In late 2017, I was in a mall and decided to buy a Rubik’s cube on a whim. I had played with them as a kid, but never really put too much effort into figuring out how to solve one. However, this time when I purchased one, I became obsessed with learning how to solve them, and went down a rabbit hole of learning different algorithms in order to solve it. After dedicating a lot of time to it, I learned how to do it really successfully, and it sort of just became a fun party trick for me after a while. People are fascinated by anyone that can solve one, and so I enjoyed just taking it out in front of random people and have them think it was really neat that I could solve it. This obsession led me to wanting to not only be able to solve the cube, but being able to do it fast. I’m far from the people that do this sort of thing at competitions, but I’ve gotten to the point where I can consistently solve a cube in under 2 minutes, with my best times being closer to 1 minute.

I bring up all of this because when I saw that there was a new documentary about speed cubing on Netflix, I was excited to watch it. I have no idea what sort of widespread appeal this sort of documentary might have for others, but it aligned with my interests, and so I came at it from the perspective of being fascinated by it to begin with. Regardless of where you’re at with it, I think it’s still a well-made documentary, and I think if the concept interests you at all then it’s worth a watch.

Interestingly enough, The Speed Cubers doesn’t put a huge emphasis on the sport of speed cubing itself, but rather on two individuals who are two of the fastest in the world: Feliks Zemdegs and Max Park. These two have been winning tons of speed cubing competitions for the past 10 years, and hold most of the world record times in the sport. The documentary gives an examination of their lives, sharing their origins on how they got involved in the sport, and what drives them to keep doing it and getting better at it. It’s probably the best glimpse into the mind of a speed cuber that you’re going to get.

Like I said, I don’t know how much other people are going to get out of The Speed Cubers, but because of my personal interest in speed cubing I found it to be fascinating. I think that the documentary is an appropriate 40 minutes in length, and it still managed to get me invested in the lives of Feliks and Max in that time. I have massive respect for these two now, and it was really interesting to get a glimpse into their lives and the world that they inhabit.

4/5