p r e f e r r e d r e v i e w e r s :
 |
 |
|
You haven't selected any preferred reviewers. To learn more about customizing your experience, click here.
|
|
|
 |
 |
o t h e r r e v i e w e r s :
|
|
|
crreig [ 9.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Once again, critics and the public all got caught up in the surface of "Fight Club." They said it was gratuitous and taught Philosophy 101. Wrong! The movie is not ABOUT capitalism, corporate takeover, or Buddhist lifestyles. The movie is tongue in cheek people!! It has a dry sense of humor. People make similar mistakes with "Brazil." Both of these movies are LOVE STORIES. That's why it has what people have called a "cheesy" ending. The movie, like the Greek dramas that started it all, plays by the rules. Love is comedy. Love is a social construct that can not be a construct for it must be visceral. "Fight Club" is a comedy about one man who simply plays a different tune than society will allow. He's not insane...he's desperate. Commercialism provided an excuse, it gave Tyler Derden a target, but it's irrelevant. Watch the movie. Watch the movie again. . . then again. It is one of the most sculpted films in recent film history. Every line, every camera angle, is a careful decision. Not to say that there were not a few happy mistakes. It wouldn't be art without them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
s_rocketship [ 9.5 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Yes, I watched this film more than once. And aside from the dialogue that doesn't get old, you pick up more things the second or third time around, like how E. Norton starts talking like the man who writes articles about his organs in the first person (e.g. 'I am Jack's colon...) as well as the places that Brad Pitt is spliced (sp) into the film before you meet him. In case I'm not being clear enough, watch the film at the beginning while looking for Brad Pitt and you'll see him flash on the screen a few times. One that I can remember is the first time that E. Norton goes to the meeting for men with testicular cancer.
Just brilliant!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Qaizer [ 9.5 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
One of the best movies I've ever seen. Great story, brilliant filming and a electrifying cast!
David Fincher sure knows his way with movies! It makes you think about things like capitalism. I like to call this movie the second part in the "Trilogia Bizaria". What is the first part, you're wondering...A Clockwork Orange ofcourse! The third part is still in the making but I expect Paul
Thomas Anderson to direct it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chris_gibbs [ 10.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Wow. Director David Fincher has now made three extremely original and powerful films in a row. He created SEVEN, the best thriller of the nineties, THE GAME, an excellent film featuring a labyrinthian script with plenty of twists and turns, and now, FIGHT CLUB, a man's movie which accentuates the director's uniquely creative touch alongside an impeccably written script sure to elicit plenty of insight and discussion. All in all, I would say that the man is having a great decade!
A young, disheartened male hooks up with another cool rockin' young male who likes to live life to its rawest, and the two men start up a local "fight club", which no one (including this critic) can talk about. When the high of the fights are no longer enough to satisfy the duo, they decide to take things to another level.
Every now and then, a film comes along with balls big enough to pull you by the hair, bang you against the wall and order you to "wake the fuck up!" and question your entire purpose of life. AMERICAN BEAUTY was a variance of that type of film, primarily targeted to the baby-boom family audience. FIGHT CLUB is the fantasy answer to many of the questions facing the doomed male "generation Xers" of the nineties. When contemplating your reality is a task too depressing to reflect upon, why not invent your own tangible existence and allow it to replenish your lost spirit and sense of direction? This film gave me a strong sense of power, a visceral energy, opening my eyes to aspects of my life which had previously laid dormant. I understood Norton's character. He spoke to me. He understood me. He understood a lot of my buddies. We understood him. This film is NOT for everyone. It's quite long at close to two and a half hours, it's deeper than the commercials make it out to be, and it's definitely going to be appreciated on certain levels more by men than women. And that ain't sexist, that's just like I think THELMA & LOUISE is a great movie, but some women considered it to be their wake-up call. FIGHT CLUB would be ours.
