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UNKNOWN (2011)Movie Reviews
Dramatic thriller about a man who wakes from a coma while on a business trip in Europe to discover that another man has assumed his identity. Cast:Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Frank Langella, Aidan QuinnDirector:Jaume Collet-SerraRelease Date:February 18, 2011DVD Release:June 21, 2011From:Warner Bros.Rating:PG-13Length:1 hr 53 min
Unknown (2011) played to moderate reviews. • Christy Lemire wrote for the Associated Press, "...a chilly little thriller... Neeson's always-intelligent screen presence, his nuance and gravitas, help elevate it beyond its preposterous elements." • And Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...an engaging mystery... But when we pull back for an overview, we see that it's flat and that pieces are missing." More Reviews Below...
Richard Corliss, Time: MODERATE "...a standard-issue conspiracy thriller... half-cocked Hitchcock and sub-Bourne... marginally satisfying.... has the kernel of a superior thriller."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,121 words, 02/18/11
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a chilly little thriller... Neeson's always-intelligent screen presence, his nuance and gravitas, help elevate it beyond its preposterous elements."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 658 words, 02/17/11
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "This twist-filled tale of an amnesiac falling into a web of international intrigue moves swiftly but makes little sense -- and has ludicrous moments..."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 76 words, 02/17/11
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: MODERATE(cg) "...ignore the pileup of implausibilities and it becomes a diabolically entertaining con game. Does it jerk you around? Yes. Suck it up. The ride's worth it."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 349 words, 02/18/11
Claudia Puig, USA Today: WEAK(cg) "Trying to decipher all the convoluted pathways could drive you mad. Mostly, though, it is so ludicrous that it will unintentionally inspire laughter."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 02/18/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...few actors are better than Liam Neeson at playing a man who has had the rug pulled out from under him.... isn't a really bad movie, just an absurd one."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 918 words, 02/17/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "...settles into the familiar B-movie comfort zone, with mano-a-mano fights, missed phone calls, running and more running and a twist that keeps twisting until it breaks."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 801 words, 02/18/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...genteelly thrilling... employs the holy trinity of action elements: explosions, hand-to-hand combat and car chases where tires squeal like there is no tomorrow."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 02/18/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "Sleek and, until a stupidly violent climax, very entertaining... Neeson excels at the slow fuse snaking its way to explosive revenge."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 02/18/11
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: VERY GOOD "...there is some cheating and inevitably there's a letdown -- but not enough to keep it from being a great ride.... tight and fast and endlessly upending..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 871 words, 02/28/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...few actors are better than Liam Neeson at playing a man who has had the rug pulled out from under him.... isn't a really bad movie, just an absurd one."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 918 words, 02/17/11
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...tepid... tension and intrigue flag thanks to a plot that, regardless of director Jaume Collet-Serra's sleek, proficient direction, is destined for a preposterous outcome."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 02/16/11
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...for at least the first hour of this patchy yet entertaining pulse-raiser... there is some of Hitch's fine balance of suspense and humour."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 02/18/11
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...amusement turns to increasing glumness... digs itself so deeply into improbabilities that the solution, inevitably, feels absurd, second-hand and second-rate."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 531 words, 02/18/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a ludicrous, paranoid action movie, but it's a ludicrous, paranoid action movie with a decent budget and a sense of its own absurdity."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 371 words, 02/17/11
KEY CITIES (14 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...owes less to Jason Bourne than to Alfred Hitchcock... this handsome, well-paced production possesses its share of twisty, visceral pleasures."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 451 words, 02/18/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "It's all very Hitchcockian, at least for a while. And clever and exciting, too, even if the convergences begin to strain credulity, and, when you think about it, defy logic, too."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 675 words, 02/18/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: MODERATE(cg) "...the jolts work better than any attempt director Collet-Serra makes at ratcheting up suspense... It's a solid, engrossing thriller, but a slack one."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 580 words, 02/18/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "The pieces of the puzzle fit together a tad too conveniently in the bombastic finale, but it is seven-eighths of a topnotch thriller."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 358 words, 02/18/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "...director Jaume Collet-Serra knows how to ratchet up a little tension, but it leads to little except the next ridiculous plot situation."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 456 words, 02/18/11
Anthony Venutolo, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "...makes a nice attempt at Hitchcock Lite, dropping a seemingly ordinary man into an out-of-the-ordinary experience and then watching him desperately trying to cope."(See all of Anthony Venutolo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 548 words, 02/18/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...does all the things that a quality action must do.... throws our hero into an arresting and baffling situation.... it consistently maintains its ability to surprise."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 612 words, 02/18/11
