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Directed by: Simon Brand Starring: Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Joe Pantoliano, Peter Stormare Unknown is another of those films in the long line of an underrated sub-genre I like to call "Puzzle Thriller", which is to say that if you liked Cube, you'd probably like this movie. The way it was recommended to me was "Cube meets Memento", which is fairly accurate. Five men wake up in an abandoned chemical plant, following the accidental leak of a chemical with the unfortunate side effect of temporary amnesia. As they wake up, none of them have any idea what's going on, how they got there, or who any of them are, including themselves. One is handcuffed to a railing and has been shot. One is tied to a chair (Joey Pants). One is face down in a puddle of blood (Kinnear). One has a gun. The first to wake up, identified in the credits as 'Jean Jacket' (Caviezel) so as not to spoil his role in the story once the character names are revealed, hears a phone ringing and instinctively answers it. A mysterious voice (Stormare) asks him if he got the job done, and Jean Jacket bullshits his way through it, being informed by the end of the call that they - whoever 'they' are - will be back around nightfall. The others slowly wake up and instantly panic. Nobody knows who is good and who is bad, or remembers why any of them are in the positions they're in. With further inspection they find that the factory has been sealed from the outside. They have no way of getting out. Eventually the plot unravels as memories slowly start to come back to each of them over the course of the film, as well as a side-plot outside the factory that ties directly into it, of a woman whose husband has been abducted and held for ransom. It's one of the men in the factory, but nobody including the viewer knows who that is. The movie has some nice twists and turns, although they all more or less come within a few minutes of each other so you need to really pay attention at the end. Other than some occasional weak dialogue and passable acting by some of the cast, it's a very fun movie that's worth checking out. It didn't get a wide release for some reason, but it's recently out on DVD (unrated by the MPAA). Don't let the direct-to-DVD stigma scare you off though, it's a pretty good thriller, and might make a nice "movie night" flick if you're up for a slowly unraveling mystery. RATING: 4.0 out of 5. PROS: Good mystery, nice twists, cool puzzle-like plot. CONS: Some weak acting and dialogue. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450340/ Bonk fucked around with this message at 01:13 on May 5, 2007 |
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May 5, 2007 01:09
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This was a "pretty good" movie. Pros: Quick paced, unpredictable plot development Cons: Bad acting at parts, needed more tension in the action sequences You will enjoy it for a nice rental popcorn flick. 3/5 deadend fucked around with this message at 09:07 on Sep 8, 2007 |
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Sep 8, 2007 09:02
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Funniest thing, this getting bumped out of nowhere and me having just watched it last night. As a theoretical abstract, this movie works well. The movie keeps a consistent feeling of danger throughout, and does quite a lot with its premise. What if your memories are of being someone you don't want to be? What if regaining your memories causes you to shift loyalties? You never know when this might happen or whom it might happen to. Can you trust the devil you know when the devil you don't could walk right through the door at any time? The thing I liked about this movie was that the revelations didn't simply boil down to "these people are good" and "these people are bad." Even though you eventually learn the real names and motivations of all five principal characters, you also see most of them as having multiple sides to them. There were two things that bothered me about this movie, though. The first is that, before people started dying, two of the five amnesiacs get comparatively little screen time and development to the other three. Treating all five equally would have really kept the who-is-who-and-who-is-loyal suspense up in the second half. The other came after I watched the movie. One plot hole is pointed out in the last sentence of this review. Another plot hole is pointed out in the IMDb Goofs section. (It's a spoiler, so watch out.) Once you see these plot holes, you can't un-see them, and now they're really irritating me. But as both other reviewers said, it's a fun movie that will keep you in suspense. And with a viewing public trained by experience in the art of plot twist detection, its unpredictability goes a long way. 4/5
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Sep 8, 2007 09:28
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