scottcoz wrote:
My issue with Cube is basically that its boring. To me, it's a classic example of the problem of taking what worked as a short (the Twilight Zone episode, "5 Characters in Search of an Exit," itself inspired by Pirandello's play Six Characters in Search of an Author, and Sartre's No Exit), and then expanding that very basic idea into a feature film. It's a simple plot device that stretches on for an hour too long.
I know that some reviews of it are positive, appreciating it as an original allegorical statement of the futility of trying to understand our existence... I can't help but think that those reviewers simply are not familiar with the works of Sartre, Camus, etc?
What I find interesting about that statement, however, is the fact that neither
Six Characters... nor
No Exit are particularly short pieces.
I actually find that those kind of existential pieces work better with more time - because it takes time for the futility and despair of the characters to really sink in. The
Twilight Zone episode being the exception to the rule, in part because of the strength of the performances.
I'm a fan of
Cube, and wouldn't mind watching it again. Didn't care for the sequels, however.