In 2008, Liam Neeson followed up a powerful stint as the villainous Henri Ducard (aka Ra’s al Ghul) in 2005’s Batman Begins with a role even darker, grittier and downright hardcore in the action-thriller Taken. There as a former CIA operative, he was equipped with “a special set of skills” that would help him track down and rescue his kidnapped daughter, and kill those responsible. It was a simple but solidly executed film, and held special appeal for any fan of the adrenaline-fuelled antics of 24’s Jack Bauer, though Neeson in Taken portrayed a far quieter and altogether more frighteningly dangerous professional than Kiefer Sutherland’s aggressive, cursing Bauer. Still, the basic selling point was the same; hardcore former government agent takes the law into his own hands and wreaks a trail of havoc in the pursuit of ‘noble’ ends.
I mention Taken here, because Liam Neeson’s new film Unknown (or perhaps Unknown White Male, the title doesn’t seem to have been fully decided upon as yet), directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan) feels like a film very much in the same vein, and perhaps even seeks to draw on Taken’s fan base for its own success.
Watch the trailer for Unknown below the jump.
The trailer for Unknown follows a Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) who upon arriving in Berlin with his wife Elizabeth Harris (January Jones), is involved in a car crash and awakens days later to find his whole life turned upside down. He tracks down his wife only to have her deny she even knows him. Before he can even wrap his mind around this, another man appears claiming to be none other than her husband, and the “real” Dr. Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn). He no longer seems to have any identification to prove who he believes he is. But just as we’re lead to believe Martin might be crazy, the trailer takes a twist and begins to reveal more sinister implications as he discovers he is being watched and soon after begins to be hunted by mysterious assassins. The cold tones of the imagery and the quick, tense pace of the trailer as the action builds seem to evoke the feel of another film of gritty conspiracies and lost identity set in a frosty modern Europe: The Bourne Identity.
If that’s the case then the action packed mystery surrounding Martin Harris could be just as gripping and thrilling a film as both Taken and The Bourne Identity. Besides which, if Neeson is even half as hard-boiled as he was in Taken then we’re going to be in for one hell of a ride.
