"Cube 2: Hypercube" is a weak and confusing entry after such a great original.
**SPOILERS**
Waking up alone, Kate Filmore, (Kari Matchett) Simon Grady, (Geraint Wynn Davies) Sasha, (Grace Lynn Kung) Max Reisler, (Matthew Ferguson) Jerry Whitehall, (Neil Crone) Tom McGuire, (Bruce Gray) and Mrs. Paley, (Barbara Gordon) each find themselves trapped in a large structure together. Trying to determine a way out of the structure, they find it is a series rooms with weird numbers scratched all over the walls. Discovering that they are in a hypercube, which has four dimensions across it and can fold back in on itself, which forces them to believe that an alternate reality is inside, as well as their self. Forced to take action, they try to solve the riddle of the cube and escape before they're killed off.
The Good News: There isn't a whole lot here to really like. The hyper-dimensionality allows for a lot of fascinating ideas to play around with. Gravity operates at a different angle in some rooms, time operates at a different pace in other rooms so that at time, they see other people alternately sped up or slowed down, and of course, doors open up into alternate realities and points in time, which allows them to constantly meet different versions of themselves. In one simply fascinating scene, one of the characters opens a door and sees them-self staring back. Reaching out to grasp the hand, another character appears from behind, kills the parallel version before being wiped out by a wall of crystalline shapes. It's a compulsively fascinating moment that works quite effectively for it's creativity. Another scene shows on of them stabbing a character in the eye, only to then turn around and encounter them on the other side of the room a moment later, having aged several years and seeking revenge. Outside of these great ideas, the film is pretty hollow.
The Bad News: There's a lot here that doesn't work. As a whole, this is a mess of a movie. It differs so much from the original that it's almost in a different series, with only the main premise and the cube structure remaining. Gone are the numerous, and quite cool, traps from the original, replaced here with a trap that will spring only if too much time is spent in a room rather than being the structure of the room itself, and in their place is a much too talky, confused, and poorly written movie. Not once does it fall together so that a simply answer can be arrived at that will explain everything, and instead, it just chooses to get more and more incoherent ending up being way too complicated for its own good. Even the traps that do spring up aren't that great, being simply a multiplying square that morphs into a spinning shape, not at all that creative or impressive. The laser-wall isn't that bad, but otherwise, the traps in here are barely worth mentioning, not being that great at all and nowhere near the inventiveness or cruelty of the originals. The extreme amount of down-time in here is also a problem, since it takes nearly forever for the film to get going. After introducing themselves, it takes nearly forty minutes before the first trap is sprung, and that's far too long to be standing around arguing with each other. That's the main gist of the middle of the film, long sequences of everyone arguing about what each clue supposedly means or where each person came from. This is a downer and makes the middle seem like it takes forever, and coupled with the weak, confusing story and lack of inventive traps, really brings this down.
The Final Verdict: With a couple of decent scenes and ideas thrown in, this is a really hard movie to recommend to anyone. Fans of the original might like it, but it only has to be the most forgiving fans to do so. If you want to really watch it, watch it before seeing the original or not back-to-back, the differences will be quite startling.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Brief Nudity
**SPOILERS**
Waking up alone, Kate Filmore, (Kari Matchett) Simon Grady, (Geraint Wynn Davies) Sasha, (Grace Lynn Kung) Max Reisler, (Matthew Ferguson) Jerry Whitehall, (Neil Crone) Tom McGuire, (Bruce Gray) and Mrs. Paley, (Barbara Gordon) each find themselves trapped in a large structure together. Trying to determine a way out of the structure, they find it is a series rooms with weird numbers scratched all over the walls. Discovering that they are in a hypercube, which has four dimensions across it and can fold back in on itself, which forces them to believe that an alternate reality is inside, as well as their self. Forced to take action, they try to solve the riddle of the cube and escape before they're killed off.
The Good News: There isn't a whole lot here to really like. The hyper-dimensionality allows for a lot of fascinating ideas to play around with. Gravity operates at a different angle in some rooms, time operates at a different pace in other rooms so that at time, they see other people alternately sped up or slowed down, and of course, doors open up into alternate realities and points in time, which allows them to constantly meet different versions of themselves. In one simply fascinating scene, one of the characters opens a door and sees them-self staring back. Reaching out to grasp the hand, another character appears from behind, kills the parallel version before being wiped out by a wall of crystalline shapes. It's a compulsively fascinating moment that works quite effectively for it's creativity. Another scene shows on of them stabbing a character in the eye, only to then turn around and encounter them on the other side of the room a moment later, having aged several years and seeking revenge. Outside of these great ideas, the film is pretty hollow.
The Bad News: There's a lot here that doesn't work. As a whole, this is a mess of a movie. It differs so much from the original that it's almost in a different series, with only the main premise and the cube structure remaining. Gone are the numerous, and quite cool, traps from the original, replaced here with a trap that will spring only if too much time is spent in a room rather than being the structure of the room itself, and in their place is a much too talky, confused, and poorly written movie. Not once does it fall together so that a simply answer can be arrived at that will explain everything, and instead, it just chooses to get more and more incoherent ending up being way too complicated for its own good. Even the traps that do spring up aren't that great, being simply a multiplying square that morphs into a spinning shape, not at all that creative or impressive. The laser-wall isn't that bad, but otherwise, the traps in here are barely worth mentioning, not being that great at all and nowhere near the inventiveness or cruelty of the originals. The extreme amount of down-time in here is also a problem, since it takes nearly forever for the film to get going. After introducing themselves, it takes nearly forty minutes before the first trap is sprung, and that's far too long to be standing around arguing with each other. That's the main gist of the middle of the film, long sequences of everyone arguing about what each clue supposedly means or where each person came from. This is a downer and makes the middle seem like it takes forever, and coupled with the weak, confusing story and lack of inventive traps, really brings this down.
The Final Verdict: With a couple of decent scenes and ideas thrown in, this is a really hard movie to recommend to anyone. Fans of the original might like it, but it only has to be the most forgiving fans to do so. If you want to really watch it, watch it before seeing the original or not back-to-back, the differences will be quite startling.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Brief Nudity