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Unknown

  • 2011
  • PG-13
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
273K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,670
1,236
Liam Neeson, January Jones, and Diane Kruger in Unknown (2011)
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.
Play trailer1:06
10 Videos
99+ Photos
Conspiracy ThrillerSuspense MysteryActionMysteryThriller

When a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.When a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.When a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.

  • Director
    • Jaume Collet-Serra
  • Writers
    • Oliver Butcher
    • Stephen Cornwell
    • Didier Van Cauwelaert
  • Stars
    • Liam Neeson
    • Diane Kruger
    • January Jones
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    273K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,670
    1,236
    • Director
      • Jaume Collet-Serra
    • Writers
      • Oliver Butcher
      • Stephen Cornwell
      • Didier Van Cauwelaert
    • Stars
      • Liam Neeson
      • Diane Kruger
      • January Jones
    • 468User reviews
    • 318Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Videos10

    Unknown: International Trailer
    Trailer 1:06
    Unknown: International Trailer
    Unknown
    Trailer 2:33
    Unknown
    Unknown
    Trailer 2:33
    Unknown
    "Chase" from Unknown
    Clip 1:16
    "Chase" from Unknown
    Unknown: Parking Garage
    Clip 0:53
    Unknown: Parking Garage
    Unknown: Excuse Me Do I Know You?
    Clip 1:05
    Unknown: Excuse Me Do I Know You?
    Unknown: Break In
    Clip 0:57
    Unknown: Break In

    Photos206

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    + 201
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    Top cast44

    Edit
    Liam Neeson
    Liam Neeson
    • Dr. Martin Harris
    Diane Kruger
    Diane Kruger
    • Gina
    January Jones
    January Jones
    • Elizabeth Harris
    Aidan Quinn
    Aidan Quinn
    • Martin B
    Bruno Ganz
    Bruno Ganz
    • Ernst Jürgen
    Frank Langella
    Frank Langella
    • Rodney Cole
    Sebastian Koch
    Sebastian Koch
    • Professor Bressler
    Olivier Schneider
    Olivier Schneider
    • Smith
    Stipe Erceg
    Stipe Erceg
    • Jones
    Rainer Bock
    Rainer Bock
    • Herr Strauss
    Mido Hamada
    Mido Hamada
    • Prince Shada
    Clint Dyer
    Clint Dyer
    • Biko
    Karl Markovics
    Karl Markovics
    • Dr. Farge
    Eva Löbau
    Eva Löbau
    • Nurse Gretchen
    Helen Wiebensohn
    • Laurel Bressler
    Merle Wiebensohn
    • Lily Bressler
    Adnan Maral
    Adnan Maral
    • Turkish Taxi Driver
    Torsten Michaelis
    • Airport Taxi Driver
    • Director
      • Jaume Collet-Serra
    • Writers
      • Oliver Butcher
      • Stephen Cornwell
      • Didier Van Cauwelaert
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews468

    6.8273.4K
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    Featured reviews

    8jdkraus

    Despite his age, Neeson still has it in him

    Multiple people have compared this to Neeson's 2008 release of "Taken." Both have a similar concept; Liam goes on a fast-paced journey to retrieve something special that has been taken from him. This time it is not his daughter; it is his mind. Unlike "Taken," "Unknown" is more of a suspense mystery than an action flick. There are some chases and fight scenes, but that is not the main focus. The movie's plot is focus and it is unique for it is unpredictable. We are confused like Neeson's character and there are times we don't know if he will succeed. There are multiple twists and unlike most mystery thrillers, it took me more than half through the film to figure it all out.

    In short, "Unknown" is a fairly decent mystery thriller. Good performances. Good story for a mystery. Good music. Good cinematography—I particularly like the whole gray, dreary atmosphere that reflects the film's location's bleak weather. Good twists. Good suspense— the sound mixers must've had a kick in adding emphasis on sound effects to startle the audience. The one thing I will note is that Liam Neeson is really showing his age. This is not necessarily a bad thing; on the contrary, it helps his character out. It gets tiresome that Hollywood always uses the generic 30-something year old actor with smashing abs who is tossed into a terrible situation. It is nice to see an aging actor play an upper middle-aged man who has perhaps lost his mind while running away from people trying to kill him.

    My rating: ***/****
    8BeneCumb

    An elegant thriller, with several unpredictable twists

    This century has seen Liam Neeson in real leading roles, when his character "permeates" the whole movie and is strong and quick-witted. Taken 1 and 2 are best known, Unknown has - for some reason or another - remained in their shadow. In my opinion, the script of the latter is much stronger, has more twists-turns and unpredictable moments - me being a fan and active viewer of crime thrillers could not guess what kind of background could Neeson's character Dr. Martin Harris really have. Sequence of the events is logical and chases are visually enjoyable. The ending in general is predictable, apart from the very last scene.

