Fight Club (1999)
1999
R
139 Minutes
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in ev...
User Review
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WHAT I LIKED: There's no two ways about it; David Fincher's 'Fight Club' is absolute genius, and if nothing else it's just brilliant to see a big movie this clever and ambitious make it to the silver screen. After all, its intelligence is undoubtedly the biggest takeaway, as Fight Club's brilliantly creative story revolves around such interesting thematic concepts that you come away with those thoughts etched into your brain far more than anything else.
Now of course that could have made the whole experience rather dower and over-serious, but to counteract that Fincher establishes a tone that brings black humour and punchy whit to the scene to maintain energy and deliver the ideas in a more light-hearted fashion. That's brought home not only by a fantastic script and great direction, but also by brilliant performances from both Edward Norton and Brad Pitt.
In the end, as a result of its light touch, the film's heady themes thankfully never feel like a message; more so a presentation of ideals that the audience is then left to decipher and interpret themselves. I suppose that's a property of all great art, and it most definitely shines brightly in Fight Club.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It is an ideas movie at the end of the day, and whilst it's still massively enjoyable, the fact these hugely conceptual and heavily-studied foundations are dealt with such a detachment from grounded reality means things never feel properly transcendent.
VERDICT: A big film about ideas is a rare thing, but 'Fight Club' pushes many boundaries to deliver something enjoyable, thought-provoking and most-of-all ambitious. Well done Mr Fincher.0 member like this review.
