The Name of the Game is Bureaucracy

Rating: Null/10 (20 September 2000)

My cousin Caroline first told me about Cube, saying, "it was such a terrible movie. There was no point. People just got chopped up for no reason." Nevertheless, I went to see the film.
Since Caroline is French, I'll forgive her for being grossly inaccurate. Cube is a great film. And now, if you are fairly adverse to any sort of a SPOILER, I suggest you stop reading.
The thing is, it's all about bureaucracy. Quentin is the cop with a chip on his shoulder who gets drunk on his own sense of power. Leaven is the student who feels guilty for the problems in the world that she's been handed. Hollaway is the bleeding heart doctor who is more willing to believe conspiracy than the cold hard facts of life. Kazan is the idiot savant who is the most innocent of the bunch, and whose fate is dependent upon them. Last, but certainly not least, Worth is the young civil servant whose only inspiration in his career is his pay check. All of these people are prototypes of members of society, and the clashes that result between them are not due so much to the Survivor/Lord of the Flies aspect, but outline the stereotypes and prejudices that each member holds for the others. Each becomes a cog in the system...in that manner, it is far more frightening than Halloway's worst case of "Big Brother is Watching," for she, too, is part of the force that propels the cube.
Worth says that the whole project of building the cube would be a waste if it weren't used. This is perhaps the most damning statement of the way the system works.
To be frank, I wasn't paying particular attention to the acting or innaccuracies in math...the concept was simply too good. I understand the criticism of others in this aspect, but I don't think that it should stop future viewers. It's not a movie about a bunch of Texans going into space to blow up a meteor...so let it slide.