Captured

I did not expect this movie to be good. I figured it would be another dumb B movie. Turned out to be a very good dramatic well written film. It of course is not movie theater quality but it is worthy of watching if you are looking for a little entertainment.

A stressed out business man turns the tables on a pair of professional car boosters. After getting the upper hand on one of them, things get out of hand as the executive's occupational problems make him more and more unstable. Torture turns to thoughts of murder as the scene becomes too complex for the man to deal with and he begins to lose touch with reality. Very exciting, well made film with loads of nail biting tension.

This is a film filled with violence and language. It is not for the faint of heart. Michael Mahonen plays Joey Breed, one of two brothers who try to steal a car from Nick Mancuso, as Holden Downs. Holden is having a bad day, and when the Breed Brothers try to steal his car...he breaks Joeys' arm with a tire iron. Rob rescues Joey and swears his will steal Holdens car.

The trouble starts when Rob goes to Holdens' house to carry out the theft. From this point on it is hard to tell who is the "good guy or the bad guy".

The plot twists and turns...and there is a surprise ending.This is not a movie to watch if you are home alone.

Michael Mahonen is my favorite actor; I wish his part had been bigger...what he did was good, and he was believable ( as always). At one point I liked him better than the "good guy" who was having his car stolen.

Hope Nick Mancuso uses Michael in more films...he was excellent in Captured.

Nick Mancuso is highly amusing (and scary!) as the jittery, stressed out, paranoid, @$$hole head honcho at Millennium Investments, who snaps when one of those pesky environmental groups threatens to halt his newest endeavor and destroy his business. After a pair of car thieves try to break into his cherished Porsche, Mancuso has his brother install a high-tech, radio-controlled security system with bulletproof glass and steel reinforcement. He manages to trap one of them (Andrew Divoff) inside the car in the garage of his mansion home, really loses it and takes out his psychotic rage on the poor sap; torturing him with loud heavy metal music, refusing to give him food or water, rolling up his arm in the window, chopping off his fingers with hedge clippers and more!

It's a little too similar to MISERY at times but a good nasty thriller all the same. Mancuso (also the associate producer) pulls out all the stops here--crying, screaming, ranting, snarling, cringing and gloriously overacting and Divoff is equally effective in the less-showy role.

Impressive writing/directing debut from actor Peter Liapis!

When a man can't tolerate anyone coming between him and his dream, he becomes unable to understand what's going on with him. The biggest unfortunate is we don't know that we are wrong and when we realize, it's too late to go back.

It's true that we have choices but in this movie, the car theif Robert had choice not to go back for Holden. At the same time, Holden was a selfish businessman, not giving damn to environment, and believing himself a victim of American justice systems. He could have understood that housearrasting an intruder car thief, chopping of his fingers, avoiding a police help would have done only harm.