Most importantly, besides all of the philosophical poignancies of this film, is the fact that the movie entertained me thoroughly. It had a Fincher-feel (We could say that now), many unique ways of presenting the film's developments, a dark, brooding look, excellent portrayals by all of the actors involved, a pounding soundtrack, which I wish they had utilized to a stronger degree, black humor (!), and a conclusion which can only make you want to see the film all over again. Toss all that in with plenty of LOST HIGHWAY-type touches, homosexual undertones, and oh yes...a hot, steaming plate of the ol' ultra-violence!! Unlike some people, I do not think any of the violence in this film was overdone, in fact, once you understand the message of the film, you should truly be able to appreciate its precise raison-d'etre. It's not even about the fight clubs themselves (Nuff said)! Another thing I loved about this film is its trailer, which thankfully gave us very little about the plot, and left so much more to the imagination. Excellent appetizer! Another sign of a great film is when it has me chattering it up with my buddies afterwards. FIGHT CLUB kept us yapping for hours on end. Figuring this thing out, then another thing, and yet another. Very cool!
One piece of advice that I will hand over to people who have yet to see this film is that you should go in with a completely open mind. It is very important for you, much like the main character in this film, to flush all of your preconceptions and expectations of a film. See it as a painting and study its texture while discovering its many sorted hidden messages. Or better yet...see it so that you could check out Brad Pitt's crazy six-pack abs!! Wow, what a man and whatta movie! See it or I'll have to fight you in the parking lot after work!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Seeing that comparisons to the Stanley Kubrick classic CLOCKWORK ORANGE seemed inevitable (Fellow online movie critic James Berardinelli called it "the 90s version of CLOCKWORK ORANGE), it's nice to see that the screenwriter also saw the connection as he included the word "clockwork" in one of Norton's dialogue pieces. Listen for it during the last half hour of the film.
Another "in-joke" in this movie has Pitt and Norton walking out onto a sidewalk which features a movie theatre in the background. The marquee on the theatre reads SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET, Brad Pitt's 1997 unsuccessful film. And yet another is when a close-up of a movie magazine (Movieline) in Pitt's house reveals Drew Barrymore's mug on the cover. It was rumored that Norton and Barrymore once shared a romance.
Helena Bonham Carter's character of Marla was the last role to be cast by director David Fincher who reportedly chose the Oscar-nominated star over Rosanna Arquette, Courtney Love, and Winona Ryder. Originally, the title role of Tyler Durden was open to Sean Penn as well.
I don't think that I'm the only one who caught these, but during the first half hour of the movie, I noticed several "subliminal" Tyler Durden appearances pop up in scenes in which he was not a part. Think about it.
Brad Pitt personally asked that one offensive line from the book be cut from the film. It was a line which Bonham Carter's character was going to say to Pitt's. She was supposed to say "I want to have your abortion", but Brad asked director David Fincher to take that line out because "My mother is going to see this!". So he changed it to "I haven't been fucked like this since grade school".
In order to look the thuggish part, Brad Pitt had a dentist chisel out notches in his front teeth.
The 8 Rules of Fight Club are: 1) You do not talk about Fight Club 2) You do not talk about Fight Club 3) When someone says "Stop" or goes limp, the fight is over 4) Only two guys to a fight 5) One fight at a time 6) No shirts, no shoes 7) Fights go on as long as they have to 8) If this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight.
