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Unknown (2006)
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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
goes round in circles, with petty arguments and lengthy monologues making the minutes drag in what ought to be a taut thriller.
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.
Once the paranoid surrealism of the opening scenes begins to fade, so does the film's inherent interest level.
It's a good gimmick, but still a gimmick, and we're left with more confusion than tension.
Even as you anticipate what's next, formula demands that at least some of the men's judgments will be wrong.
This is the work of filmmakers so satisfied with a story that isn't the least bit satisfying.
The cesspool around the Saw franchise has spilled into the Indiewood projects not far from where first-time director Simon Brand fires off this Hollywood calling card.
80 minutes that could have been better spent watching Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, Memento, Saw or just half of The Departed.
Almost everybody's got amnesia in Unknown, and after watching it you might pine to be similarly afflicted.
It all comes together at the end, logically and with a twist. But it's not a game that allows the audience to play along.
The pacing is slightly off, with the action switching between the imprisoned men and the police who are trying to find them, and what should be a mounting sense of urgency inside the warehouse (think Reservoir Dogs) falters and goes slack.
There's a good little thriller lurking somewhere in the depths of "Unknown," but it never quite rises to the surface.
Screenwriter Matthew Waynee doesn't quite know when to provide clues and when to withhold.
A worthy cast and an intriguing concept don’t get enough support from this film’s generic title, passable script and skittish direction; a mostly forgettable crime thriller is the result.
Latest News for Unknown
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November 02, 2006:
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