Customer Reviews

Fight Club

5 star:		(828)
4 star:		(122)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(32)
1 star:		(52)

 

 

Fight Club (1999)
Drama, 139 minutes
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter

Why do I like Fight Club? It seems to suggest that violence and anarchy are good things, but that's certainly not something I believe. I think it comes down to the dark comedy and the strong script, coupled with excellent performances from Norton and Pitt. This is a cool world to experience, but I wouldn't want to live in it.

The story seems perfectly traditional at first. We see Norton on a plane. He's referred to as The Narrator in the credits and seems to think of himself as Jack. He encounters Tyler Durden (Pitt) and takes his business card. Jack returns home to find that there's been an explosion in his apartment, so he calls Durden and eventually asks to stay at his house for a while. Durden is a cheerful, carefree lunatic who wants Jack to punch him. The two fight on the street and decide to recruit members and form Fight Club, believing that it's an expression of freedom.

Jack spends his free time visiting support groups. We see him hugging people with testicular cancer and all manner of diseases. He enjoys letting his inhibitions go and listening to the members speak about their illnesses. After a while, he becomes aware of Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). Like him, she's a tourist visiting the various support groups. He confronts her and they agree to attend different classes.

Durden encourages Jack to stop trying to live up to the expectations of other people. As a result, Jack becomes more assertive. He challenges the authority of his boss and stops worrying about his appearance and the latest IKEA catalog. He regularly shows up for work with fresh cuts and bruises. Jack finds that he enjoys his new image. One thing he doesn't like is Durden forming a relationship with Marla.

Fight Club is set in a gritty world and makes the viewer feel unclean while watching it. Fincher is good at creating unsettling worlds and this one is similar to those found in The Game and Se7en. Durden's house appears derelict and the neighborhood is seedy. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Durden has a purpose for starting Fight Club. The recruits are assigned tasks to disrupt society and members can come from any occupational background. It's like a secret society.

Fight Club contains a major twist and I won't reveal it for those who haven't ever seen the movie. The twist elevates the movie to a different level. Subsequent viewings are enhanced because you'll notice little details you may have missed the first time. It's clever how everything ties together. The ending annoys some viewers, but it works perfectly for me. The final sequence is set to one of my favorite Pixies' songs and is probably my favorite scene in the entire movie.

Although it's not an action movie, Fight Club is a pure adrenaline rush. From the opening credits set to the pounding beat of the Dust Brothers, it rarely lets up until the relative calm of the closing scene.

I'm enjoying this project and got more out of Fight Club on yesterday's viewing than I ever have before. Just don't go out and copy the behavior it depicts.

This is the best movie in the world!!

This movie is so good. Its thrilling, its full of action, and it has a point. If you want a movie that'll make you think, watch this.

This film is most definately on my top 5. If you have not seen this, watch it now! If you have seen it and did not like it.. well, is that possible? I loved it.

This movie claims to be philosophically deep. Yeah, right. You're not fooling me, Mr. Fincher. The philosophy here is quite shallow. Some interesting surface points are made about commercialism, but it's all just an excuse for Fincher to show off his 875 different camera angles and fx and blow stuff up on screen. Apparantly the word "subtle" has no meaning to Mr. Fincher.

I know you already seen thousands of good reviews about just how great this movie is. Well it is in everyway of course but I really want to discuss the bad reviews. I decided to be open and read the one star reviews which turned out to be utter ... They complain on how this movie is the most predictable movie ever and that it is nothing more than immature thoughts from children hitting puberty. One person was as assnine to say this movie is a joking display of 9/11 (#1. That topic is as old as ... and 2. it didn't happen yet in 1999 and just because the word terrorist is included or a picture of a building falling down means nothing).
Well I can assure you Chuck Palahniuk is not a teenager and two if you have a brain and aren't the stupid, useless, mindless, superficial, blue collared robot that this movie describes you would understand that this movie isn't telling you to pee in grandma's soup or punch your friend, its just a pointer at how boring and mundane everyday normal materialistic life is and the decay of society. I love this movie because I agree with it and I understand if you don't agree with it but not for stupid made-up reasons. I read one review most likley by an old woman that said she was offended by the violence but got the message. Thats fine even though I didn't agree w/ her values.

This film starts out with an interesting premise about a guy who's searching for meaning in his ordinary, boring life of conformity. It could have been a thoughtful film. Instead, it descends into a display of mindless anarchy and nihilism. This is an ugly film. Please don't waste your money and more importantly, your mind on this.

