As outlandish as the conclusion is (it can't help but feel kind of like Bourne Identity Lite), Unknown effectively revealed its cards slowly, keeping me interested and entertained, as a good popcorn thriller should.

DVD & BLU-RAY NOTES

The Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack contains only a couple extras, one about our, well, action hero "Liam Neeson: Known Action Hero" and a behind-the-scenes featurette, "Unknown: What is Known?".