Customer Reviews

Cube 2 - Hypercube

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I have to say I rather enjoyed this movie.

I did see the first Cube movie, and enjoyed that A LOT. So I wasn't exactly expecting greatness going into Cube 2 - I mean, it's basically the same movie as the first one, right? It takes place in a cube that doesn't change it's sets, right?

For me there were enough differences and additions that made it work for me. Although I did feel as they introduced characters in this movie that I was saying "OK, now how will this one play out in the finalae of the movie", as I had seen the first one, and realized each had a part.

Cube 2 had more special effects than the first one did, as there were things inside the rooms that required them - plus the floaty sex scene was kind of bizarre.

My point in all this rambling is that I enjoyed it, and I tried to convey that feeling without giving away the movie, which I hate when reviews do. If you don't go into it expecting a cinematic masterpiece, you'll probably enjoy it for what it is, which is what I did.

Saw this yesterday night at the Berlin Fantasy Film Festival. Cube 2 is in many terms very close to the first one. That wouldn't matter if CUBE 2 would be the same chiller as the original. It is not, yet it tries very hard to entertain. We find the same plot again. A bunch of people wake up in cube-shaped room with doors on each side. This time the rooms all are in white light (no different colours like in CUBE) which doesn't ease the situation for the prisoners but takes away the immediate threat just of the location.
Again we have the same characters. A little shy girl, that has the gift of precognition, a young goodhearted guy who seems to have a dark secret, a Mr. Niceguy who is a physician (the one that can be, has to be and will get killed) and an aggressive psycho who meets his new situation with fear turned into pure aggression and mistrust. They try to find a way out of the Cube by passing room after room. This time there are no lethal traps. But since CUBE 2 has had a much bigger budget - CUBE is one of the best examples for great "no budget" films - and also has to be better and more exiting then the first film the different rooms have different physical laws. Once the gravity is changed, some move in a different timezone, another one offers a hovering square that turns into a giant and lethally spinning saw. But until this thread occurs the movie delivers too much comic relief. There is no threatening and therefore exiting and chilly atmosphere the first film had from the first minute. Again, none of the prisoners knows how he got there nor why they were put in the Cube. That gave the first film a great Kafkaesque touch which offered tons of great ideas about the sheer terror and horror of being trapped in a giant killer machine. The characters had to accept that their emprisonment happened for no particular reason. This kept viewers busy for days after watching CUBE because that movie made you want to answer questions and seek solutions the movie consciously left open. In CUBE 2 there is a much more trivial approach. The prisoners all were somehow connected to one great and evil company working on dark computer experiments...therefore one can figure quite fast they are supposed to be killed for their knowledge but first are used as testers for this new killer machine, the new and improved cube. Trivial!!! Apart from that the movie has to offer some surprises and a little gore but it is never really scary. Too much light everywhere and too much copying of situations from CUBE. Also the sfx is used quite often and ruins the nice and simple geníus like inspirational filmmaking CUBE had to offer. All in all this is an average b picture that nobody would care for if CUBE hadn't inspired so many viewers. CUBE 2 cannot stand on his own, that is his greatest flaw. Yet fans of CUBE might enjoy being in a CUBE environment again.

THe first film 'CUBE', was a well told, but poorly excecuted tale of six strangers who need to work together to escape a maze of identical cube-shaped rooms within a giant structure. Each character has a particular skill that could assist the group with escape, but first they need to overcome their own fears and suspicions.

Part of what made the first film so great, was the series of questions about how humans behave in relation to eachother in a community, particularly a dangerous one. It also posed several questions as to what the whole cube was all about.

CUBE 2 is set in a similar environment, but with an added dimension. While a fourth spatial dimension is a difficult concept for most humans to grasp, it is not that imperative to enjoying the film, which is a shame, as it would have been interesting to explain a scientific concept and combine it with the predicament that the unfortunate group find themselves in.
The film chooses instead to use other concepts of physics (time-shifting, gravity shifts etc.) to provide some element of action and discovey within each room.