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...director Jaume Collet-Serra moves things along smartly... [but] after a while you start to sense that it has promised what it can't deliver..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 02/18/11
Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...one of those twisty, serviceable suspense thrillers in which the premise gets you in the seat and the execution keeps you in the seat..."(See all of Mike Russell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 244 words, 02/18/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...engaging... rewards our participation with eye candy and adrenaline shots. But when we pull back for an overview, we see that it's flat and that pieces are missing."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 353 words, 02/18/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "There are three crackerjack sequences of vehicular mayhem, a nicely Hitchcockian murder attempt in a hospital, and several nifty payback kills tying loose ends together."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 02/17/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD(cg) "...obviously knows its limitations, and it doesn't bother to rise above them. It just keeps throwing the punches the audience wants and expects."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 608 words, 02/18/11
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Neeson is a solidly believable presence... Bruno Ganz ('The Reader') is terrific... [but] relying too much on coincidence and convenience ultimately cheapens the intriguing..."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 534 words, 02/18/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...tepid... tension and intrigue flag thanks to a plot that, regardless of director Jaume Collet-Serra's sleek, proficient direction, is destined for a preposterous outcome."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 02/16/11
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: MODERATE(cg) "...a 'Bourne Supremacy' knockoff, in which a man with memory problems wanders around Berlin demanding some answers, dammit."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 620 words, 02/17/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The wintry recesses of Berlin add resonance, and Neeson in his incarnation as an action hero at last has a role worthy of his talent."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 159 words, 02/24/11
Scott Tobias, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "...it twists, then twists a second and third time, until finally an already-suspect mistaken-identity plot goes completely haywire..."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 02/17/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a ludicrous, paranoid action movie, but it's a ludicrous, paranoid action movie with a decent budget and a sense of its own absurdity."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 371 words, 02/17/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "...settles into the familiar B-movie comfort zone, with mano-a-mano fights, missed phone calls, running and more running and a twist that keeps twisting until it breaks."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 801 words, 02/18/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...genteelly thrilling... employs the holy trinity of action elements: explosions, hand-to-hand combat and car chases where tires squeal like there is no tomorrow."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 02/18/11
Dana Stevens, Slate: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...if you dig Liam Neeson as an action hero... you could do worse than this fast-paced, cheerfully ridiculous, generally satisfying romp."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 758 words, 02/17/11
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: VERY GOOD "...nifty twists and turns, a wicked sense of humor, several terrific performances and not one or even two but three of the best car chases in recent action-flick history."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,022 words, 02/17/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: FAIR "Neeson works hard to hold interest as director Jaume Collet-Serra puts this competently entertaining piffle through its twisty paces."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 960 words, 02/15/11
Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...some of its twists are far-fetched... [but] director Jaume Collet-Serra provides a steady flow of suspense and a very Polanski-esque feeling of paranoia."(See all of Jordan Mintzer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 662 words, 02/16/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...genteelly thrilling... employs the holy trinity of action elements: explosions, hand-to-hand combat and car chases where tires squeal like there is no tomorrow."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 02/18/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...lacks the narrative clarity and dramatic coherence of either Hitchcock or Franenheimer.... there are rewards to be had, if you are patient."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 820 words, 02/16/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "...settles into the familiar B-movie comfort zone, with mano-a-mano fights, missed phone calls, running and more running and a twist that keeps twisting until it breaks."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 801 words, 02/18/11
14.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Unknown (2011)'s reviews are separated by an average 14.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Unknown (2011) (47 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Unknown (2011)'s reviews cover 99.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 26,605 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 566 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 1.8 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Unknown (2011)'s reviews on average broke 1.8 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Unknown (2011)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Unknown (2011) (47 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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