Movie Review: Cube

This is an interesting creeper from 1997. A group of strangers wake up and find themselves trapped in a "cube". Oh, but they can leave any cube that they're in. It's just that going into any given cube may lead to their horrible, gory deaths. That is a nice twist, isn't it? Amazingly, a few people manage to find each other without getting killed first, and they decide to stick together to try and survive the various cubes that they must travel through in order to find a way out (assuming there is one...). They figure out that each one of them has some useful quality. Quentin is a cop with determination and guts, and he's pretty much the group's caffeine. Leaven is a pro at math (so I automatically hate her!). Worth, is...something that I won't give away. There's also a doctor. Everyone is important. Of course they can't all live. So don't get too attached to anyone.

I have a few problems with this, as I always do. For one, the acting isn't brilliant. It's actually funny at times, such as Quentin's "crazy eyes". I mean they are insane. It's so exaggerated that you have to laugh at some of his serious scenes. The acting isn't a big deal for me in this case, however.

I did have a problem with the way Leaven was portrayed. I thought the actress was good, but the characterization was confusing. First she's a timid, scared student. Then, as soon as it's discovered that she's good at math, her attitude switches to I'm-better-than-all-of-you-chumps-now-stop-annoying-me-and bow-down. She's cute, but she has her biatch moments. Later she changes once again, and is slightly more sympathetic and nice. It takes a wake-up call about another character to make her likable, though. I get it, it's psychological, and since people in this aren't always what they seem (even to the audience), it's only natural that characters evolve a little. I still think her character should have been more solid. She's one of the leads, and it's not all that realistic for her personality to change over the course of two days, or however long this story spans. But yes, extreme circumstances can do crazy things to folks.

"Cube" does throw some predictable punches, but it also keep you on your toes a bit. I found the ending to be disappointing, since it didn't go in the direction I had hoped it would. At the same time, it was correct, but with the added cliche thrown in. Part of it was definitely predictable/ridiculous. I'll just have to get over that.

And one more thing that I have to complain about. Grr, this annoys me SO MUCH. Why do women always, always, always stand back and cower and/or yell when someone else is being beaten or killed? Seriously! WHY? If I were in that position, I would kick that bastard's butt and go all ninja on him. What do women in movies/tv do? Nothing. They're portrayed as being helpless and weak, the complete opposite of a fighter/defender. Only the men fight. I loathe that. Women, put up your fists already! You have arms and legs and teeth, now go use them!

Alright, done.

It was entertaining, and I might have to watch the sequel at some point. Cube 2: Hypercube...I think that's what it's called. Great name, right?

My grade: B