Unfortunately, unlike Cube 1, although each character has a skill or specific knowledge that could provide clues as to the nature of their environmet, there is no element of 'contribution' - rather, just a brief explanation of their association with the cubethat just seems to serve as 'filler' and offers little to the whole storyline. Furthermore, because of this, there seems to be no reason for the characters to 'gel'. Also, due to the neature of a sequel, there is less suspense and tension that was evident in the first film.

Despite it's many flaws, Cube 2 is better acted, and does have moments of inspiration - particularly involving clever use on physics theories that couldn't be used so much in the first film. There is good use of camera angles that can make the viwer feel claustrophobic at one point, and vertigenous at another. Also, some attempt has been made to begin revealing exactly who or what is behind the whole thing. You see the outside of the cube briefly, and this does provide a link with reality that is non-existent in the first 'Cube'. Finally, while there is more use of CGA (particularly eith the traps invled) it is still in keeping with the rest of the film.

The main problem that defeats both the Cube 1 & 2 is that due to the nature of the story, a satisfactory conclusion is practically impossible.The Cube would succeed as a TV mini-series, which would allow for cliff-hangers and a more thorough development of plot, characters and conclusion. As far as entertainment value goes, it delivers, and does answer many of the questions raised in Cube 1, but then leaves a big gaping hole that can only be filled by yet another sequel. If you enjoyed the first film, then this one is certainly worth an hour or so out of your life, but don't expect a resolution. If you haven't watched the first film, or you didn't enjoy it, then don't bother. Bottom line is that the Cube 2 is a movie for hardcore fans and completists only.

The original "Cube" movie was incredibly original, scary, and thought provoking. Unfortunately, the sequel did not live up to the grandeur of its predecessor. In fact, it fell quite short and pales in comparison (as sequels often do). In the original movie, we are introduced to a group of people who have been dropped into a large cube against their will. Together they must find a way to get out of this nightmare realm without losing their lives in the process. Various rooms within this cube are plagued with horrific traps, and to avoid the traps the group must break the mathematical code that the giant maze operates on.

In this sequel, we are introduced to a similar band of characters who are placed into the cube against their will, and again they try to find their way out of the awful waking nightmare. However, there are a few twists this time. In the Hypercube (a somewhat far-fetched theory in both physics and mathematics) the people are not only traveling through 3 dimensions, but four. In other words, these unsuspecting and unwilling participants must face variants of gravity and time within each room of the cube. They come across themselves in alternate realities. Furthermore, there are traps as in the original film, but they seem to have a supernatural element. They aren't the simple, explainable mechanical traps that we encountered in the previous film.

One thing I enjoyed about the first film was that the concept was somewhat believable. The maze and traps were mechanical and based on mathematical principles. There was a solid explanation, and thus a way out. In the sequel, there really was no big mystery (mathematical problem) to resolve. Furthermore, in the original film, the group of people stuck in the cube were all there for a purpose. They were specifically chosen so that they could each bring strengths to the group in order for them to find a way out. In this film, however, the group of people was chosen merely because they were affiliated with a specific company that made the cube, and thus needed to be eliminated for knowing too much. In addition, the group of characters weren't developed as much in this film as they were in the previous one. Thus, you, the viewer, don't feel as compelled to see them make it through the cube.

The ending, unfortunately, left something to be desired. Many things are left up in the air. You are left with the notion that there might be a third film. If that does turn out to be the case, I certainly hope that more thought and attention goes into making that movie than went into this one.

Overall, I'd say that this movie is a renter and not a keeper. It has it's good moments, and it is an interesting concept, but not as well done as the first movie (which I think should be in everyone's collection).

