I recently saw the movie Cube 2: Hypercube. I was disappointed with it. Before I go into details why, let me explain a few things about the original Cube.
I loved Cube. I loved everything about it. The premise, the ending, the characters, the cube itself. Everything. If I ever see it on DVD I will buy it in a heartbeat. For those of you unfortunate enough to not have seen this movie, this basically sums it up the plot: several strangers awake inside cube-shaped rooms with no memory of how or why they are there, discover that some rooms have lethal traps in them, and try to escape from the giant cube. The traps include razor-sharp wire that can cut them to pieces, acid that can be sprayed on their faces, spikes that can shoot out of the walls, and fire-shooting devices. To see more about why I like the original Cube, please continue to read by clicking the link below. This contains details about the plot revealed (inferred) from the movie.
Now, the concept behind Cube 2: Hypercube was equally promising. Now not only could they have death traps but also they could (and rather or not they could they did) have time shifts, gravity shifts (which was very cool and slightly disorienting even for the viewer), location warps, and alternate realities. A new set of characters in a more stressful psychological setting trying to survive. Why was I disappointed with the result? To see why I was disappointed, please continue reading, but be warned that it goes into large plot details and does reveal information about the plot explained later in the movie.
So, if you were interested in seeing these movies and didn't read the spoilers, let me just say that I loved the first movie and can tolerate the second. Once again, the original is still the best.
About the original Cube:
I loved that the movie gave no information whatsoever about the origin of the Cube or any purpose behind it at all. The ambiguity behind this and no common thread between any of the characters (that I remember, it has been quite some time since I have seen it) made the Cube seem to be a device whose purpose had been forgotten about and its use only continued out of habit. For all we know the Cube could be a twisted experiment, a mass execution chamber, or a horrible prison where only those who can escape are set free.
About Cube 2:
To begin with, the took away most of the death-traps. There was a sliding wall of death, a hypercube (I think) of death, transparent sliding rectangles of death, and in one scene there sprung what I can only assume was a time trap. I could forgive the lack of traps because of how the rooms themselves acted. They seemed to warp around at random causing confusion and irritation.
Another problem was the characters themselves. They were almost entirely stereotypes. The "angry-mean-male-with-a-secret" character, the "old-and-senile" woman who I think had Alzheimer's, the "conspiracy-theorist" programming geek, and the list goes on and on.
Then there was a plot problem I couldn't get around. Ok, so the person who built either the Cube or Hypercube (I didn't catch all of that explanation because the DVD was slightly scratched) went into the Hypercube to try to avoid being caught by the people the person designed it for? Then why did that person try to escape the Hypercube at all? I'm hoping I just missed that explanation because of the bad DVD. I was also extremely irritated that they named the builder of the Cube and Hypercube. I liked the ambiguity surrounding the whole concept.
The ending was still good, however, because it doesn't really explain anything and most of the stuff about the Cube and Hypercube remains a mystery.
Posted by Randy at August 13, 2003 01:46 AM