Liam Neeson's "Unknown" is not at the level of action he's delivered recently

It's always interesting to watch actors reinvent themselves onscreen. Sometimes the attempt falls flat (Vin Diesel comes to mind) others, as is the case with Liam Neeson, the success is welcome by both audiences and studios. With starring roles in recent action films such as “The A-team”, “Clash of the Titans” and “Taken” Liam Neeson has placed a solid foothold in the action genre. Liam Neeson's latest effort, “Unknown”, unfortunately does not live up to his recent successes. Burdened with the tag line of “Take back your life”, the story centers around Dr. Martin Harris who after a car accident and coma awakens to the reality that his wife does not know him and another man (Aidan Quinn)is Dr, Martin Harris.

Watching the preview we are led to believe “Unknown” is more in line with Liam's “Taken” character. Unfortunately, “Unknown” comes nowhere near the action level of “Taken”. “Unknown” limps along at a speed too fast for an inept plot. Dr. Martin Harris is not a trained killing machine as we hoped. He ends up being much, much less. Except for a hilarious (in a bad way) action scene near the end, we are left yearning for a release, a climax of punches and guns firing that never arrives. The best scene in the movie comes about half way when two cold war spies, Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella, face off both knowing what the outcome must be. Unfortunately, even this scene feels out of place and context in a film lacking purpose.

Liam Neeson delivers a good performance. I don't think he is capable of acting badly. But he was not given much to work with. Action heroes must make us believe in them. We must believe they can overcome the perils they are put into. Unfortunately, Liam Neeson's character is never put in a situation where we believe he is a hero. He escapes danger by sheer luck not by his defying hand. The viewer must also empathize with the hero. I never felt empathy for Dr. Martin Harris. Even the easily foreseeable twist at the end does nothing to save the film.

“Unknown” does not bring anything new to the action genre and wastes Liam Neeson's talents. I'm sure “Unknown” will fare well at the box office. There is not much competition right now. I personally wished I had waited for the DVD release.