I’ve long been a Liam Neeson fan, but it was his 2008 movie TAKEN that moved him into Stud Muffin’s viewfinder. We both thought TAKEN was outstanding and although TAKEN 2 didn’t quite measure up, it was still pretty good. Except for the whole narrowing down the location with explosions thing. I didn’t buy that at all. 

Anyway, I read good reviews for UNKNOWN, Neeson’s 2011 release, and it finally popped to the top of our Netflix queue earlier this week.

 

It had all the elements we love in a Liam Neeson action adventure:

• Intrigue

• A layered plot

• A clear objective

• Liam scowling

It’s hard to really critique this one without spoiling the twists along the way.

But I’ll try.

The major twist involved a character  a circumstance  an assassination a killer who …

Nope, can’t do it.

So, I’ll just say that the twist didn’t quite work for me because of the careful groundwork laid by the writers, director, and actors. There wasn’t enough foreshadowing or hints.

I get that they wanted the twist to remain a deep secret, but in this case, it was too deep. Even an askance glance would have done it.

Other than my own private quibble, UNKNOWN is a great way to spend an evening with a howling storm outside and a glass of wine and popcorn inside.