According to his publisher, novelist Chuck Palahniuk (pronounced paul-ah-nik) is a thirty-four-year-old Caucasian male, five-foot-eleven, one hundred ninety pounds, brown, green. Of French and Russian descent, he is attributed to Carol and Fred Palahniuk. He has no distinguishing marks, and was a technical writer churning out manuals on trucks, service and cars before he hit it big with his first novel entitled "Fight Club". Fight Club inspirations? "I did some volunteer work in a hospice for the terminally ill a couple of years ago and that's where a lot of the stuff in the book came from. I really loved how people who were really facing it - facing death - could be really honest and funny and I found that really inspiring to be around. Furthermore, many of the things that happen in Fight Club are actual things that have happened to people I know. It's funny, friends who have recognized themselves in the book come up to me and are really flattered that I remembered them at a party two days ago. People recognize their cars, houses and their story and they're so thrilled to have read it in a book."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
shanster [ 7.5 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
This was not what I expected. It works well as a modern parable for what evil can do to you if you let it get a hold of you. The epiphany of the major twist was more surprising to me than many, including Sixth Sense and Vanilla Sky, and I liked that; however, its implausability didn't seem to clear things up, but rather make them murkier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chapter11 [ 10.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Odd, visually dazzling, and utterly brilliant, it's hard to say whether "Fight Club" is director David Finch's tour de force - it's certainly this or "Seven." Technical wizardry, dark hilarity, and mind-blowing themes are huge parts of "Fight Club," but don't even scratch the surface when it comes to describing it. Is the theme about Americans and their penchant for glorifying material excess? Is it about the herdlike way of thinking that people submit themselves to? Might it be about men and how they need to ride on a testosterone high to genuinely feel like men? Do all these themes intertwine together to form some sort of profound, consummate life lesson? Who knows? Who cares? Because "Fight Club" is an utterly fascinating film - supremely watchable, supremely rewatchable - even if you don't care to submit yourself to the underlying philosophy of it all. A staggering - but endlessly entertaining - work of art.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
brandon [ 8.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
the film starts off with edward norton, the narrator, explaining to us the daily grind of his office job, furniture buying, bout with insomnia, etc. this is all done exceptionally well, as many people will undoubtably identify with aspects of his character.
he begins to go to various group meetings where he can find catharsis in other people's sufferring .. the knowledge that others are worse off than himself brings healing.
and eventually, he meets brad pitt's character, tyler durden. "i want you to hit me", requests tyler, and before you know it, fight club is born. for the narrator, as we assume most of the participants in fight club, the experience of inflicting and receiving pain, brings with itself a sense of .. i don't know what, but they like it. and this too, i can understand ..
.. then, things take a turn for the worse .. fight club becomes an anarchist, fascist-like movement .. and where this came from, and where it goes, i'm really not sure. i couldn't identify, or understand what was happening. sure, it was suspensful entertainment, but it lost the philosophical edge of the first hour of the film.
it was pretty good, but then i had been hoping to find something a little more special ..
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MZA [ 0.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
this movie sucks. Zero! Well ... mebbe I should see it first. Somebody convince me to see it,^1 and I will. And then I will give you my for-real opinion. I don't like this David Fincher character. Who does he think he is? I don't like his name. Fincher. Sounds like a wuss. That's what he sounds like. A wuss. And he compensates for his congenital wussiness by making dumb, violent, so-called philosophical so-called dramas. Entertaining? Well, ask me after I've seen it, whydontcha.^2
___________________
^1 (please)
^2 I *really* haven't seen th goddam movie, so *of course* th "Date Seen" entry is a lie, you dumbass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mohawk [ 8.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
1. Fight club is quite a good film
2. Fight club is quite a good film
3. ...but it could of been better...
Coming to this movie, I expected the standard romp...alot of meaningless violence... what I actually encountered was a movie with alot of meaningful violence. After a slow build up which is intrigue to the movies' plot....we start getting into the general idea after a couple of fights....however strangely enough Fighting although is the driving force of the film but there is something else at issue here....we start to question the sanity of the main character...and our questions are answered nearer the end of the movie with what is a great little twist...which exlains near enough everything....highly recommended apart from the somewhat corny ending...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Verbal [ 10.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Seeing it for the fourth time, the film has enthralled me to a point that few other films have, causing this 0.5 boost to a 10.
If you've only seen it once and weren't convinced, I seriously recommend that you see this film at least one more time. I wasn't sure of the film the first time around, but that quickly changed the second time. There is so much to this film that one viewing does absolutely no justice, which is why I believe the film suffered critically and at the box-office.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tj [ 10.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
This is one of those movies that you walk out of feeling high, at peace with oneself, and that you can accomplish anything. Fight Club gets a 10 inmy book because it is well written, well acted, enjoyable, and I will definitely watch it over and over again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
raldacus [ 4.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
I'm becoming desensitized to people yapping about modern capitalism's desensitizing effects. I left the film unfulfilled and tired.
