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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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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

I like this kind of movie that takes off and you're not exactly sure where it's going to go.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
11/28/06
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.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

Unknown is far from unwatchable, just undistinguished.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/18/06
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle

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

Director Simon Brand and screenwriter Matthew Waynee have constructed a fairly efficient little B movie from bits of Reservoir Dogs, Cube, and every amnesia thriller in which the victim is afraid of finding out he's the bad guy -- multiplied by five.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
11/10/06
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

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

Unknown comes across more like an amateur stage play, mechanically working through the obligatory three acts toward the obligatory twist ending.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
11/10/06
Tasha Robinson
Tasha Robinson
AV Club

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

The movie's disinterest in character might be forgivable were its plot not riddled with holes.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/09/06
Sam Adams
Sam Adams
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You can't fault the cast on this one, but you can fault the way the big-name actors have been distributed.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
11/09/06
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
L.A. Weekly

While Brand manages a couple of effectively brutal bits of violence, Matthew Waynee's gassy screenplay is all premise and no propulsion.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
11/09/06
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

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

The performances are uniformly excellent, and Brand relies on his music video training to provide some tantalizing flashback clues.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
11/06/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

Tyro video helmer Simon Brand doesn't give his actors sufficient breathing room, ruthlessly chopping their scenes into monotonous hash.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/06/06
Ronnie Scheib
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not since Memento or The Usual Suspects has a movie thrown viewers for as many loops.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
11/03/06
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

There's no particular message to their joint feature-film debut, except perhaps that chance plays a significant part in the direction people's lives take, but it's an entertaining diversion whose clever structure gives pulp-crime cliches a welcome twist.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/03/06
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

To kill 80 minutes, the movie has to pad itself with several dull speeches and stagy moments.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/03/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

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

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

Brisk pacing and an excellent cast of mostly B-list actors can’t make up for the commonplace premise and execution of Simon Brand’s twisty thriller Unknown.

comment Comment
11/02/06
Laura Kern
Laura Kern
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
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