Cube (1998) **** out of *****
Cast: Nicole de Boer, Nicky Guadagni, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Julian Richings, Wayne Robson, Maurice Dean Wint Written by: Andre Bijelic, Graeme Manson and Vincenzo Natali Directed by: Vincenzo Natali Running Time: 90 minutes
You wouldn't think that a Canadian production combining elements of science fiction, horror, gore, and mathematics would come together into an entertaining film. But in Cube, it does.
The premise of Cube is very similar to an episode of "Star Trek:The Next Generation," but without the predictable TV series ending. Six strangers find themselves trapped inside of a giant cube filled with smaller cube-shaped rooms. Certain rooms are trapped however, so it's not so easy to find an exit. To counter this, each person seemingly possesses certain skills to help proceed through the maze and find their way out. But then to counter that, each person also seems to be able to hold the group back. So why are they there? Who's there to help and who's there to hinder? Will they be able to escape?
Normally I don't like movies that don't explain themselves, but sometimes vagueness can be done well (for example, nothing in the movie Tremors was explained, but it was still entertaining). The same goes for Cube. Nothing is ever explained. You won't ever know what's going on, but yet it's still entertaining to watch. It's fun to watch the characters try and figure out the situation that they are in (and you have to admit, being trapped in a giant cube is pretty original). Some of the character's motivations towards the end started to bug me a little bit (one character in particular seems to overreact to the situation much more than expected), but it all ultimately blends together nicely into a vague yet compelling experience. [R]
The Jacksonville Film Journal -- Film Reviews by Chuck Dowling URL:http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/ Email:chuckd21@leading.net
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