Unknown (2011)

The most suspenseful object in Unknown is a briefcase left on a luggage cart at the Berlin airport. The first hour is a great paranoid ride: Liam Neeson’s Martin Harris wakes from a coma, his wife looks straight through him, and another man is using his name. Then the movie has to explain itself, and the explanation works best if you stop thinking about that first hour. January Jones plays Liz so frozen that you can’t tell what’s a clue and what’s just the performance. Diane Kruger is scrappy fun as the cab driver who fished him out of the river. The real treat is Bruno Ganz as an ex-East German spy who finds people for cash, and his quiet scene with Frank Langella is a chess match played in polite small talk. It made $135.7 million worldwide on a reported $30M to $40M. A 5.6 because the setup grips and the answer is shaky. $26.58 says you triple-check that your bag is in the trunk before your next cab ride pulls away.

What works: The first hour is a strong paranoid hook, and Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella share a quietly tense scene that’s the best thing in the movie.

What doesn’t: The big explanation opens more plot holes than it closes, and January Jones’s Liz is so flat that the key relationship never feels real.

Who it’s for: People who want a Liam Neeson thriller with more puzzle than punching, and who don’t mind picking it apart on the drive home.