Although this movie is a sequal and suffers a little because of this, it does take the original premise of Cube to new levels (literally and metaphorically). I enjoyed the thought experiment aspect of the movie - what would it be like to be inside a hypercube where alternative realities can exist simultaneously and where the physical laws of time and space can be changed just as easily as the rooms inside the cube? This movie is probably more enjoyable to those familiar with a the multiple-universe interpretation of quantum mechanics, as the hypercube is a physical embodiment of many alternative universes overlayed on top of each other - leading to many bizarre and cool interactions between them in the movie. In the first movie (Cube) the complexity of the trap comes from the combinatorial complexity of the rooms moving around - like being trapped inside a continuously shuffling rubic cube. In the second movie (Hypercube) the complexity comes from the vastly more complex combinatorial complexity of all the alternative universes interacting with each other. The movie is better than some of the reviews here would have you believe - if you liked the first movie its definately worth a look.

Still wondering who built the Cube from the first movie? You get somewhat of an answer in this sequel. The downside is that you have to suffer through 90 minutes of some excruciating stock characters. And there are at least two actors in the film who, either due to the stiff dialogue they have to recite or due to the limitations of their one-dimensional characters, are painful to watch.

But the lead in the film, Canadian actress Kari Matchett, is both very good and very cute, so that took some of the sting away. She's got great dimples, that Kari!

Other than that, many elements of the first film are repeated here: rooms with unpredictable traps or characteristics, the rapid breakdown of civility, and murder.

Some brief behind-the-scenes featurettes are included, some more mind-numbingly technical than others.

All in all, not a TOTALLY satisfying film, but a more than decent attempt to take the original story to a different level and conclusion. Probably not worth purchasing, but absolutely worth renting if you liked the first film.

I could spend a lot of time talking about the whys and hows of my statement to see the first one, but that the second is a very spare reminder of that first, but what would be the point?

While not a terrible movie on its own, Hypercube simply didn't deliver what the first one did.

In the first movie, you found yourself in the Cube with these people and you felt both their terror and your own. You didn't know when you might be sliced, diced and canaried. All you knew was that it could happen without warning and despite the best defenses you could mount. The tension built and was satisfactorily surmounted by the ending. It was elegant and cool and everything that lies there.

The second had none of the fear, little of tension and despite killing characters, an uneasy requirement to suspend disbelief. 'I just saw that guy get killed...why's he climbing out the other side of the Cube?"

There were a few interesting ideas, but thats kind of where it stopped.

Having said that...if the filmmakers are reading this...make a Cube 3 would you? I'd certainly pay to see it, but please go back and watch the first over to see why it was so neat.

Occasionally there comes a film that has such an interesting premise that it makes us wonder how something so simple could be so original. This was the case with the first Cube. Cube I was a brilliant movie. It showed us how strangers tried to escape what seemed to be an impossible trap. The plot of the film was as unpredictable as the next cubical room. I immensely enjoyed the first Cube but I was somewhat disappointed with the second installment, the Hypercube. The idea of the Hypercube was more elaborate and underdeveloped at the same. The Hypercube tried to be more complex than the original for no particular reason. The greatest beauty comes from simplicity.

Once again there are characters trying to escape a deadly trap. Early on we can see that the new cube functions differently than the one before. Unlike in the previous installment the characters of Hypercube cannot get a single clue to what is going on. There seemed to be no pattern whatsoever. This is probably the greatest failure of Hypercube. Things start happening for no reason in a bizarre fashion. While the movie started out intriguing it ended with a mess. The ending of Hypercube was also unsatisfying but in a different way then the original. And above all, it is still very frustrating to see how people can never work with each other in time of danger.

However, I cannot label Hypercube as a complete failure. Hypercube is enjoyable especially to the fans of the original. I recommend renting it.

There was a point while watching "Cube 2: Hypercube" that I found myself thinking this movie was half as good as the original, therefore it deserved half the rating I gave "Cube." The other movie I was reminded of, strangely enough, was "A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge," because that was another time where I found myself wondering if the people who made the sequel had watched the original. Yes, we once again have a group of strangers making their way through a series of cubes, wondering how they got there, what is going on, and how they are supposed to get out.

