History Film / Unknown2011

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Professor Cole says that he could be at home having Thanksgiving dinner with his family instead of having to "clean up."

* DramaticIrony: Gina gets fired from her job due to the business with Martin, and even denies she ever drove a cab to his face. Later on Martin gets knee deep in it, and Gina has to save him... by jacking a cab.

Neeson plays botanist Dr Martin Harris, who brings his wife along to attend a biotechnology conference in UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}}. However, he [[DeadlyRoadTrip gets into a car accident]] while riding the taxi back to the airport to pick up luggage he left behind. When he awakes in hospital, he leaves to find his wife. However, Liz denies knowing who Martin is... and another man is wearing Martin's name tag and claiming to be him is standing right next to her - and she acknowledges "Martin B" as the real deal. In a foreign land for the first time, pursued by mysterious terrorists and with nobody to trust, Harris must get all the help he can find, including from Gina (Creator/DianeKruger) the driver of the cab that plunged into the river and Jürgen ([[Film/{{Downfall}} Bruno Ganz]]), a former Stasi agent-turned private investigator.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: [[spoiler:"I didn't forget everything! I remember how to kill you, asshole!"]]

* CyanidePill: When Professor Cole goes to see Jürgen, [[spoiler: Jürgen empties a sachet of cyanide into his tea and drinks it]] when he realizes that [[spoiler: Cole]] is not all he seems, and to keep Martin safe.

* TheBookCipher: Prof. Bressler's [[spoiler:passwords]] are obscured by an Ottendorf cipher.

** [[spoiler:Liz]] gets killed by the TimeBomb she helped planting herself.

* KickTheDog: The first kill that we see onscreen is performed by the assassin when he goes to the hospital. [[spoiler: He brutally [[NeckSnap breaks the neck]] of the nurse who had earlier given Martin the number of Jürgen, saying that he could help him]].

* RaceAgainstTheClock: The bundle of plastic explosives planted in the hotel suite to kill [[spoiler: Professor Bressler]] has a digital readout attached, even though it is planted inside the wall where it can't be seen. [[spoiler: Liz]] tries to disarm the bomb, and [[spoiler: it looks like she might do it, but is a couple of seconds late as it explodes and kills her, atomizing her and taking out a large chunk of the]] Adlon Hotel.

* SortingAlgorithmOfDeadness: The henchman snaps the neck of the [[spoiler:nurse]], but doesn't bother to [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim finish off]] his intended target. Of course, the lethal injection plan fails and the hero gets away.

* TomatoInTheMirror: After awaking from his coma, people around [[spoiler:Martin]] don't remember him anymore and he starts questioning his sanity.

!!This film provides examples of:

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* DeadStarWalking: Frank Langella portrays a character who dies shortly after being introduced.

* JustEatGilligan: [[spoiler:Abduct Harris and hold him in a room until the assassination attempt is finished. Or even make peaceful contact with him, explain what happened and attempt to integrate him back into the terrorist cell]].

** Martin does this at the end, where he [[spoiler:ends up preventing a heist that he planned for months, loses millions he could have gained from selling information and ends up killing his associates simply because he suffered a head injury.]]

* CastingGag: Neeson and Quinn played best friends in ''Film/MichaelCollins''.

* FollowTheLeader: The taxi chases, amnesia, European accomplice and [[spoiler: the "I'm an assassin" twist]] make it look like the film was cribbing a lot of notes from ''[[Film/TheBourneSeries The Bourne Identity]]''.

* ChekovsSkill: Gina's taxi driving is a lifesaver... and also the opposite.

*** Ironically, the assassin conspiracy hoisted themselves up first. Had they not come after Liam Neeson in the hospital, when he was completely confused and starting to believe the head trauma had made him go mad, he likely would have been disoriented and under medical observation long enough for the plan to go off without a hitch. They could have also simply reinvented him as someone who might plausibly have known the fake Martin (who tragically died in the blast), and set him up in a nice, no-memory retirement. Instead they tried to kill him, setting him on an epic quest to find out who he really was.

* MrFanservice: Liam Neeson obviously. The man still has the looks, the charm, and when he starts being tough and manly, the ladies go {{Squee}}!!!

* SickbedSlaying: The assassin trying to kill Martin with a poisonous infusion when he comes out or MRI.

* EveryCarIsAPinto: The black van, that Gina [[CarFu pushes down the parking ramp]], goes up in flames.

*** Ironically, the assassin conspiracy hoisted themselves up first. Had they not come after Liam Neeson in the hospital, when he was completely confused and starting to believe the head trauma had made him go mad, he likely would have been disoriented and under medical observation long enough for the plan to go off without a hitch. They could have also simply reinvented him as someone who might plausibly have known the fake Martin (who tragically died in the blast,) and set him up in a nice, no-memory retirement. Instead they tried to kill him, setting him on an epic quest to find out who he really was.

* InformationWantsToBeFree: The assassins' goal is to prevent the open-source release of [[spoiler:a new variety of corn]] on behalf of [[spoiler:agribusiness giants]].

** Played straight to the extent that a blow to the head effects memory and [[spoiler: another one restores it in somewhat contrived fashion.]]

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The amnesia conveniently suppresses all memories of Martin's real life from the past 50-60 years, and retains a meager 0.1% that correspond with a fake persona her recently adapted. Also, Martin keeps his superb driving skills, but not his combat skills ... until the end.
* MagicalNegro: Biko, who helps Martin to find Gina. And he did not [[BlackDudeDiesFirst die first]].

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Never derive passwords from details of your personal lives. Professor Bressler uses latin names of plants connected to his twin daughters' names as passwords for his highly sensitive data.

* ShoePhone: The USB stick attached to Liz' wristband.

* CastingGag: Neeson and Quinn played best friends in ''MichaelCollins''.

* AsleepForDays: Martin wakes up at the hospital after a four-day coma.

* [[spoiler: BecomingTheMask]]: At the end of the film, it is revealed that Martin Harris [[spoiler: doesn't really exist, and that "he" was merely a cover story manufactured by a shadowy assassination organization.]] The other man whom Martin sees taking his place after the accident is [[spoiler: actually "Martin"'s "replacement".]] Martin began to believe [[spoiler: that he was the identity of his cover story after suffering head trauma during the car crash.]]