Review by lukem-52760

I saw this as i was once getting any dvds starring the underrated COLE HAUSER, a guy i really like in films but is often over looked or underused but i became a fan of his after Pitch Black & then he was the best character in Tears of the Sun & from there he popped up in The Fast & Furious sequel as a Cool bad guy villain & he was the best part of the Creature Feature The Cave & he was excellent in the lead role in the gripping Thriller Paparazzi, the guy is such a good solid actor & presence & I'm a fan.

Here HAUSER stars in this ensemble B-movie Thriller about Torture!!! Hauser is an undercover FBI Agent Kevin Cole who gets in deep in the darkness & gets mixed up with other corrupted characters & the plot goes all over the place & things come together in strange ways & all is revealed in a bizarre twist ending. Tortured is a well made thriller but it takes its time & that's fine, nothing is really rushed & we get an excellent performance from Cole Hauser.

Also Lawrence Fishburne puts in decent work as a mysterious captured victim named Archie Green who is being Tortured for supposedly stealing millions from crime lord Ziggy.

Hauer's deep undercover FBI agent is the guy torturing Fishburne for a big time crime boss named Ziggy, that no one has seen. The FBI have been trying to get close enough to take down Ziggy for decades so young hot shot Kevin Cole (Hauser) wants to prove himself & goes deep undercover in the disturbing underworld of crime & Torture working for Ziggy. What was interesting was how mentally this Torture effects Agent Cole when he goes home to his girlfriend at night, he has nightmares & mood swings & Hauser delivers another powerhouse performance.

There's a decent ensemble cast throughout Tortured so look out for actors you will know right away from other stuff.

There's actually a decent dark atmosphere & lots of mystery surrounding the characters. The scenes of torture are brutal & as said, Cole Hauer's performance keeps the whole story together as he has to do evil things whilst undercover but he's not an evil man, but he also can't blow his cover if he ever wants to get close enough to bring down the main big crime boss. After watching Tortured for a 2nd time i liked it much more & couldn't see the effort put into the movie & the psychological effects the events have on Hauer's stubborn but hurting undercover Agent. Cole Hauser is definitely one of the best & most underrated actors ever (along with Barry Pepper) Cole is a strong leading man but usually stars in lower budget movies. Also Cole has a great commanding & strong voice, you believe everything he says & he says it with so much heart. Simply Hauser is a great actor who makes everything better with his presence even if it's just his scenes.

There's some gripping scenes of Torture & some suspenseful moments & some decent acting but it's definitely Cole Hauser's Performance that keeps it all together.

A decent enough watchable low-budget Thriller & worth it for the intense Cole Hauser.