Although the film suffers from a few "beginne...

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 1999)

Although the film suffers from a few "beginner's flaws" (unsophisticated characters spouting lyrical dialogue etc.) this film is clever, suspenseful and intriguing. One criticism it DOES NOT deserve is that it doesn't make sense. For some reason audiences (especially American audiences) feel the necessity to have things explained to them. (For the record, I am an American.) That isn't necessarily a bad thing but it shouldn't be the determining factor in your enjoyment of all movies. As Roger Ebert has said, when you watch a movie you take on the responsibility of using your intelligence. Cube clearly demands that. If you come away from this film with nothing more than feelings of angry because you don't know "why" you've clearly not been doing this. It's like wondering "what's in the briefcase" in Pulp Fiction. The whole point is to draw you own conclusion.
A very clever, if not over-the-top, script is utilized as well as a concept that really took some guts and imagination to pull off - a science-fiction adventure film made on a single set. Cube is graphic and surprising. It establishes early on that anything can happen. It also reveals something about human emotion and principal when placed in a pressure cooker. This is what gives the film it's emotional spring. The usual, linear characters would have turned this film into just another Alien type rip-off. It's the greatness exposed in the meek and the tyranny brought out in the seemingly heroic that made this sci-fi movie a cut above the rest. In this case less is more.