    Well, all the cast is excellent, not only Liam Neeson; Diane Kruger and Bruno Ganz are the supporting actors more time on screen and they are really good. In short, Unknown is really worth watching - especially if you have not read spoilers :)
    7smith-sherrie22

    Lliam is great

    Multiple people have compared this to Neeson's 2008 release of "Taken." Both have a similar concept; Liam goes on a fast-paced journey to retrieve something special that has been taken from him. This time it is not his daughter; it is his mind. Unlike "Taken," "Unknown" is more of a suspense mystery than an action flick. There are some chases and fight scenes, but that is not the main focus. The movie's plot is focus and it is unique for it is unpredictable. We are confused like Neeson's character and there are times we don't know if he will succeed. There are multiple twists and unlike most mystery thrillers, it took me more than half through the film to figure it all out.

    In short, "Unknown" is a fairly decent mystery thriller. Good performances. Good story for a mystery. Good music. Good cinematography—I particularly like the whole gray, dreary atmosphere that reflects the film's location's bleak weather. Good twists. Good suspense— the sound mixers must've had a kick in adding emphasis on sound effects to startle the audience. The one thing I will note is that Liam Neeson is really showing his age. This is not necessarily a bad thing; on the contrary, it helps his character out. It gets tiresome that Hollywood always uses the generic 30-something year old actor with smashing abs who is tossed into a terrible situation. It is nice to see an aging actor play an upper middle-aged man who has perhaps lost his mind while running away from people trying to kill him.
    8wesawyournoobs

    Pretty good

    I wanted to love this film, as I'm a big fan of Liam Neeson.

    This was a pretty good movie. It was overall enjoyable to watch, and it had good twists to the story. It was action packed, and as such Neeson delivers. January Jones is, unfortunately, a terribly cold actress and is the same character as all of her other films. I do like Diane Kruger though, and she was fairly charming in this.

    I enjoyed watching it. It's a good weekend, sit-down-and-enjoy thrill movie, as one would expect from its description. It is by no means a movie I'd recommend for its artistic merit, but it definitely delivers in the traditional thrill-seeker movie. The plot is pretty good as well, and well executed.
    7imseeg

    Fast, suspenseful, slick thriller. Yes, we have it seen it all before, but it is executed with THAT MUCH finesse, that it is still a joy to watch from beginning to end.

    Beforehand I didnt expect anything from this movie, I just wanted to watch a B-movie, with lots of action and thrills, to keep me awake. But I got more than I expected, and although I was sleepy when I started watching it, I was wide awake midway through. This is just another one of those unmistakable well made Liam Neeson thrillers.

    If you liked the Liam Neeson Taken series then you will surely love this movie as well. It' s fast, suspenseful and with lots of slick and cool looking photography and editing. I mention these technical details, because lots of action movies just dont get it right when it comes to fastpaced action photography. This one does.

    Liam Neeson travels abroad with his wife for business. He gets into a car accident by himself and when he wakes up in a hospital, someone else has taken his identity.This story might sound ridiculous, and for sure, it is a bit of a ridiculous story, but it is executed in such a way that is still quite suspenseful and captivating.

    There are many resemblances with the Bourne movies. Memory loss, being chased by assasins in foreign countries (Germany), fast action sequences and lots of suspense. It is a really decent action thriller, which the fans of this genre will surely have a good time with. It is a bit better than the average action movie, although dont expect originality either...

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Filming in Berlin proved very difficult as the city was undergoing its coldest winter in 20 years at the time.
    • Goofs
      Jurgen tells Harris that Stasi agents were taught that an innocent man always stuck to his version of truth while a liar reformulated his ideas. Actually, Stasi doctrine taught the exact opposite: a liar has invented a pre-programmed version of the facts and cannot change it, while someone innocent knows how to reformulate his speech and does it.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Martin Harris: Do you know what it feels like to become insane, doctor? It's like a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are. Which do you think wins?

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits are shown as clouds being viewed from an airplane blow past... not so crazy, except that it actually makes one of the credits unreadable.
    • Connections
      Edited into Action Jackson (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Elevation
      Performed by Sultana Ensemble

      Written by Yoel Ben-Simhon (ASCAP)

      Published by Lovecat Music (ASCAP)

      Courtesy of Lovecat Music

    Top picks

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    FAQ26

    • How long is Unknown?Powered by Alexa
    • Is 'Unknown' based on a book?
    • What is 'Unknown' about?
    • Why didn't Martin tell Liz he was going back to the airport for his briefcase?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 18, 2011 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • Japan
      • Canada
    • Official sites
      • Facebook
      • Warner Bros. (Japan)
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
      • Turkish
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • Desconocido
    • Filming locations
      • Tresor, Berlin, Germany(night club scene)
    • Production companies
      • Dark Castle Entertainment
      • Panda Productions Inc.
      • Canal+
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $30,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $63,686,397
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $21,856,389
      • Feb 20, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $135,710,029
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 53 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • SDDS
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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