The original Cube was innovative, original and made incredible use of a small set and a small cast. A group of people stuck in a massive cube, itself made up of smaller cube shaped rooms which shifted around inside the larger shell, some with deadly traps, some without. Their objective, to find the way out without getting killed. Cleverly avoiding why any of them were there, the premise was that each of them had a skill that would help them escape, but only if they worked together. Since there would be no drama in this, they fail miserably. Simple, effective, claustrophobic and skilfully executed, it is a low budget classic with well rounded characters who are more than mere ciphers, and whose interaction had some thought put in.
How to follow that? Cube 2, Hypercube, decided to go the "bigger is better" route and put the characters in a 4 dimensional cube, with lots of CGI replacing the more down to earth effects of the first film. Unfortunately it was a mess as they decided to throw away the original script and replace it with the scientifically ignorant misconception that "quantum is the new magic because it says that any old nonsense I make up has an equal chance of happening."
Unlike Cube, Hypercube was a collection of idiotic situations with no coherence or intelligence applied. The clever ideas and character interaction of the first film were sacrificed for popcorn psychology, tired conspiracy theory and a laughable understanding of science and maths that would shame a fourth grader. To add insult to injury it went straight to video despite the attempt to make it a big flashy blockbuster. Embarrassing.
So, having failed dismally to produce a good sequel the third film is done as a prequel, set at an undefined time before the first film.
It provides at least one explanation for why the cube was created, which although not very original does hang together, was hinted at in the first film and has some interesting characters, with believable reasons for what they do and think. The conspiracy angle is well handled without getting into tedious detail. More is suggested than explained, and works better for it.
The cube itself is presented as a more primitive version of the one seen in the original film, which makes sense in the context of the trilogy. Criticisms of it for being more crude than the cube in the first film seem to miss that this is the point. It is one of many prototypes. The effects are also well designed to fit in with this idea, looking more workmanlike and less polished but still achieving the goal of wiping out the people inside if they get it wrong.
Unlike the cube in the first film, which allowed people to escape if they could work together to solve its puzzles, in this one the people are set to fail by operators who change the goalposts. Again, this makes sense in context. The cube starts off as a draconian prison with no real chance of escape, with that chance only coming later on as the cube, and perhaps the attitude of its creators, gets revised.
The fanatical totalitarian regime that created the cube(s) are believable enough, without going into a tedious discussion of their politics. They use anything to control the population, including brain alteration and religious indoctrination. They are suitably oppressive and corrupt when it comes to getting rid of anyone who challenges them, faking the paperwork and vanishing all dissenters. One prisoner who manages to escape is burned alive when he fails to acknowledge god, in a literal minded and unimaginative parody of hell.
The concept of putting people in a cube and experimenting on them still seems a bit silly when they could just shoot them. However, your average fascist dictator has to have fun too, I suppose.
The man in charge of the experiments, is a wonderful, colourful character who manages to put in a brilliant, eccentric performance that accentuates the insidious nature of the regime while staying just on the right side of pantomime.
The operators who are put in charge of watching the cube and operating the more simple controls are well represented too. The older operator, Dodd, is scared of his bosses, breaking the rules and his own shadow. The younger one is scared of that too, but not so cowed that he can't ask questions. They fulfil their roles without being too clichéd. Criticisms of them for being flat miss the point again. Of course they are. Less is more here, the stunted performances showing the effect of such a society on its people, where asking questions is a crime.
Like all sequels and prequels it raises the issue of whether it needed to be made at all, but after the pig in a dress that was Cube 2 it is good that a better film comes along to make up for it. Like many film series the first one is great, the second one is garbage and the third is good but not as good as the first, mainly because it brings little that is new by then. On that score it should be judged for how well it carries on the series, and Cube Zero does a good job here.
Cube Zero is a solid, if unspectacular addition to the Cube mythos, and head and shoulders above Cube 2, with coherent writing and losing the need to mistake science for magic. It went the only way it really could, outside the cube itself, and sets the scene for the first film even if it doesn't break any new ground.
