goes round in circles, with petty arguments and lengthy monologues making the minutes drag in what ought to be a taut thriller.
Unknown (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:42
Fresh:15
Rotten:27
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Though it boasts a talented cast, this thriller fails to make you care about the twisty mystery of the men's identities and situation.
Theatrical Release:13-04-2007
Synopsis: Five men awaken in a warehouse with no way out and no recollection of how they got there, only to struggle with their suspicion of each other as they try to piece together their story from... Five men awaken in a warehouse with no way out and no recollection of how they got there, only to struggle with their suspicion of each other as they try to piece together their story from available clues. One (Greg Kinnear) has a broken nose, while another (Jeremy Sisto) is handcuffed to a pipe and slowly dying from a gunshot wound. Two (Barry Pepper and Jim Caviezel) are unhurt, while the fifth (Joe Pantoliano) is tied to a chair--which is how the group wish to keep him until they figure out why he got that way. Meanwhile, the police are tracking a sinister man in snakeskin boots (Peter Stormare) with a connection to the group, and a worried wife (Bridget Moynihan) of one of the men searches desperately for her husband. But will the men kill each other out of suspicion before finding a way out of the warehouse? The second half of the '90s saw a spate of neo-noirs inspired by Tarantino's supercharged RESERVOIR DOGS. Christopher Nolan's MEMENTO (2000), though in obvious debt to Tarantino, was a breathtakingly new shot in the arm for the genre. Simon Brand's UNKNOWN is a brainy and verbose melding of the two. Making its low budget work in its favor, the script could easily be performed on a stage, as the locations number in the low single digits. Though many young pulp-drunk post-Tarantino directors have toyed with non-linear narratives, Matthew Waynee's script doesn't make the device seem rote or overindulgent. Also a small, strong cast led by Caviezel, Kinnear, and Pepper ensure this solid thriller isn't just another entry in the tough-guy crime stakes. [More]
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Joe Pantoliano, Jim Caveziel, Barry Pepper
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Joe Pantoliano, Jim Caveziel, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Sisto, Bridget Moynahan, Peter Stormare
Director: Simon Brand
Director: Simon Brand
Producer: Rick Lashbrook, John S. Schwartz
Composer: Angelo Milli
Studio: Weinstein Company
Reviews for Unknown
Enjoyable thriller with superb performances, a decent plot and some thought-provoking ideas about identity and human nature underneath its twisty tale.
Gimmicky but effective, this claustrophobic thriller has such an intriguing premise that it keeps us entertained even as it gets increasingly contrived.
This is the work of filmmakers so satisfied with a story that isn't the least bit satisfying.
Never rises above the level of a promising calling card, but there's something refreshing about its innate sense of its own B-movieness.
A premissa é instigante, mas, infelizmente, quanto mais descobrimos sobre a trama, menos interessante o filme se torna.
UNKNOWN works as a puzzle and it provides a fine ride for audiences. It has audacity and invention and marks the emergence of a couple of behind-the-scenes talents to watch.
There's a good little thriller lurking somewhere in the depths of "Unknown," but it never quite rises to the surface.
The gimmick is all worn out, the script never makes us believe its epidemic of memory loss could ever happen, and its crescendo of third-act plot twists play like a desperate patch job on a concept that just didn't come off.
A nifty little psychological crime thriller that suggests a Treasure of the Sierra Madre for the postindustrial age.
It's a good gimmick, but still a gimmick, and we're left with more confusion than tension.
Unknown is far from a perfect movie, but it's more amusing than many better-made ones.
a brief but thrilling defibrillator shock to the moribund crime film genre.
Latest News for Unknown
July 30, 2007:
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While sitting on a Comic Con panel, Frank Miller was asked about the hold-up on Sin City 2. (Numerous times, probably.) And it looks like the celebrated author / artist /... More...
November 02, 2006:
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This week at the movies brings us the profound discoveries of a great Kazak journalist ("Borat," starring Sacha Baron Cohen), a battle between Santa and Jack Frost... More...
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