REVIEW: Unknown

Liam Neeson gets back in action as he channels his Taken character and turns into another man-on-a-mission, Bourne-type identity search.

Identity theft is a massive problem, but when instead of some nob using your credit card in another country, they take over your life so completely that even your wife denies that you're you and then you run into ... you. It's a whole other level of fraud.

The film begins with January Jones and Liam Neeson (a bit of an age difference maybe) getting off a plane and then he forgets his briefcase. Oh dear. He ventures back to get it but gets in an accident and then finds that he's been replaced by some weirdo. The problem is that I pretty much figured it out immediately, and it ruined the whole experience of the film but never mind. What happens is Liam Neeson tries to prove that he is really who he is while people are trying to kill him along the way, he shacks up with Diane Kruger and then it gets a bit revenge-ish as the pieces fall into place.

Simple enough plot and it kept me entertained throughout, with some good chase scenes that didn't get too ridiculous but remained believable in the context of the plot. Berlin also gets a good portrayal as they go from landmarks to clubs to hotels and all over, but the problem is I've seen it before. The other problem is that the whole time it's almost laughable how Neeson just looks like a crazy idiot spouting nonsense and there are a few plotholes along the way. However, there are some highlights, for instance the Stasi guy played by Hitler from Downfall makes a very understated performance as a man obsessed with details and somewhat trying to repent for past sins of himself and perhaps Germany. His scene with Frank Langella, a too brief appearance, is probably it's strongest, a slow yet knowingly respectful old school way of thinking in a film I'd never thought I'd see these two acting heavyweights in.

The directing is subtle but it works, it's a throwaway movie that will keep people entertained. The passiveness of Jones is something that grates in that, much like Betty in Mad Men, she looks emotionally dead inside, perhaps why she has been chosen and I'm not sure if she's a good actress or not. I'll leave this up for debate. Neeson gives it all like he always does, no matter how terrible the film and I hope that he still does more action films as I have to say he's one of my favourite actors.

Overall, there's nothing here you wouldn't have seen elsewhere before and, even if you do figure it out sooner rather than later, it's still quite an enjoyable ride albeit a stupid one.

Rating: 6/10

REVIEW: Dead Space Aftermath

With my review of Dead Space 2 forthcoming, I thought I'd review the accompanying feature-length animation that serves as a bridge between the first and second game - Aftermath.


I enjoyed the first Dead Space animated movie Dead Space: Downfall about the events of what happened to Ishimura before Isaac landed on the ship and the Dead Space game took over. As a film in it's own right, it was average but I felt was a decent set up for the game. However, with Aftermath, a lot of (idiot) reviewers have said it doesn't follow the plot of Downfall. Of course it hasn't, there was an epic nine hour game in-between the two films.

So if you understand this, then Dead Space: Aftermath should make sense. It's literally the aftermath of the first game and setting up what will happen in Dead Space 2, mainly the character of Strauss who appears in the game.

Even if you're not aware of what's going on, the set-up is quite simple. Four survivors on another ship are taken into custody and through a series of flashbacks we see what happened. The story is simple enough, but then it's so bland and for anyone who has seen any Dead Space material - it's the same old thing. Monsters appear on the ship, they wreak havoc, you have to survive. Behind it all is this mysterious organisation interrogating our poor survivors to question how much contact they had with the 'marker' - the religious artefact that has started this whole mess.

Visceral have asked four different animation companies to come up with the different flashbacks - however, the 'present' narrative is animated by some awful CGI that looks completely outdated and unfinished. I can only maintain the fact it looks so terrible is that they weren't ready for Dead Space 2 release date and the company said 'tough - give 'em what you got'. It's a shame because it's the anchor holding the whole thing together and is very important, but it lets down the rest of the film which, visually at least, I enjoyed. Visceral did the same thing with an animated film of Dante's Inferno, which I was fortunate enough to complete before watching it because it's basically the entire plot of the game in 90 minutes, but even then characters looked completely different, there was no real continuity but I enjoyed this. I liked the way each studio put their stamp on it and you'd have to be a retard not to be able to distinguish who is who. However, this doesn't work as well in Aftermath as the characters aren't as freaky looking and so Strauss for instance was so plain at times, it was hard for me to keep track of who he was.

So the animation has it's highs and lows, the voice acting is not so bad (the black guy from Stargate SG1, the latino guy from Desperate Housewives etc.) but not amazing either. It is however the horrible plot that really lets it down. I like the way it starts at the end and we put pieces together like a jigsaw but for a horror animation it was quite boring. For one thing, I've seen it all before and Downfall did it a lot better. It's also not much of a bridge between the two films except for filling us in on why Isaac is back in this whole mess in the first place.

If you love Dead Space, I'd say give it a watch and try and put the CG to the back of your mind, but really this is a failed attempt to try something quite cool. It's good to have a go, but it needs to be done right and this felt more like an extra that should have been given away with the game rather than being bought in it's own right. If you want to see something like this, I'd watch Downfall instead and if you haven't played Dead Space in the first place, then I don't know why you're reading this. You can get it for £5 - £10 these days brand new and it's one of the most original, exciting games I've played.

Now time to get back to Dead Space 2.

Rating: 4/10