Review of Unknown (2011) by Willwong — 24 May 2011

Who writes screenplays like this? Excited 12-year olds? It tried to be the Bourne Identity but ended up being a mix of every cliché from every 'tough guy against the world' movie ever made. The fight sequences were dull and involved the camera moving more than the fighters. The car chases were dull and unbelievable - you can't keep driving down crowded pavements and never hit anyone. Well, unless they are trained stunt people who keep flamboyantly diving out of the way!

At one point the hero is drugged and stumbling down a hospital corridor (this doesn't seem to bother any hospital staff) - but still manages to outrun the bad guy who was just a few metres behind him. Ludicrous!

Towards the end the hero is kidnapped. Heroine steals a taxi to give chase (with yet more driving across pavement while stunt people flamboyantly jump out of the way). She somehow spots the hero being beaten up on the top storey of a distant car park as she drives down a road. What?! Did she hear them from half a km away while in a car with windows wound up? Does she have super vision? Ridiculous!

It gets worse. She drives up the multi-storey car park via one of those circular, winding ramps. Ever been on one? A car makes lots of noise as the tyres squeal to make the turn. Heroine drives all the way to the top without the bad guys noticing. Maybe they were all deaf? She then runs one over and pushes the other off the edge of the car park in his van. It explodes on impact. Haven't the screenplay writers watched The Simpsons mock the cliché of exploding cars? Laughable!

Finally, having been involved in multiple murders, multiple demolition derby car chases, an exploding hotel and being detained by security and police, they calmly get on a train together and disappear as though nothing had happened. Unbelievable!

I gave this film 3 - but that's generous. The premise for the film was OK, but the screenplay and direction were below amateur.