Unknown : Release Year - 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overall Rating : 4.5/10 Directed By : Simon Brand Jim Caviezel (Highwaymen) Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine) Bridget Moynahan (Prey) Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos (TV) ) Supplied By : The Weinstein Company Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock Date Reviewed : Jan. 31, 2007 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLOT Five strangers wake up in a locked warehouse with no memory of who they are or how they got there. As secrets are revealed and clues unraveled, they must race against time to figure out who is good and who is evil in order to stay alive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE REVIEW In UNKNOWN, a man wakes up in an abandoned building out in the desert, he has no recollection how, he got there or how long he has been there, or even has identity. Wandering the building he discovers he isn't alone, there are four other men that have been knocked out occupying the building. One man is tied to a chair, a second man, has a broken nose, a third hand cuffed to a railing, and has been shot... while a fourth whom looks badly bruised and beaten, when the man wakes them up, it seems all of their respective memories have been wiped clean. The first man to wake up receives a phone call from a man that seems to recognize his voice and informs the man that they well be returning to the abandoned building by sundown. From then on the five strangers scramble to figure out who they are and why they were put there - and just who these men are that are scheduled to arrive at sundown - and should they worry? It is then that they find a newspaper, that reads a headline detailing the kidnapping as a local tycoon and his partner - which translates to them that 3 of them must be kidnappers while the remaining two men being their hostage - but whom is whom? As their memories begin to come back to them, the story slowly unwinds, revealing pieces of this mystery, along with a few twists. The plot for UNKNOWN, is not original at all, in fact, it is basically SAW II, minus the grittiness, gloom, torture and gory - as it leans more toward a film like HOUSE OF 9. Comparing it to HOUSE OF 9 would be more accurate as both are psychological driven - but i'd have to give the advantage to UNKNOWN as a whole, it has a far better cast, whom are all extremely diverse but equally talented, and a more solid story overall. Even though, I really did enjoy the cast of the UNKNOWN, as well as the story, these are 2 of the things that ultimately hurt the film a little. The ensemble cast of great actors sounds great on paper but in the final project you find that all of the characters featured and their individual back stories start to become tangled after a while, often leading to many moments of confusing....not to mention rewinding. The film's subplot of the kidnapping involves one of the men who has lost his memory's wife dropping off a ransom - for what I guess is her husbands release. This scenario is not really explained quite clearly, as I still don't understand it - it's puzzling so much that I thought at first the ransom drop had something to do with a bank robbery rather that of a kidnapping. Besides the story, that is perhaps to clever for it's own good, the film does have characters that are extremely likeable and somewhat relate able - especially Caviezel, and Pepper's characters whom in the end prove to be most significant - It was a joy to see Jeremy Sisto here, as he is a budding young actor, that seems to be moving up and making a name for himself, and although his screen time is a little less than others, his character is unknowingly an important part of the story.... rounding out the great cast id THE SOPRANOS' Joe Pantoliano, whom offers some rather comedic spots, in an otherwise serious film and a great actor in Greg Kinnear, who usually is in a more funny and comedic role, but is shown her as a more cocky and blunt individual, it proves to be a credit to his versatile talent of portrayal. As others have stated, in more cases than not for first time directors, they usually shoot films that are aimed to shock and amaze, by throwing in twists, and ones that usually end up being in the film's ending.(take SAW or CRY_WOLF for example). Here Simon Brand does just that, and ends his debut film with such a plot, but it is in my opinion, that when it happens is a shock lesser than expected to the audience, whom have already undergone multiple twists earlier on in the film - I believe the final twist to be one not needed as the film had enough build-up as it is, to be a good film, however it tries to hard, and in the long run pushes itself over the edge so to speak... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GORE METER 1.5/10 Not gory at all, as I mentioned, this is no SAW....but there is a broken nose and multiple gunshot wounds, that's about it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MUSICAL SCORE I cannot really recall a score to be honest with you...the film is mostly dialogue driven so for the most part that is all that is heard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE FILM As for UNKNOWN, I really did enjoy the setting a lot more than the previously mentioned HOUSE OF 9, as well as the story overall, but I admit that the film sort of lost me in all of the twists and turns... making the film not enjoyable entirely, but partially - it is definitely a film that would require more than one viewing to fully grasp for most. I do recommend this however for the wonderful cast and setup alone. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STILLS