At some point in the last four years, Liam Neeson decided that he wanted to be an action star.

The man best known for playing Oskar Schindler in the Holocaust classic Schindler’s List transformed himself, almost overnight, into a middle-aged action star whose hulking physique and thespian acting ability make him a strange combination of sympathetic leading man and intimidating bruiser. Taken was the first of these starring action roles and Unknown is the latest. Much like Taken, Unknown succeeds despite its many flaws, playing upon the strengths of its lead actor and its strong atmosphere to deliver an effective, if inconsistent, thriller.

In Unknown, Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, a botanist who suffers a car crash in Berlin and wakes up to find that his wife (January Jones) doesn’t remember him and his identity has been stolen by another man (Aidan Quinn). With the help of an Eastern European taxi driver (Diane Kruger), Harris attempts to recover his life and solve the conspiracy behind his stolen identity.

It’s a classic case of mistaken identity and the archetype of the wrong man, a film trope perfected by Alfred Hitchcock. In fact, Unknown shares more than just a passing resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock’s thrillers. Director Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan) plays upon conspiracy thriller tropes found in films like The Man Who Knew Too Much and Hitchcock’s trademark haughty ice queens, here played by Jones, wedding them to modern thriller sensibilities from the Jason Bourne films.

The combination creates an exciting movie where mysterious agencies plan assassinations and amnesia riddles the main character. It also creates a tonal and logical inconsistency in the film, because the classic and modern thriller conventions do not combine seamlessly. Nevertheless, the film has its highlights.

Unknown‘s first two acts are strong. The film’s intriguing concept, paranoid atmosphere and various twists do much to pull the viewer in. There are some impressive car chases, influenced by John Frankenheimer’s Ronin, nifty camerawork that mirrors Harris’ fading sanity and compelling mysteries that occur before the film starts to devolve into a mindless action finale. By the time the film’s over, the only component that has been consistent throughout is Liam Neeson.

Neeson is Unknown‘s main strength; it could not work without him. Besides being tailored around his specific strengths, Unknown needs Neeson’s legitimacy to ground its proceedings in a believable world and gain the trust of the audience. Neeson has that rare quality where he seems instantly trustworthy: Much like the creators of Taken, the filmmakers of Unknown depend upon this quality to ingratiate the audience with the character, an important aspect considering the film can’t spend time introducing the character to the audience without spoiling its later twists.

Unknown‘s supporting cast is decent, if unremarkable. Diane Kruger is dependably good as the taxi driver who helps Harris uncover the truth. Without a familiarity with the character type she’s playing or her work on Mad Men, audiences will be frustrated with January Jones’ iciness in her performance as Harris’ wife, Liz, but that’s not to say her performance is bad — she is purposefully cold and distant. Bruno Ganz (Downfall) and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) show up in very small, interesting roles, sharing a surprisingly effective and smart scene that seems taken from great spy thrillers of the past.

As a whole, Unknown is inconsistent, but entertaining. It marks the next step in Liam Neeson’s transformation from A-list dramatic actor to A-list action star, and although it may not be the progression from Taken that we’d hoped for, it cements Neeson’s legitimacy as one of the most compelling leading men in action films. Unknown may not reach the heights of the Alfred Hitchcock or Jason Bourne thrillers that it’s inspired by, but it is better than your average action film and certainly not disposable early year entertainment.