But whereas "Cube" was grounded in reality to the extent that if you had the money and the resources you could create a maze like that, "Cube 2: Hypercube" goes the science fiction route where the laws of physics do not apply, especially to the laws of time and space. Consequently, this 2002 film from director Andrzej Sekula does not really qualify as a sequel because except from the notion of the cube maze and one character's complaints that there are no numbers and that the first one had rules, there is nothing that really connects the first film with this one. That cold, hard fact is reinforced by comparing the conclusions to the two films, which try to play with the audience's minds in totally different ways. No wonder so many people are bitterly disappointed when they see this one. I did not care that the first film did not provide answers to wrap everything up, and I was rather insulted by what "Hypercube" tries to pawn off on us in its place at the end.

The alternative hypothesis for watching this film is that if you are like the characters in the film who are smart enough to have a reasonable but convoluted explanation for what is going on, then you may be able to appreciate this film on a level that most of us are just not going to be able to access. For that matter, if this was the first "Cube" movie it would have picked up another star. The tag line in the trailer for "Cube 2" is "There are no rules," which makes it clear the makers of this film are only too happy to embrace the idea that they have thrown out everything that made the original film so engrossing. The creative death traps that were in some of the cubes were what gave the first film its edge, but here we have some weird entity whose setup is not worth the payoff.

The characters are similar to the first time around, although there are more of them so that the potential body count can be a lot higher, which is not really a good thing given that we have lost the creative ways of meeting death in the cubes from last time (you can see how impossible it is to judge this film without using the original as the frame of reference and the standard for condemnation). In "Cube" there were some interesting character dynamics going on and we had the feeling that the maze was more a psychological test than anything else, where the trapped humans were the key resource needed to get out alive, but too many of them were busy losing it to work together successfully to get everybody out alive. At least in the first film if you did not like a character there was the possibility of a gruesome death involving razor wire or other interesting things. No such luck here.

I should have known this film was in trouble as soon as I saw the inside of the first cube, which was bigger, brighter and cleaner than the smaller, darker and dirtier cubes of (altogether now) the original film. Maybe their big mistake was in thinking that using the same cube again would not go over with fans. Let me just say I think they were wrong. I am going to be watching "Cube Zero" next and I have to admit I am apprehensive because I have to be open to the possibility it could be even worse than this one. Maybe, if I am lucky, I can pretend "Cube 2: Hypercube" never took place and pretend "Cube Zero" is the true sequel.

If you are a physicist and actually like what they say is going on in this film, then you will probably enjoy the DVD extras here. You have a director's commentary by Sekula that goes along with the documentary on the special effects, both of which will give you a better idea of what is happening in the film than watching the film itself. One of the problems with this film turns out to be that they were driven by what neat CGI effects they could come up with more so than by the story (another big and classic movie making mistake). You also get some deleted scenes (including an alternate ending which adds insult to injury because it tries to insist that there is a logical connection between the two films even if we ordinary folk are too stupid to figure it out), several trailers, storyboard and stills galleries, none of which will help you like "Cube 2: Hypercube" more than "Cube."

The original CUBE was a thought-provoking film loosely based on the TWILIGHT ZONE episode in which seemingly unrelated characters are somehow dumped into a oval prison and they have no idea how they got there. CUBE presented a cubic enigma that allowed its imprisoned residents to use their wits to escape from a trap that was in fact escapable. In CUBE 2, director Andrej Sekula changed the rules that now do not allow for personal brilliance and insight to play a role. Instead, in this reincarnated cube, what its designers have done is to have created a time and space vortex that spans from this universe to parallel universes. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with sliding from one reality to another--SLIDERS proved how endlessly fascinating that could be--but in CUBE 2, the prisoners are all thoroughly unpleasant, demented, or just plain geeky. The only common link is that they know bits and pieces of the cube's construction, but none knows enough to use those bits to effect an escape. Instead, as the film winds down to a totally unconvincing anti-climax, all that it manages to leave with the viewer is yet another X-File suggestion that some supersecret government organization is playing games with our lives. In films that present a captive audience with the choice of using its collective brains to break out, that escape ought to be possible or else that captive audience will be seen as the one that just wasted nearly two hours watching a pointless film.