Is This The Worst Film Ever? (Cube (DVD))

Member Name: The Solid Grey

Product:	Cube (DVD)
Date:	11/11/01 (265 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very interesting

Disadvantages: But not if you’re easily bored

No, its not the worst...........

But I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people thought it was, my wife wasn’t that taken with it, and to be honest it wasn’t quite what I had expected, though I did find it a very enjoyable watch.

Cube is not your typical Hollywood blockbuster, there’s no ‘big’ star, no guns, no huge explosions, there’s no love interest or lavish sets, no tragedies and the lead female doesn’t bare her breasts (sorry lads, as much as I like em, it does get on my nerves at times).

You may not have heard of this film, this too I wouldn’t be surprise of, I only bought it due to hearing about it here (probably), and it sounded pretty interesting, not that original perhaps (there’s a Doctor Who, fan made, spin off video ‘Mindgame’, that’s on a similar theme, for starters), but still it was enough to make me buy it, and as it was, it was a ‘buy one get one half price’ (the cheaper one at that, I chose two the same price (£19.99), that showed em!).

The Plot
What I had been led, or perhaps led myself to believe, was that six people wake up in a room, not knowing who they are, how they got there, or why, and they find that in each room they pass through, each has a trap, and as the film progressed they had to work together to solve the traps and exit the ‘cube’, and this is almost right.

Several people wake up in a room in a state of confusion and very suspicious of each other, no one knows how they got there, or where and what it is, the room they are in is a cube, totally empty, with square doors, one in the centre of each wall, ceiling and floor, there are rungs that allow you to climb to each door, and opening a door leads through a small tunnel into an identical room, however some of the rooms contain lethal traps, and our ‘heroes’ have to avoid the rooms with traps and find the safe way ou
t, but with no maps, windows or outside help, and no way of knowing how many rooms there are, or even if there is a way out, it doesn’t look hopeful............

Details
It was made in 1998, its 87 minutes long, rated 15, and Directed by Vincenzo Natali, Written by Andre Bijelic, Vincenzo Natali and Graeme Manson and Produced by Mehra Meh and Betty Orr. The DVD costs around £19.99, and is presented in a widescreen format.

The extra’s on the region 2 DVD are,
Directors Commentary
Production Photo’s
Trailer

Not being a big commercial film, would be the only the only thing that hinders this films success. ‘Would be’ because its also very self contained (within itself as well), it requires not only a little thinking but patience and understanding (a bit like me really), its not something you can just sit back and look at.

As the film progresses, we find out that each person is there for a reason, and that is that each plays a role in finding the way out, it would be really nice to discuss this film, but as usual the problem remains that I can’t say to much for fear of spoiling the film for those who’ve not seen it, but let me say that as the characters have to work it out so do you.

The fact that one of the reasons I wanted to see Cube, was that it was science fiction orientated, and as it is, it is, but in similar ways to Sliding Doors, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, only a little more so, and like the above a little less science fiction but more drama, the only thing that really makes Cube something of a science fiction film is the setting. We find out early on that its set present day earth (although not necessarily now), as they rule out aliens as a explanation, and we also discover who they are, this I was a touch disappointed by, as I felt not knowing who they were and when added to the mystery.

Another disappointment, and probably something th
at will turn people away from the film is that all the rooms are identical, I was thinking that each room was different with different puzzle or trap to avoid or solve, as it was, it wasn’t, they discovered which rooms to bypass and did, making the film a little less compulsive viewing.

The plot of the film hasn’t got that much to it, to be honest, its a basic idea, but the interest lies in the stages the characters go through, and the strategies they come up with to solve their predicament. There is also the characters themselves, and the stages they go through, coping with the situation, and collaborating with the others and trying not to lose hope. There is also couple of twists, some surprises, and a tense moment or two, which helps the film along as well.

The acting is good, and the seemingly few effects were also good, I say seemingly, because sometimes when I watch ‘A Making of......’ or an extras featurette, I haven’t realised that some of the effects were effects.

Speaking of extras, those on the Cube DVD aren’t impressive, production photo’s, are neither here nor there, as is the trailer, the only thing of real interest is the directors commentary, and on a film like this its an even more interesting one, I have to admit that I’ve never listened to any commentary on any DVD I’ve bought, I just don’t have the time to watch the film twice, commentary on and commentary off, and for the most part I’m not really interested in them, but on a film like this, which is a little more interesting and unique than the average film, its something I’m really going to make time for.

As I’ve said the DVD cost me £14.99, but only as a buy one and buy one half price, and with so few extras and only running at 87 minutes, and no ‘big’ stars (not that that really bothers me), makes this DVD seem a bit over priced and I felt a little cheated, but as
the film appears to have been made by a small production company I can forgive this DVD of its failings.

So maybe not something you’d rush out and buy, but on the whole its an enjoyable film, and its well worth watching if you can be bothered to watch a film that needs a little thought and is a little different to the rest.

Enjoy.

The Solid Grey

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