I don't get it and need some help...

[loyal1]

I just watched The Cube, and I have no idea what the hell I just watched.  I liked it, and understand the character study as if someone was watching in an experiment.  But I would like to understand it on a "larger scale".  Is there some big philosophical message I should be getting?   Is the cube no worse than the world we live in...just some maze of right and wrong decisions....justr trying to find purposer.  Is life a test?  What is the reason for the Cube.  Was it a big conspiracy like the doctor said, or none at all like the shell maker said?


Someone help to clarify this please???

[Ash]

The left hand didn't know what the right was doing as Worth put it.
The Cube was something that never should've been built but it was.

Worth says, "There is no conspiracy. Nobody is in charge. It's a headless blunder operating under the illusion of a master plan."

He also says,"This is an accident, a forgotten, perpetual public works project. You think anybody wants to ask questions? All they want is a clear conscience and a fat paycheck."

I think one of the most important lines in the film is from Rennes (the escape artist) who says, "No more talking. No more guessing. Don't even think about nothing that's not right in front of you. That's the real challenge. You've gotta save yourselves from yourselves."

He couldn't have been more right.

The end of the film and who makes it out was a lesson on social breakdown.
The Cube should never have been built but when it was, the people who created it realized what they had done and simply decided to make use of it rather than let it sit unused.
They put people in it.

So in a way it doesn't have a greater purpose...but yet it does....in the lessons learned by watching the characters inside of it.
The Cube is just a gigantic empty device until you add that human element to it.
That's where the real fun begins and that's what makes it interesting.

Quentin (the evil cop) was pretty accurate when he said,
"This place is... remember Scaramanga? The bad guy in "The Man With The Golden Gun?" It's some rich psycho's entertainment."

And in a way he was right.
The Cube really doesn't serve any purpose but to provide its creators with a sick form of entertainment.

Cube, above all is a fantastic multi-character study combined with sci-fi elements.
One of the reasons I like it is because at it's core, it is very simple...but yet it is also very complex at the same time.
Kind of like a Rubik's cube.
Sitting on someone's desk collecting dust, a Rubik's cube will simply sit there...it has no purpose.
But when a human picks it up and starts turning and twisting it....well you get the idea.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Rubik's cube was the inspiration for the writers to write Cube.

Hopefully this helps.



Post Edited (09-30-04 04:13)

[The Burgomaster]

If you watch the sequel, CUBE II (which isn't very good), you will get the answer to a lot of your questions.

[AndyC]

loyal1 wrote:
> I just watched The Cube, and I have no idea what the hell I
> just watched.  I liked it, and understand the character study
> as if someone was watching in an experiment.  But I would like
> to understand it on a "larger scale".  Is there some big
> philosophical message I should be getting?   Is the cube no
> worse than the world we live in...just some maze of right and
> wrong decisions....justr trying to find purposer.  Is life a
> test?  What is the reason for the Cube.  Was it a big
> conspiracy like the doctor said, or none at all like the shell
> maker said?

Sounds like you understood it perfectly. There is a lot that can be read into this story, depending on your own point of view. You're meant to come out of it with questions.

Personally, I don't think they should have had any reference to its construction. I was intrigued by the idea of it as a project that got out of hand because everybody did their job and nobody saw the big picture. Still, I'd have liked it to remain completely unknown.  The cube could be symbolic, it could be an experiment, it could be Hell. It could have been on Earth or on another planet. For some reason, people can't resist explanations, and even the little bit that was provided served to limit the possibilities, and harm the overall mystery of the thing.

Still, a brilliant piece of filmmaking.

I enjoyed Cube 2 also, but for different reasons.

[Susan]

That was a really interesting movie, alot better than I had thought looking at the cover (being as i never heard of it prior to renting). The ending was good in that no matter what kind of ending they would have concocted I don't think it would have satisified the audience. Sometimes I think it's good to have an ending that leaves things as a mystery, to have the audience wonder about it and think about it and come up with their own conclusions.

 I wish i could remember the real reason behind it, I listened to the commentary but it's been awhile

[Max Gardner]

Cube was a great conceptual piece with some astonishingly bad acting.  Scared the hell out of me, particularly the sound-sensitive spike room, which was just unbelievably tense.  I think part of Cube's appeal stems from the fact that no matter how these lab-rats argue and conjecture, the nature and purpose of the Cube are never revealed.  It was very Twilight Zone-esque, but I didn't think it was trying to convey some moral lesson or message.  Cube 2: Hypercube was crap, pure and simple.  No unexpected role reversals (a la Quentin and the cynical shell-designer in the original film), no suspense, a story so muddled it's nigh impossible to follow.  And the film's creators finally reveal the origin and purpose of the Cube, which is possibly the last thing they should have done.  Thumbs down.

[AndyC]

Exactly what I thought of Cube 2. They couldn't leave well enough alone, and gave away too much, while leaving out some of the best aspects of the original.

Still, I really enjoyed the characters of Simon and Jerry, and Simon's eventual quest to kill Jerry in every alternate reality he found him in. It was gruesome, but it almost became a comic subplot.

[loyal1]

Thanks for all of your suggestions.  I think what I was most curious about was what the writer had in mind when  he created the story.  I would love to hear a commentary on the movie and will probably watch the second even if it is crap. :)