Ambitious and imaginative

Rating: Null/10 (17 September 2004)

Possible spoiler?
A small group of people find themselves locked in a complex maze filled with deadly traps in this ambitious and imaginative film. Made by a group of Canadian film students, Cube is one of the most unique and interesting films I have seen in a long time. The art direction and set, not to mention the gruesome deaths, are worth the price of a rental. Sadly, the script doesn't manage to live up to its ambition. I was willing to accept characters who were little more than walking and talking stereotypes. The use of stereotypes allowed the filmmakers to move quickly through the back story and onto the characters' perplexing dilemma. To me, the problem didn't involve the whos or the whats. It was the why. The filmmakers never managed to give a realistic, sensible rationale for the existence of this immense maze. The film does work as a leftist metaphor about the evils of the military industrial complex, but I needed something more. The ending left me disappointed. I needed a realistic explanation, and the filmmakers obviously weren't able to deliver one. Still, the film is well worth watching. I would give it three stars despite its flaws.