MovieChat Forums > Cube (1997) Discussion > If you cant answer these then this movie...

If you cant answer these then this movie was pointless (spoilers)

posted 15 years ago by TheCornProject
171 replies | jump to latest

If you can answer me these questions about the movie, maybe I'll stop bagging it & respect it more, they are simple questions that every movie-goer should be able to answer when they go to see a film that actually has a plot that wants to convey a point or message (who,what,when,where,why)? I cannot comprehend a 7.5 rating on IMDB!

Who built the "cube"? Don't say the government unless you can answer...

Why was the "cube" built? Based on my understanding all you need to be is good with numbers, to survive the cube. Was it built to haven criminals because if so then all you need to be is good at maths, or suffer from autism? How are people determined, "valid" to be shoved in this cube?

How was the "cube" built? Don't say it was done my multiple companies, because surely not one person would ask-"why are we designing massive cubes, with torturous items in them?". Give me logic to how the "cube" moves, because I dont see a machine powerful enough to move 200 different cubes? At the edges of the cube why is there nothingness? Surely nothing could suspend a cube this big above ground? Tell me what could hold it up? How high up could they be & how would the government explain for the cost of a multi-billion dollar cube if in fact the government designed it?

What is the purpose of the "cube"? Give me a good reason other than the director trying to entertain the audience with the most gruesome deaths imaginable.

My rating is 1/10 for not going anymore than 90 mins...I don't care about how entertained you guys were if a movie follows no logic, no reason & no purpose then surely you either don't deserve to have an opinion about any films or have had a lobotomy!

If you truelly deep down in your heart loved this movie passionately, my real question should be...when are you going to jump off that cliff in front of you?

oh you got a murderous rage in you!

[–] MattM118 9 years ago

The whole point of the film is that you don't know anything about the cube, just that it exists somewhere. If you knew all the answers it would take away all of the mystery.

[–] diegoavilarodriguez 9 years ago

Well, the fact that you ask these questions is precisely what the film is about.

Think of what the characters do once they realize they find each other in the Cube. They look for answers, they ask each other questions about who they are and try to find some logic to why they are there. Then, the smart girl believes prime numbers indicate which rooms are traps and then which ones are not, but she was wrong. The doctor was a conspiracy theorist, who believed the Cube was part of big government plan, but she was wrong. The only one who seemed to be right about was Worth, the guy who designed the outer shell.

In fact, they have a conversation about the Cube, in which he basially says the cube has no significance. It simply exists and thats it.

That part of the dialogue, in conjunction with the character's attempts at connecting the dots made it clear: while its significance in the film's story is never revealed, the significance of the Cube in plot is a clear parallel to life. All life.

The director suggests that, we all try to find significance, meaning and purpose in everything we do and who we are. We look for reasons to go on (like Quentin, who says he has children of his own) and we want believe that there is some type of logic in this insane world, but the fact of the matter is, we simply exist. The Cube in the film, has no point, but film itself isn't pointless. That's whole idea. People looking for meaning in things that will ultimately not matter.

If the significance of the Cube, in the lore of the film, is revealed, then this metaphor is lost, and ironnically, it becomes a pointless fil. The questions these people ask themselves are the same question humans have ask for years: Who are we? Why are we here? What is our purpose? But beyond simply existing for the sake of existing, there is no answer.

[–] axellennox 9 years ago

OP you are a bleeding moron like the character Quentin. The cube is a metaphor for the world and universe we live in. It is simple as that. But you never gonna understand because you are either a Quentin or one of the people on the outside in that dialog.

- What's on the outside?
- Endless human stupidity.
- I can live with that...

[–] kya1 9 years ago

I don't really think any of these questions can be answered, nor are they meant to.

Knowing the answers wouldn't change the events in the movie, and I don't think it would change how much/little you enjoyed the movie, either.

It's just a self contained little movie where none of the characters knows why they are there, and the audience are just as much in the dark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAIJ3Rh5Qxs

[–] kittykat_charm 9 years ago

I'd just like to thank you for this thread (no sarcasm, genuine thanks).

I'd like to thank you and say I feel bad for the amount of hate that you got on this post because you've actually helped me. I was humming and hawing over whether to give this a 6 or 7/10 and essentially what happened was the more I had to hold back on writing an essay on this film in response to your posts the better I realised I liked the film!

Originally I liked the concept, the theme and the aesthetic, it kept me entertained and I felt the characters for the most part made logical(ish) choices or guesses that seemed human and not eternally idiotic which was fantastic. I liked the sound design, it wasn't too intrusive and didn't distract from the conversations being had. I liked the basic elements of filmmaking but I didn't really feel the depth.

THEN, out of the blue THIS POST. This post and your questions and replies to other posters really got me to analyse each and every single character's actions and how I felt they related to the world and I realised just how clever it was. I better absorbed the messages being conveyed. I better appreciated the way this film allowed to open up the debate . I'm going ahead and giving this an 8 now. Thanks dude!

[–] TheCornProject 8 years ago

FINALLY someone picked it! Good job kittykat_charm. My intention was to raise philosophical questions about this film and debate it with others with different interpretations. I can't believe it took this long for someone to at least acknowledge why I made this post all those years ago!

Kudos to you mate :)

If you dance with the devil, the devil don't change. The devil changes you

[–] bambinoson12 8 years ago

This was not a human experiment but a sadistic game of amusement for the higher beings who created the cube.

If the game runners wanted to test humanity they can choose 6 highly intelligent, calm people to help each other. Instead they choose a cross section of careers and personalities to mix together. Why? This was a microcosm of our society and how the mentally weak (cop) holds back the stronger with brute force. Even the "mentally disabled" man is more intelligent than the cop, who only knows how to physically threaten and command people. When people no longer fit into his agenda he kills without remorse.

The higher beings, the game runners sit back and watch the human rats race through the maze until they are killed or dehydrate. This entire movie symbolizes our expiring human lives and the tenuous civilization (dysfunctional team work) in which we exist. The elite (game runners = ruling class) are happy to watch our futile individual and/or team efforts to navigate through a maze (really a Trap) with only one difficult to find escape route.

However, in my opinion the big joke was that there was NO escape on the other side of that bridge leading to bright light. The game is rigged. Even those capable of escaping are not rewarded because the point of the game was pure sadistic pleasure for observers. The rulers were enjoying watching them struggle and some of them (cop) devolve into pure animals. The building designer had it right when he said there is no escape, and when he didn't want to leave at the end.

But was nihilism the answer? Does existence mean nothing? Then who were the ruling powers and why are they malevolent? Perhaps the point of our existence should be to find and destroy the corrupt rulers. Because *beep* Them.
I'm sure by the end of that nightmare any person would agree to give up the rest of their life for the chance to torture back and kill the people who put them into that cube. I know I would rather have 30 minutes of bloodthirsty revenge on them than an entire life of "freedom" because without peace there is no freedom, and I will never have peace after suffering that experience until those bastards are dead.

[–] gregbizkit2001 8 years ago

The whole message of the film was that some thing don't follow the rules of logic, don't have a purpose. You could use it as a metaphor for government, simple accidents, or random events. That's life. And you're a complete idiot. I didn't even love the movie that much but this was all obvious and you shouldn't need it explained to you, you greasy pig.

[–] Sequentialist 8 years ago

It doesn't matter.

It is mysterious.

I imagine it was a bunch of ethicless intellectuals who wanted to try out their skills at inventing.