David Fincher is one of Hollywood's most precise directors, putting together CGI and live action to make perfect flowing shots. That is only one good part of Fight Club...

Now to the action...
So what do you say about one of the most twisted movies out there that isn't by Kubrick or Pasolini? A lot. Fight club is beautifully shot with elegance and brutality. It uses dark and mystifying colors to vividly portray the action on screen. Fincher also uses CGI to extend shot through buildings (also seen in PANIC ROOM). As for the acting in this movie, it can't get better. Edward Norton (one of the most predominate young actors in Hollywood) is wonderful, as always. He brings his character to life and brings you right inside his head. Brad Pitt brings out the true distortedness of his character and makes you believe in his mayhem. The plot is very complex and will throw you way off at the end. It progresses slowly and don't be thrown off by the title. Only 17% of the film is action based and has little fighting, this of course doesn't mean its bad, its just not for sleepers. This movie is beyond excellent but I feel that Fincher has done better with SE7EN so therefore it will not receive an A+. -- A-

The key factors that make this a good movie are...
1. The wonderful boldness of Fincher's settings and style.
2. The incredible shots constructed by Fincher.
3. The marvelous acting of Pitt and Norton.
4. The wonderful story by Chuck Palahniuk.

And to the DVD...
One thing to note right away is that you should make sure what dvd you are buying. There are two versions, the first being the 1-disc and the second being the 2-disc. I highly suggest that you go for the three or four dollars extra and buy the 2-disc set. The following review is for the 2-disc set... This is a wonderful DVD and is very cool if you're a fan of this movie. It has everything you can ask for commentaries (four of them!), deleted scenes, outtakes, and behind the scenes featurettes (a whopping 17 of them!). It also includes production art and conceptual art, oh and did I mention a merchandise catalogue? The menus are very cool and so is the background music. This DVD is very enjoyable and well done. -- A+

You'll like this movie if you liked the following: Fight Club (novel), Se7en, Panic Room, Requiem for a Dream, A Clock Work Orange, and Memento.

Boy did some people really miss the boat on "The Fight Club." There are always going to be people in the world who claim that they don't like a movie because of its violent content. After all, that's what turned so many people off about "Natural Born Killers." Still, there are people who really out there who really appreciate movies and look past all the violence and see the point of the film. "Fight Club" is just like "Natural Born Killers" in that respect. Although "NBK""~ was a great movie "The Fight Club" just blew me away."~ Club" is a very smart film that raises a lot of different questions. The opening half an hour deals with Ed Norton's character, a man so frustrated with everyday consumer life that he resorts to attending cancer rehabilitation clinics just to get some peace. He meets Brad pitt on a business trip and the two hit off."~"~ in my opinion but that's just a small complaint. Ever since "the Usual Suspects", Hollywood seems to be feeling the need to throw in these great surprise endings. "The Sixth Sense" is a mediocre movie with a great ending, "The Fight Club" is a great movie with a mediocre ending."~ one of those cutting edge movies from the 70's. It's as shocking as Taxi Driver was in its day and every bit as good.

Fight Club is certainly not a monumental film, but it struck a chord about the modern condition. The comedy is of the blackest variety and you will have to suspend any squeamish-ness you may feel toward very violent films to reap enjoyment out of it. But all the roles are skillfully played, especially by Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden, and underlying the banality of blood and mayhem is a message...a message that perhaps life doesn't have to control us...life can be what you make it...just be carefully you do so thoughtful with positive human regard and a degree of clarity. Attempting to control life can get out of hand.

Chuck Palahnuik's novel comes to life in the adept hands of director David Fincher (of Seven fame). It is no surprise that the scenes are slickly cool, the violence is of the "in your face" variety, and we are entertained despite our misgivings. The movie has some real "Momento" moments, so I won't try to delve into the story-line to risk giving any of those away. A truly fetching role is turned in by Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer a chain smoking barely hanging on to life love interest of Edward Norton's. Their chemistry and interplay is terrifically authentic and dead-on funny. Brad Pitt take the show though as Tyler Durden, an ultra-confident hipster that makes soap. The lines he and Norton toss back and forth are classics to be remembered and quoted in bars, around water coolers, at support groups.

"Fight Club" is an experience you owe yourself, if not for anything more than to ponder the state of society and what is truly important. I think if you see the movie out to the end and get past the violence, you may find this message though-provoking. You just may find yourself laughing along the way.
--MMW