Could that have been the director's true aim afterall? That I shell out $8 for instant gratification, but my emptiness still lingers?
(Despite this blip, I still think Norton is one of our best actors.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stitch [ 9.5 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Another underrated movie, maybe the most underrated of 1999. Yes, it's violent, yes it's harsh, but those are both necessary elements of this facinating movie. There is much more going on here than fisticuffs (sp?). David Fincher's direction has moments of brilliance. I haven't read the book, but did see it with someone who had and was told it did justice to the book. Can't get much better praise than that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ryan [ 10.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Now imagine your pain is a white ball of healing light. That's right, your pain, the pain itself is a white ball of healing light.
I don't think so!
This is your life, good till the last drop. It doesn't get any better than this. This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.
This isn't a seminar and this isn't a weekend retreat. Where you are now you can't even imagine what the bottom will be like.
Only after disaster that we can be resurrected. It's only after you've lost everything that your free to do anything.
Nothing is static, everything is falling, everything is falling apart.
This is your life, doesn't get any better than this. This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.
You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter is everything else. We are all part of the same compost heap. The all singing, all dancing crap of the world.
You are not your bank account.
You are not the clothes you wear.
You are not the contents of your wallet.
You are not your bowel cancer.
You are not your Grande Latte.
You are not the car you drive.
you are not your fucking Khakis!
You have to give up. You have to give up. You have to realize that someday you will die. Until you know that, your useless.
I say 'let me never be complete'.
I say 'let me never be content'.
I say 'deliver me from Swedish furniture'!
I say 'deliver me from clever art'.
I say 'delvier me from clear skin and perfect teeth'.
I say 'you have to give up'.
I say 'evolve, and let the chips fall where they may'.
This is your life, it doesn't get any better than this. This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.
You have to give up.
You have to give up.
I want you to hit me as hard as you can.
I want you to hit me as hard as you can.
Welcome to Fight Club.
If this is your first night, you have to fight!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JD [ 0.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Look at the those outrageous ratings!!!Maybe I watched a different movie but this was terrible. A movie with all the violence of Natural Born Killers and unneccesary violence at that. A movie about capitalism??? NOT! Try a movie about our pathetic society today that has a need to vent their anguish.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HaYsOoS [ 10.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
This could be one of my favorite movies of all time. Between the sleek camera work and the multiple simpler story plots that fill you in on the detail of each character remains a magnificent movie about a man, his growing disgust of average day life, and a woman named Marla. I highly suggest this movie to anyone that enjoys violence, has a sense of humor, or needs to be thinking in a different way. This movie WILL change your persepective on the world and how you feel about it.
Note*Anyone that is too impressional should not watch this movie unadvised.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Love_Spoon [ 8.0 ]
[ add to preferred ]
[ email this review to a friend ]
Very, very cool film. Very odd, but very cool. Business-like Edward Norton meets wild Brad Pitt on an airplane, and begins a downward descent into a completely unknown world. Pitt makes soap (hence the movie poster). Since soap is made from lye and fat, and since he is committed to excellence in his soap-making efforts, he gleans the best fat possible-out of dumpsters behind the clinics of plastic surgeons who perform liposuction. Ironically, the very ladies who have this procedure done are the biggest customers of the soap; the sale of which finances their underworld adventures in Fight Club. Begun by Norton and Pitt, it gets its wings and chapters start popping up all over the country. On your first viewing, you're then hit with a completely unforeseen curve, making you want to go back and watch again and again, somewhat like The Sixth Sense. Kind of rough in parts, and the language is pretty bad in parts, but all in all, a completely engrossing film. See it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Weighted Rating | : 7.9 |
| No. Ratings | : 50 | |
| No. Reviews | : 23 | |
|
|
|
|