Manny The Movie Guy /

No one could make a better identity crisis movie than the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock. From
"North by Northwest" to "Vertigo, " the director was in the business of making movies featuring characters losing a sense of personal sameness and historical continuity.

The new identity crisis movie “Unknown ” would have benefited from the expert hands of Hitchcock. Instead, what we got is a pedestrian film that was saved by Liam Neeson’s presence.

Although lately, it seems that Neeson has been in the business of making movies where his character has lost something. He lost his daughter in 2009’s “Taken” and with "Unknown, " the actor plays a man who loses his identity.

Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, a botanist attending a biotechnology summit in Berlin with his wife Liz (January Jones). But after losing his briefcase (yes he lost more than his identity in this movie), Martin rushes back to the airport and meets a terrible accident.

Bravely saving his life is Gina (Diane Kruger), an illegal immigrant taxi driver who mysteriously disappears. After lying in a coma for four days, Martin awakens with no identification and no sense of remembering who he is.

Based on the novel "Out of My Head" by Didier Van Cauwelaert, the biggest problem of the film is the script by Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell. There were some key scenes that lack tension because the script undermines our ability to be smart viewers.

We’ve seen identity crisis movies before, so we know the game being played. A great nail-biter would have us guessing all the way to the end while a lazy film would pile up situations after situations in hopes of confusing us to submission.

"Unknown " lies somewhere in the middle of a great nail-biter and a lazy film. The script is full of plot holes but some of them were actually explained within the movie. It seemed like the filmmakers were thinking ahead for plausibility sake.

From the director who gave us 2005’s "House of Wax" and 2009’s "Orphan, " Jaume Collet-Serra’s visual eye is on full display. The Spanish director earned his stripes helming music videos and TV commercials and he uses the same brand of advertising style in his films.

But the film is made interesting by the majority of the cast. Bruno Ganz is fantastic as a former old spy from the East German secret police. Krueger, who gave a memorable performance in "Inglourious Basterds, " was equally great.

Even Aiden Quinn managed to overcome the imperfect script as Martin’s doppelganger. The same cannot be said about Frank Langella who rehashes his acting in the pitiful "The Box" as a man who knows too much.

In the end, our enjoyment of the film relies heavily on Neeson who is more than willing to give his all. He’s charismatic, compelling, and can save the world even if he doesn’t know himself.

"Unknown " is a dependable thriller that tries to be great. Too bad Hitchcock is no longer around to help tweak the film.