Simplistic yet captivating

Rating: 8/10 (26 July 2010)

Cube 1 is awesome. It's simple and captivating. The characters are dynamic and develop thoroughly throughout the movie just like you would expect them to. You are constantly bombarding your brain with questions like: Who oversees the Cube? What is the Cube? When is this all taking place? Why are these people in the Cube? Where is the Cube located? And how did these people get there? The director immediately pulls you out of your comfort zone and really forces you to open your mind. I feel people that have trouble accepting irrationalities would tend to dislike the film while their counterparts would tend to enjoy the mysteriousness of the plot.
Throughout the first half of the film I figured it was a game. I kept my cool and tried to solve the puzzle along with the characters until about half-way through when I came to a realization that maybe there was no purpose. Ironically I felt the purpose was to try and convince people that sometimes there just isn't a purpose/reason for why things happen. A buddy of mine suggested the movie was a metaphor for life.
There were times when I wanted to end the movie short because I didn't want to lose the mysteriousness and anticipation I had built up throughout the film. I speculated the ending to be elaborate and informative but I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations. A psychological experiment supported by Big Brother? Aliens? A rich and sadistic killer's horror house? Purgatory? A dream? The movie ended perfectly and I couldn't help but want more. I even watched it again 30 minutes later. The sequels suck. Not only were the poorly produced but the movies tried to answer questions I honestly didn't want answered. I don't want to say the sequels ruined the first film, but you'll definitely have a different (not necessarily in a good way) perspective of Cube 1 after having seen the sequels.