Hmmm... Well, as with all these things, context is important. But in general terms, torture scenes in films stand or fall on their dramatic function. In Reservoir Dogs, the scene is necessary as a development of Mr Blonde's character, for instance. In Zero Dark Thirty, it is simply an accurate depiction of what was done (whatever one's opinion on the use of torture). In Zootropolis (it's not called Zootopia here in the UK)? It's just a joke, and not to be taken seriously any more than one would take Tom and Jerry's cartoon violence seriously.

But in action films, I do sometimes get queasy. Not just with torture scenes either, but with the lunatic levels of sadistic violence. It didn't used to bother me, but the older I get, the more I get irritated at the dishonesty of such scenes. Yes, it isn't meant to be "realistic" and I understand the argument about choreography and so forth. Violence in such films is like a dance number. But at the same time, I do have a bit of a concern. I suppose that makes me a hypocrite, as I still love films like Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and so forth.