A version of this review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.

The Bourne films did more than just force James Bond to reinvent himself for the better. They gave other filmmakers permission to jump into the European spy genre, producing what has been mostly derivative and often hokey results, yet products that stand as a testament to a single vision’s power to reshape the cinematic landscape. Part The Bourne Identity, part The Fugitive, Unknown is the latest example of this phenomenon, a passable, old-fashioned thriller that simmers with Hitchcockian aspirations and leftover Cold War intrigue.

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) comes to after a terrifying car accident in Berlin to find that his wife (January Jones) denies knowing him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Dogged by incredulous authorities and treacherous assassins, the perplexed amnesiac allies himself with an illegal Bosnian immigrant (Diane Kruger) and a former Communist secret policeman (Bruno Ganz) as he tries to unravel a mystery that holds the key to his sanity, identity and future.

Continuing his newfound career as an action star, Liam Neeson takes on this round of fistfights and pulse-pounding car chases as a sort of metaphysical sequel to 2009’s Taken. His post-50s tough guy persona (helped along by a 6’4” frame) is surprisingly effective and a pleasant rabbit trail in an otherwise mostly straight-laced career. The same cannot be said of his co-star spouse. Jones, who excels at playing the spurned, icy wife of Don Draper on Mad Men, here begins to confirm the rumors, heretofore only whispered, that she cannot, in fact, act. Her placid expressions and monotone delivery are utterly at odds with her milky beauty and betray her utter lack of inner animation, especially when contrasted with the effective Kruger. While it is truly wonderful seeing Aidan Quinn on screen again, he isn’t given nearly enough to do. The most satisfying appearance in the film is that of the great Swiss actor Bruno Ganz (the no less phenomenal Sebastian Koch also has a small role), who lifts every scene he is in, especially a battle of wits, Russian roulette style, with Frank Langella.

Who’d have thought that Unknown would have more in common with Douglas Quaid than Jason Bourne? I dare not say more than that for fear of giving too much away, but the film hinges on a twist that is pilfered, true, but as it is lifted from another genre entirely, is, in a way, rather ingenious. If Unknown is full of holes and plot cheats, it is at least smart enough to ask the questions we want answered every step of the way. The complex plot, laden with plenty of sophisticated escapism, resolves itself tidily (even as it misses—or does it?—a chance to thicken the plot with one final, gut-twisting reveal).

© Copyright 2011 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Liam Neeson, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Diane Kruger, Bruno Ganz, Sebastian Koch, Frank Langella
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content
Running Time: 113 minutes