Not as good as it could have been

Rating: Null/10 (9 October 2000)

A good premise and a plot thats starts out well but never quite gets off the ground. Its a good movie, more interesting than many blockbusters and the plot is intriguing, different and poses questions. Unfortunately those questions are neither answered nor engaging enough to make the viewer really care about it.
In a way the plot is just too far removed from 'the real world' to reach the audience. The incredible machinery of the cube demands more of an explanation than the vagaries alluded to by the characters. No society could hide a construct like that, it simply cannot exist outside of any context. In some shots the scale is shown and its bigger than a mountain!
Although the mathematics are dodgy the idea of leaving clues for the 'prisoners' to decipher is good. The characters are very stereotypical though, which is ok up to a point. The movie loses its credibility with the addition of a token, straight off the shelf, 2 dimensial autistic boy who, of course, is able to supply the final mathematical solution.
The ending is, unfortunately, entirely predictable after the first few interactions of the characters and when it comes its very dissatisfying. Overall though the movie is interesting enough to set it apart and above weaker mainstream sci fi contenders.