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Fight Club Customer Reviews (52 - 54 of 146 Reviews)

the other heart of darkness
first of all, a note on fascism. it is a sociopolitical movement that emphasizes: 1) leadership and authoritarianism, 2) nationalism, 3) corporatism. you cannot brand every undesirable movement "fascist," as some critics of this movie have done. "fascism" has particular implications and certain trends. it takes on different forms at different times and places, but, nonetheless, as mussolini's italy and hitler's germany show, the particular characteristics are stasis.

"fight club," certainly, is not fascist. it is highly authoritarian and ideological, but not fascist.

with that out of the way, i'd like to mention the crux of the matter.

i couldn't help but think of joseph conrad's "heart of darkness" while watching this. as i write this review, i am not even completely done with the movie (it is my first time watching it). the closer i get to the end, the more it resembles the classic story of identity: a person is put in certain situations, feels enlightened, and gets closer and closer to his own nature. whether is nature is liberating or deadly is another matter.

the premises of the movie are correct: corporatism, consumerism, and the average person's fright (and dislike) of freedom are ever-present. from this, the (nameless?) protagonist finds a passionate activity: fighting. and it's not just fighting; it's backed by passion and a host of other spontaneous activities. but in attempting to escape elitism and arbitrary lifestyle, the activity itself becomes regimented and takes on an authoritarian and elitist quality. the fact that it's now an organization with membership and not a free-association "activity" becomes a powerful argument against leadership itself; leadership, ultimately, becomes a tool for slavery. the members are *members* -- mindless and all of that.

the characters replace once abstraction, one ideal -- wealth, power, physical beauty, etc. -- for another, and, in the end, become self-destructive as they take it to its natural conclusion. consumerism in the movie is now absent, true, but look what the world has instead: a mindless army serving the 'vanguard' of revolution, an impersonal and quite elitist group of drones. really, the (nameless?) protagonist is the only individual that truly understands what is going on: he recognizes his own human inadequacy, and, to compensate, creates an alter-ego that takes on the qualities of his ideal self. truly, this is not the way to live; replacing consumerism is meaningless if one is still a slave to abstraction and thinks of himself in terms of "better/worse" and "greater/less than."

this is indicative of one-dimensional thinking in a three-dimensional world. abolishing consumerism, corporatism, and et cetera is meaningless if one only aims to change around the terminology and call it an actual difference. what about life, what about happiness, what about freedom? not the freedom of capitalist democracy, or the non-sense political talk the reactionary media smacks you with: freedom is not an abstraction, but a lifestyle without membership. it's not something that one "keeps secret," like the fight club organization does. it is a contagious, desirable reality, and that's a fact.

and this is the real message of the movie.

anyone that calls this anti-intellectual, immature, and without a purpose has missed it. it is not a glorification of meaninglessness and unfocused apolitical violence; it is, on the contrary, a condemnation of such non-sense.

and if you disagree, watch it again.

the movie just finished five minutes ago.

The First Rule Of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club!
I only have three sentences to say. Watch it. It is the best movie ever.

We work jobs we hate to buy (...) we don't need.
Most of you will never read this review because it is going to be burried under countless other reviews. About 1200 or so to be exacting. This is a very underrated movie that can only be challenged by the book itself. Although the book is 800 times better than the film the film had to be adapted to a screenplay that good be accepted, enjoyed, and still maintain some of the mystery. This movie is a great example of good acting in action, an incredibly humanistic message, and also a type of movie that should reach everyone. Nevermind what people say that the fights seens and the "eye candy" of Pitt and Norton are its one saving grace. The film in and of itself holds itself up for anyone who is open to a great message and a great story.

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