Unknown: First Liam Neeson Lost His Daughter, Now His Memory

Unknown is another action movie starring Liam Neeson released in 2011. In this movie he stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who is in Germany with his wife played by January Jones, for a medical conference. He gets in a car accident that causes his taxi to go into a river. He wakes up with no immediate memory. So let’s see how the action movie trends continue. Unknown is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who would go on to direct three more action movies with Liam Neeson which are Nonstop, Run All Night, and The Commuter.

So the trend of very generic American sounding name continues with the name Martin Harris. Some new elements to the formula are the mystery theme that is featured in a lot of Liam Neeson’s movies. He usually has to figure out who is trying to sabotage or highjack something. So when Liam wakes up from his accident in the hospital, he wonders where his wife is. When he finds her, she doesn't recognize him and claims she never saw him before. She is with another man claiming to be Martin Harris played by Aidan Quinn. They even have pictures together and know the same details about his life. Liam is convinced he is the real Martin Harris. When Liam gets mad he yells and almost barks like a dog. This happens in future movies as well.

He finds the taxi driver played by Diane Kruger. He asks her to help him reclaim his life. They form a bond as they figure things out. They look for a brief case that he had that may have the answers he is looking for. Liam also contacts a friend played by Frank Langella. As the movie goes on Liam figures out the details of what happened to him and why he is actually in germany. His mind is blown when he learns the truth.

SPOILERS! It turns out he and January Jones are hired assassins who assume different identities to blend in and kill their targets. When Liam was in the accident they sent in another person to be Martin Harris as a backup. When Liam crashed he thought he was Martin Harris and now his life has changed. He gets his revenge on the group and Frank Langella. He ends up in a fight scene with the backup Martin Harris and it's a more tactical, hand to hand combat fight like those of Taken. He even gets a throat punch in the fight. Liam wins and he and Diane Kruger get new identities and have their happy ending.

Unknown is a good mystery movie and a good entry into the Liam Neeson action movie genre. It added a lot of new elements that would become staples in his future movies. Liam's performance is good because he has to think on his feet a lot and rely on has wits. 🍔🍔🍔