The key to a great mystery is the lead in, the ultimate catch and macguffin that will bring us in to the cusp of a surprise. "Unknown" has the surprise, there's no doubting that, it's jut the problem that the lead in provides that makes it an entirely mediocre piece of thriller that's almost about a nonsensical as you can imagine. The writers literally write themselves in to conundrums throughout the movie as plot points go unexplained, only for them to completely undermine their previous direction, and you can sense them almost trying not to destroy the narrative from minute one. Liam Neeson returns to the action genre in what is a ludicrous and far-fetched thriller about waking up to nothing.

Abandoned by the taxi driver and left in a foreign land he's unfamiliar with, "Unknown" veers in to Hitchcockian territory when Martin discovers his wife has no familiarity with him, and that another man has taken his place. Left cold and alone, he has to prove he's Martin Harris or wonder if he's lost his mind. Jaume Collete Serra directs with such competence that he prevents the film from becoming another "Salt," and instead works toward the surprise ending as best as he can. We've seen how he can deliver the surprise punch in films like "Orphan," now he works outside the genre and the delivery of the surprise is quite powerful, even though most of the lead-in is dreadfully boring and almost runs in to nothing but dead ends where as it has to restart itself and its narrative over and over again introducing new characters and new situations.