Worth a watch and better than critics say. If they make a 4th one it will be because of this film, not because of Hypercube, and for that we should be thankful. All praise the unspecified regime.
How to follow that? Cube 2, Hypercube, decided to go the "bigger is better" route and put the characters in a 4 dimensional cube, with lots of CGI replacing the more down to earth effects of the first film. Unfortunately it was a mess as they decided to throw away the original script and replace it with the scientifically ignorant misconception that "quantum is the new magic because it says that any old nonsense I make up has an equal chance of happening."
Unlike Cube, Hypercube was a collection of idiotic situations with no coherence or intelligence applied. The clever ideas and character interaction of the first film were sacrificed for popcorn psychology, tired conspiracy theory and a laughable understanding of science and maths that would shame a fourth grader. To add insult to injury it went straight to video despite the attempt to make it a big flashy blockbuster. Embarrassing.
So, having failed dismally to produce a good sequel the third film is done as a prequel, set at an undefined time before the first film.
It provides at least one explanation for why the cube was created, which although not very original does hang together, was hinted at in the first film and has some interesting characters, with believable reasons for what they do and think. The conspiracy angle is well handled without getting into tedious detail. More is suggested than explained, and works better for it.
The cube itself is presented as a more primitive version of the one seen in the original film, which makes sense in the context of the trilogy. Criticisms of it for being more crude than the cube in the first film seem to miss that this is the point. It is one of many prototypes. The effects are also well designed to fit in with this idea, looking more workmanlike and less polished but still achieving the goal of wiping out the people inside if they get it wrong.
Unlike the cube in the first film, which allowed people to escape if they could work together to solve its puzzles, in this one the people are set to fail by operators who change the goalposts. Again, this makes sense in context. The cube starts off as a draconian prison with no real chance of escape, with that chance only coming later on as the cube, and perhaps the attitude of its creators, gets revised.
The fanatical totalitarian regime that created the cube(s) are believable enough, without going into a tedious discussion of their politics. They use anything to control the population, including brain alteration and religious indoctrination. They are suitably oppressive and corrupt when it comes to getting rid of anyone who challenges them, faking the paperwork and vanishing all dissenters. One prisoner who manages to escape is burned alive when he fails to acknowledge god, in a literal minded and unimaginative parody of hell.
The concept of putting people in a cube and experimenting on them still seems a bit silly when they could just shoot them. However, your average fascist dictator has to have fun too, I suppose.
The man in charge of the experiments, is a wonderful, colourful character who manages to put in a brilliant, eccentric performance that accentuates the insidious nature of the regime while staying just on the right side of pantomime.
The operators who are put in charge of watching the cube and operating the more simple controls are well represented too. The older operator, Dodd, is scared of his bosses, breaking the rules and his own shadow. The younger one is scared of that too, but not so cowed that he can't ask questions. They fulfil their roles without being too clichéd. Criticisms of them for being flat miss the point again. Of course they are. Less is more here, the stunted performances showing the effect of such a society on its people, where asking questions is a crime.
Like all sequels and prequels it raises the issue of whether it needed to be made at all, but after the pig in a dress that was Cube 2 it is good that a better film comes along to make up for it. Like many film series the first one is great, the second one is garbage and the third is good but not as good as the first, mainly because it brings little that is new by then. On that score it should be judged for how well it carries on the series, and Cube Zero does a good job here.
Cube Zero is a solid, if unspectacular addition to the Cube mythos, and head and shoulders above Cube 2, with coherent writing and losing the need to mistake science for magic. It went the only way it really could, outside the cube itself, and sets the scene for the first film even if it doesn't break any new ground.
Worth a watch and better than critics say. If they make a 4th one it will be because of this film, not because of Hypercube, and for that we should be thankful. All praise the unspecified regime.
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