First off, don't bother seeing this until you've seen Cube. You wouldn't miss much if you did, but you won't appreciate & enjoy it nearly as much. I heard this was more of a remake than a sequel, but actually it's a straight-out sequel.
Again, a seemingly random group of people are abducted and imprisoned in a possibly enormous matrix of anonymous Cube-shaped rooms, with doors in all six surfaces, and a number of fiendish & deadly booby traps (and scary noises). Hypercube (moving on from Cube) adds gravity, time and parallel universe traps into the mix.
It's good because: it's broadly similar to Cube, which was excellent. You're not immediately sure who will be standing at the end. The special effects are a bit 'clean' looking, but very smart. And there are some funny moments in this one.
But it's not brilliant because: the plot is a little too clear (and simple), whereas Cube really worked because it was unexplained and ambiguous. The characters seemed to fit the same sort of roles as in the first movie. And there's a fair bit of hammy over-acting, deliberate comedy, and a curious lack of desperation & fear (whereas Cube was superb in all these respects).
There are a lot of well-intentioned sequels which (by their very nature) cannot string you along with the same 'fear of the unknown' in the original, and this is the case here. I also believe that having access to a bigger budget for a sequel is often a bad thing, since it's easier to go for flashy special effects at the expense of story, acting & dramatic tension - as in this case. (brilliant opening credits though)
But Hypercube - although not as good as Cube - does work as 'next step' sort of sequel. I was just surprised I laughed so often, without it ruining the film for me.
If they make a third one (the ending does indicate that they could), they should spend the vast part of the budget on a really good concept/script & director, get really-good-but-unknown STAGE actors (Hypercube came across as more of a soap-opera level of acting), and go back to the ingeniously wicked & creative traps a la Cube - because the CGI route does not look like a road worth following any further..
Again, a seemingly random group of people are abducted and imprisoned in a possibly enormous matrix of anonymous Cube-shaped rooms, with doors in all six surfaces, and a number of fiendish & deadly booby traps (and scary noises). Hypercube (moving on from Cube) adds gravity, time and parallel universe traps into the mix.
It's good because: it's broadly similar to Cube, which was excellent. You're not immediately sure who will be standing at the end. The special effects are a bit 'clean' looking, but very smart. And there are some funny moments in this one.
But it's not brilliant because: the plot is a little too clear (and simple), whereas Cube really worked because it was unexplained and ambiguous. The characters seemed to fit the same sort of roles as in the first movie. And there's a fair bit of hammy over-acting, deliberate comedy, and a curious lack of desperation & fear (whereas Cube was superb in all these respects).
There are a lot of well-intentioned sequels which (by their very nature) cannot string you along with the same 'fear of the unknown' in the original, and this is the case here. I also believe that having access to a bigger budget for a sequel is often a bad thing, since it's easier to go for flashy special effects at the expense of story, acting & dramatic tension - as in this case. (brilliant opening credits though)
But Hypercube - although not as good as Cube - does work as 'next step' sort of sequel. I was just surprised I laughed so often, without it ruining the film for me.
If they make a third one (the ending does indicate that they could), they should spend the vast part of the budget on a really good concept/script & director, get really-good-but-unknown STAGE actors (Hypercube came across as more of a soap-opera level of acting), and go back to the ingeniously wicked & creative traps a la Cube - because the CGI route does not look like a road worth following any further..