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Whew... THAT was exciting! As soon as I got home I looked up the director (Jaume Collet-Serra) and the screenwriters (Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell) to see what else they have done, but they have very few credits. In any case, they certainly deserve a big round of applause for this high-octane thriller, as does the extremely capable cast.

We enjoyed:

• Liam Neeson ("The A-Team") is an American scientist visiting Berlin for a conference. He is injured in a car crash and when he awakens from a four-day coma, someone has taken his identity ...we think...
  
• Diane Kruger ("Inglourious Basterds") is the illegal immigrant driving his taxi when it's hit.
  
• January Jones ("Mad Men") is our hero's loving wife, who seems equally loving with his replacement...we think...
  
• Aidan Quinn ("Flipped") is the replacement...we think...
  
• Bruno Ganz ("Vitus") is the former Stasi (East German Secret Police) agent recommended to our bewildered hero because "he finds people."
  
• Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon") leaves his family in the US on Thanksgiving to come to our hero's aid.
  
• Sebastian Koch ("The Lives of Others") is one of the featured scientists at the conference. He brings his two little girls to share the festivities.
  

Even though we see preposterous fistfights, over-the-top vehicular mayhem, menacing hypodermics, implausible coincidences and white-knuckle suspense, it is entertaining all the way. We strain with our hero as he desperately reaches for a scissors in the breast pocket of a corpse. We frantically swing that wrench with the taxi driver as she tries to break out the window while the vehicle sinks into the icy river. We want that little girl to get out of the hotel before the bomb explodes. Despite the complex plot, the dialogue is crystal clear and we hear every word.

Totally unpredictable, sometimes funny, always involving and another great showcase for Neeson's authentic persona, I heartily recommend this one for action fans.