I don’t know exactly when Liam Neeson went from being this dweeby, non-descript actor who appeared in crap like Schindler’s List, Ethan Frome, and Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives, to being a warm and dazzling superstar action hero who can lift any movie out of the gutter with his mere presence and the sound of his voice! For most of his career I never liked the guy, but now he is among my favorite actors.

I think it’s a case of an actor finally discovering his true calling: Liam Neeson is an emotionally warm version of Clint Eastwood, and perhaps the most likable ass-kicking action hero I’ve ever seen. Clint himself was way to cold and reserved and unapproachable. Harrison Ford was too hokey and not earnest enough. Mel Gibson was too spastic, Bruce Willis, too dopey. Matt Damon is a touch too mechanical. But Liam Neeson brings it all together – you like him immediately, you believe him immediately, his voice is simply amazing, and you get more visceral pleasure per act of violence from Neeson than from any other action hero out there.

In addition, I would argue that Neeson is the only actor that can deliver “tough guy lines” and actually make them sound real! From this movie: the bad guy taunts Neeson’s amnesia, saying something like “You don’t remember anything,” to which Neeson replys “I still remember how to kill you, fucker!” and he makes it sound like something someone would actually say. It’s hard to over-estimate how difficult this is to do. They should give him an Academy Award nomination.

Unknown is the latest vehicle for the born-again Neeson. It is a fairly solid and entertaining movie made really fun by Neeson’s presence and warmth as an actor. You bond firmly and instantaneously with the lead character, and the power of this bond smooths over a lot of the smaller issues. It still has its problems: some of suspense sequences come across as a little stale or obvious, for example. But the story is interesting and not badly paced, and basically Neeson takes it from there. I should point out that there is a pretty good sequence where he meets the old Stasi official who tries to help him – not a great sequence, but that character and the relationship with Neeson does boost the film a good bit – it’s a very nice little plot element.

As for the other actors, Diane Kruger is always a great thing in movies, even though we hardly ever get to see her, and she and Neeson have an interesting chemistry. I thought Neeson’s wife and the dude that is impersonating him were pretty weak, but frankly their weakness does not effect your enjoyment of the film very much.

Don’t listen to the critics. Unknown is a lot of fun! It’s a reasonably well-made movie with a fabulous star who has finally figured out how to play to his strengths. Let’s hope he keeps turning them out!