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Unknown

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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.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Dramas

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

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Reviews for Unknown

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

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Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
04/14/07
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/12/07
Time Out
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/14/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

goes round in circles, with petty arguments and lengthy monologues making the minutes drag in what ought to be a taut thriller.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/12/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Enjoyable thriller with superb performances, a decent plot and some thought-provoking ideas about identity and human nature underneath its twisty tale.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
04/12/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Gimmicky but effective, this claustrophobic thriller has such an intriguing premise that it keeps us entertained even as it gets increasingly contrived.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
01/27/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
12/30/06
culturevulture.net
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Once the paranoid surrealism of the opening scenes begins to fade, so does the film's inherent interest level.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
11/02/06
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Gritty, gimmicky.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/10/06
Bill Stamets
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a good gimmick, but still a gimmick, and we're left with more confusion than tension.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
12/08/06
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle

Even as you anticipate what's next, formula demands that at least some of the men's judgments will be wrong.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/09/06
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

This is the work of filmmakers so satisfied with a story that isn't the least bit satisfying.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/05/07
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

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.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
10/28/06
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

80 minutes that could have been better spent watching Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, Memento, Saw or just half of The Departed.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
11/09/06
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

Almost everybody's got amnesia in Unknown, and after watching it you might pine to be similarly afflicted.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
11/24/06
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

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.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
11/03/06
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

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.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
10/31/06
Jean Opppenheimer
Jean Opppenheimer
Village Voice

There's a good little thriller lurking somewhere in the depths of "Unknown," but it never quite rises to the surface.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
12/15/06
Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times

Screenwriter Matthew Waynee doesn't quite know when to provide clues and when to withhold.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
11/16/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
11/03/06
John P. McCarthy
John P. McCarthy
Boxoffice Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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