Let's be realistic.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Kevin Cole, an FBI agent, is asked the supreme sacrifice. He must endure torture in order to penetrate one of the most dangerous crime syndicates operating in America. Its leader is the elusive Ziggy, who has not been seen in quite some years. This man controls almost everything, or at least, one is led to believe in the Los Angeles area. Ziggy's henchmen put Kevin through the test through torture and intimidation, something he passes with flying colors.Now, a few months later, he has a new name, Jimmy Vaughn. He is sent to torture and get information from Archie Green,an accountant that double crossed Ziggy. Green owes ten million dollars to the head of the group that he diverted when he worked for the man. Archie, a black man is put through the ringer. Jimmy goes on to torture Green, which includes pulling his finger nails and toe nails hoping to get a confession.Kevin's present job as a criminal enforcer is not shared with his wife Becky. At the same time, his own father, Jack Cole, who is the head of the FBI, comes to keep track of what his son is doing to find Ziggy, hoping that Archie Green will break down to confess the whereabouts of a man that no one knows where he is. Jack Cole is interested because as a young agent, he himself had dealings with the criminal the FBI is after.The trouble with "Tortured", written and directed by Nolan Lebovitz, is a sense of disorientation. Probably the creator wanted to keep the audience confused as the narrative goes back and forth not making clear what is behind the action. Frankly, once the secret comes out, it is hard to accept most of what has come before because it might make sense in the world of make believe the movies create, but in reality, not even the most brave FBI agents would endure what Kevin Cole does. Working undercover is one thing, to be beaten senselessly in order to penetrate a crime organization is too much to ask of anyone, but once the viewer overcomes that unreal experience, the film does entertain, although the ending is just hard to accept.Cole Hauser seen in the double role of Kevin Cole and Jimmy Vaughn shows he has what it takes to penetrate the organization to get to Ziggy. Laurence Fishburne shows up as Archie Green the man that dared to steal from the terrible Ziggy. He has some good moments, but the actor has done better before. James Cromwell is seen as Jack Cole, a man with a dark past. Unfortunately, one does not get to see much of lovely Emmanuelle Chriqui, who plays Becky, Kevin's wife.It appears "Tortured" went directly to DVD as we do not remember having heard about its commercial release.

I actually liked this movie. Not the best I saw but it was (somewhat) entertaining.Of course there's a "but". I wish whoever designed the DVD cover is put in a vault an tortured for days ("a la" Mr. Green). Once you see that damn cover, you can make yourself an idea on how the plot will go. From the very beginning I could only think of why I had seen Laurence Fishburne (as Mr. Green) bruised and holding a gun on the cover of the DVD. Unfortunately, it was not a very hard guess.I usually avoid watching movie trailers, as they are full of spoilers and some even disclose the whole plot. But now I can't even get a movie and watch its cover (or poster) for fear it might spoil it. Thank you guys.I'm giving a 6 to the movie, and 1 to the DVD cover. That makes a total average of 3,5 which I'll round to 4.

Cole Hauser is an under cover FBI agent deep in a criminal organization. Told to torture an accountant by his boss, the unseen Ziggy, to find out where several million dollars in missing money went, Cole starts to realize that things are not as they seem. Good little B movie that probably should have gotten some sort of theatrical release, though its small scale nature probably play better on the small screen. For the most part this is a tight little thriller that keeps things ratcheted up. Its the sort of film that makes you wonder why you hadn't heard of it before. If there is any flaw in the film its that the way the story shifts through time is more than a little confusing. More than once I wasn't sure when I was seeing. (I'm also out about Laurence Fishburne's performance, but that's another kettle of fish entirely ) Worth a bag of popcorn and a soda.Between 6 and 7 out of 10

There is really very little to say about this low budget thriller besides what is obvious considering the title of this little review; 'Tortured' is a complete waste of time.Lawrence Fishbourn likes to play in unconvincing movies where some torture is involved. In '5 Fingers' from 2006 it is he who is giving away the torture, in 'Tortured' the roles appear to have been switched. There's occasionally some fine acting and even the screenplay and score isn't half bad. But what someone else called 'unbelievable' I would personally describe as preposterous. It is the ending.Obviously I cannot go into it in detail for it would spoil it for those that chose to ignore this warning, not that there is a lot to spoil which wont spoil itself as you watch this story unfold.Suffice to say; if you like your movies with a hint of credibility to it, with some form of logical resolution, please do yourself a favor and avoid this one.1/10