Day 123: "If I'm not Martin Harris, how do I know so much about him?"

Liam Neeson's career has taken an unexpected, bizarre, cool turn.  Having last seen him in the 2008 thriller Taken, he now seems to be drawn to the Harrison Ford-esque roles of "guy in a crap situation."  His latest film: Unknown, starts off slowly, almost indescribably messily, then gets going into an edge-of-your-seat, what's going to happen next mind bender.  This is not a mind-bender in the Inception sort of way, but more along the lines of The Fugitive meets any of the Jason Bourne movies.  Set in Berlin, microbiologist Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) and his wife are set to attend a Biotechnology Summit.  Through the course of events, Harris is in an auto accident, and upon returning to the world of the living, has discovered that another man has taken over his life and identity.  He then spends the next hour and change attempting to prove to himself and the world who he actually is.  It did, as I said before, begin as a bit of a mess, but the more I thought about it, this seemed to be a clever device used by the filmmakers to make the audience as confused as Harris.  After the first twenty-five minutes, you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen.

Neeson is, again, great in the role of the hunted, but honestly, why do directors feel the need to make him try and be American?  He has, quite possibly, the least believable American accent ever.  Don't they have microbiologists in Ireland that teach in the U.S.?  Let him use his own voice!  Diane Kruger is Gina, the illegal alien taxi driver who tries to help Harris in his quest.  A better role for her than she had in the National Treasure series.  Frank Langella, January Jones and Adian Quinn (nice to see him still working!) round out the remaining lead roles.

All in all, a satisfying thriller with a decent ending.  I have to admit though, I have seen enough of these that I was able to predict how it would end, but I still had fun.  If you enjoyed Taken or The Fugitive you'll most likely enjoy this, just be patient, and you will be rewarded.  7.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!