A Maze Of Technology

Rating: Null/10 (3 February 2010)

Six people find themselves trapped in various small rooms, each in the shape of a 14'x14'x14' cube. They can walk around and talk, but if they try to move into an adjacent cube, they risk being annihilated by this or that unseen booby trap. They have no idea why they're here, or how they got here. Their obvious goal is to escape.
Since almost all of the scenes take place in the cubes, the plot consists of efforts, and conversations on how, to escape. And there's lots of bickering. Dialogue is not especially clever or enlightening.
Nor are the characters likable. A young girl is a too-brainy math whiz, convenient for trying to interpret various numerical digits in and around their confined space. One guy is a cop with an annoying attitude. An older woman is a doctor with a paranoid attitude.
Given limited sets, the plot trends repetitive. Dialogue changes, but efforts to escape merely repeat, using alternate strategies. The film really, really wants to make a philosophical statement about modern human existence, but seems unable to express it. That humans are trapped in a maze of impersonal technology seems too obvious. I suppose viewers are expected to define for themselves the film's thematic import. Otherwise, the plot just seems to go round and round in a circle, then stops.
A low-budget sci-fi film, "Cube" could easily be converted into a stage play. I didn't especially care for it. Characters are annoying. There's not much suspense. And the story seems somewhat pointless. Script aside, acting is acceptable. The background music is interestingly atmospheric. Sound effects are well done. And the constructed walls are pleasantly artistic.