Unknown

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

(PG-13)

**

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Unknown opens with an intriguing-enough premise, said Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal. An American scientist, played by Liam Neeson, awakens from a coma in a Berlin hospital only to discover that his wife no longer knows him and another man is claiming his identity. The promise of that setup, however, is all too quickly “undercut by bad writing,” ludicrous car chases, and illogical storytelling. Unknown is essentially a “big old puree of ingredients borrowed from other cinematic recipes,” said Lisa Schwarzbaum in Entertainment Weekly. It samples the Bourne trilogy’s case of mistaken identity, mixes in some Cold War–era spy tactics, and even throws in a bit of Hitchcockian anxiety. While it’s nice to see Neeson embracing the action-hero role he assumed in 2008’s Taken, our protagonist needs more to do than just run around Berlin trying to convince people he’s not crazy. “This is a studio thriller released in February, people, not the second coming of Hitchcock,” said Andrew O’Hehir in Salon.com. “Keep your expectations reasonable,” and this “stylish” thriller will keep you guessing until the last frame.