First Hit: A well done and well-acted suspenseful story.
The story starts quiet and with an even handedness as Liam Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris heading to Berlin to give a talk at a biological convention. He is flying to Berlin with his wife Elizabeth (played by January Jones).
Upon realizing he left his briefcase at the airport, he finds a cab and heads back. On the way he is in an automobile accident, flies off a bridge and drowns. However, he’s only dead for a few minutes and he is brought back to life.
He has amnesia but ends up back at the hotel where he left his wife. He confronts his wife who says she doesn’t know him and then she introduces her husband Dr. Martin Harris (played by Aidan Quinn). Now we’ve got two Martin Harris’s and both of them make a good show as to who is the real one.
The film spends most of the time with Liam’s Martin trying to prove he is the real Martin Harris. The events are intense and Neeson proves to be the right man for this part. Towards the end we find out a whole new identity exists and from there the film ends with well executed twist.
Neeson is perfect for the part. He is smart, intelligent, intense and capable in physical altercations and movements. Jones is good as the wife of both Harris’s. Quinn is OK as the other Martin Harris. Bruno Ganz is wonderful as the old German spy/investigator assisting Neeson to find out who he is. Diane Kruger is great as the cab driver who ends up befriending Neeson’s Harris. Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell wrote an excellent and tight script and Jaume Collet-Serra’s direction was crisp, clear and concise.
Overall: This film held and did not give away the surprise ending and action was well paced.