Cube Cubed

I've always like solving puzzles, especially three dimensional ones. My favorite was Rubik's Magic, in which you could fold flat panels held together by intricate wirework and link or unlink various images of rings, as well as make three dimensional shapes. I just finished watching Cube Zero, the prequel to Cube-- I mean the MOVIE Cube. I'm not sure how I'd fare if put in a life-or-death giant puzzle, but it's sure fun to watch.

The original Cube, arguably the best of the three movies in the series, did a great job of disorienting the viewer along with the cast. A diverse group of people wake up inside a windowless square room, with portals on each of the six surfaces leading to other squares. They're inside a giant maze of cubes forming one giant cube, and some of the rooms are rigged with deadly traps. Not for the faint-hearted, some suffer truly gruesome demises, and the party soon realize entering the next section has to be done carefully. Will they find the exit before they starve to death or succumb to the built-in perils? Who put them there? And what's on the outside? Not every question is answered by the film's end...

Cube was followed by Hypercube. Again, the concept is the same. A group of strangers must navigate the inside of a Cube, this time one with decidedly more science fiction-oriented threats, such as a room with accelerated time. Like the original, it makes use of the fact that the entire thing could be shot in one room lit differently to make it seem like other rooms in different scenes, but it also had more of a budget. Somehow, it didn't quite have the heart of the first movie, and while it also leaves us with some questions, there are answers we may or may not like.

Cube Zero takes us outside the Cube for the first time which made me apprehensive when I first heard about it. Ultimately, it's not a mistake, and by watching the watchers(who are also watched), it brings a fresh perspective to the story. Learning some of the mysteries does detract from the marvelous factor of the unknown in the original, but it's not a bad backstory and by the end, it ties in REALLY well with the original and brings things full circle. I should have seen it coming sooner than I did, but it's been a few years since I saw the original. Finding the elusive exit, especially when the rooms shift at intervals, doesn't necessarily guarantee survival. If one doesn't mind learning why these people were thrown into this situation like guinea pigs, this film's only real weakness is an over-the-top cliché comic book style villain with a robot eye and a cane. This guy was BAD, but the good news is that John Glover can sleep at night knowing his career is safe.(And I just noticed he'll be playing Skeletor...interesting....)

If you like suspense, and character-driven ensemble pieces, this is a fun sf trilogy to unfold.