Nail biting suspense and a lot of fun.

Rating: 8/10 (31 July 2009)

This is the movie that pretty much started the whole SAW thing, along with David Fincher's Se7en, so you might be inclined to hate it for that, but it's just too good to argue with. First, the bad: I thought this movie dawdled a little too much on time-passing sequences in which nothing happened, which could have easily been filled up with more of the edgy and dark character-driven tension the rest of the movie so thrived on. A few things seemed a little too convenient, too, like the retarded guy knowing how to square numbers or whatever (this is partially explained by Cube Zero, but that's no excuse; it was poorly written). And I did not think Quentin's character was as believable as it could have been - he switched moods a little too fast.
However, everything else about this just rules. It isn't an amazing film, but it is really good, with the acting being surprisingly good (especially compared to Cube Zero) and the drama and tension being extremely well executed. The characters were given distinctive and interesting personalities and were only detailed enough for the story to work. The traps and the gore are well done, as they are not the focal point of the story and don't need to be - we're scared more by what's outside the cube instead of inside it! So this is a great film, immensely entertaining and always keeping you on the edge of your seat, certainly worth watching for fans of horror, science fiction or just gripping, nail-biting suspense in general. Get it now.