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Fight Club Customer Reviews (100 - 102 of 146 Reviews)

Not bad, but...
OK, blend Matrix, Guy Richi, and Osama Bin Laden and you get a masterpiece? A funny comedy, not more. Fight Club is brilliant in the beginning with all that satire, but when it gets philosophical, I felt like I have seen this before.

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An intriguing, stylish, fresh, original, and sneeringly cynical movie that starts strong, progresses interestingly, and then sloppily unravels into chaos. The same progression can be witnessed in Fincher's last film, The Game, but unfortunately the Game didn't have enough going for it to save it from it's own goofiness -- Fight Club does. It is an engaging, quirky, and inspiring movie, and David Fincher brings all of its odd little details vividly to life. It's also a thought-provoking movie whose shots at our society are well-aimed, although it's all incredibly hypocritical feeling coming from Brad Pitt and a mainstream Hollywood production. No? I liked the film, but people -- particular not-very-cool, alienated young males -- get *way* too excited about it. If Hollywood gives them something "deep," they can appreciate it -- especially if it has Brad Pitt, stylish direction, and a kickin' techno soundtrack to back it up -- but half of them wouldn't read a volume of Nietzche to save their lives (who, incidentally, the film owes much to.) I question people who are only inspired to philosophical thought when it "kicks ass."

It's not a bad movie. But it's far from a perfect movie, and frankly the last half-hour is, if entertaining, rather silly. The very end is even sillier, and after the pseudo-intellectual firepower of the first half of the film (I don't mean that as a put-down) I was left a bit disappointed. I felt like the movie, for all of the fascinating ideas it toyed with, didn't ultimately know quite what it wanted to say. The Marla character feels like a fifth wheel, and is handled clumsily, suggesting vaguely that either the writer or director just didn't know what to do with "the woman" in this film. She's f*cked violently, tossed aside for large chunks of time, picked on, ordered to "shut up" in the middle of sex, and then reeled back in at the very end so that she can hold hands with Norton for the final scene. How sweet. The film's focus is, I think, male psychology and some of its problems, so you might pass it off like that, but it just struck me as ... a bit juvenile-feeling, and not serving any particular intention.

But all this is simply in response to the one too many dorky 20-something guys I've personally seen get *way* too excited over this film. I'm glad it's striking a chord, and it has a lot of good things going for it -- I recommend it -- I'm just saying, cool off, and take this sh*t with a grain of salt.

"Fight Club" and Francis Fukuyama's "End of History"
The late director, Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, "Clockwork Orange" is a better movie than "Fight Club." This fact, though, should not deter one from viewing this film that includes the incredibly talented actors, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. These two artistic masters alone mandate that a serious person take a chance on this challenging and very disturbing story.

Francis Fukuyama's book "The End of History" came to mind while viewing this dark satirical film. Fukuyama argued a few years ago that perhaps our society will evolve to the point where we have essentially accomplished all that can be hoped for in satisfying our essential needs. This satiation of all our everyday basic wants and desires could leave us bored and existentially empty. Do homo sapien males especially have an innate urge to risk their lives? What if there are no wars to be legitimately fought? Is it possible that the male gender will always feel an incumbent need to seek an alternative option to express the violent side of their nature? Edward Norton portrays a white collar yuppie about 30 who doesn't have much of a life. He buys unnecessary consumer goods merely to give himself something to do and add to his sense of security. Norton's character earns a living cynically investigating when it might be better for his employer to pay off on an individual accident claim instead of ordering a far more expensive automobile recall. I usually dislike movies with a strong anti-Capitalist message. This is the economic system which has greatly improved the lives of many throughout the world. Nonetheless, I put aside this rational prejudice to see if the director, David Fincher, could offer some insights into the mind set of those self absorbed males inclined towards violence merely to alleviate the boredom of their meaningless lives. My investment in Fincher was amply rewarded.

The Italian Fascist, Benito Mussolini, had a deep intense hatred for logical thinking and the values of democratic civilization. Mussolini argued that violence for its own sake has redeeming and cathartic value. True manliness demanded a cold indifference towards human suffering and a callous disregard for the rights of others outside one's immediate social group. "Fight Club" never directly refers to Mussolini, but Fincher's vision provides us with a window into the soul's of those attracted to a lifestyle rightfully perceived as commonly alien and disgusting. Fincher refuses to romanticize the converts to the "Fight Club" therapeutic culture. We do not in anyway envy or wish to emulate these sick and pathetic creatures. On the contrary, we are left at the end of the film hoping that such angry and frustrated males exist primarily only in fiction. Alas, unfortunately "Fight Club" mirrors at least a bit of what occasionally occurs in the real world. I strongly urge the reader to immediately obtain the 1990 non-fiction book, "Among the Thugs: The Experience, and The Seduction, of Crowd Violence" by English writer, Bill Buford. This superb study of British hooligans who relish beating up innocent people at soccer games complements "Fight Club." Buford's book deals with males who embrace the "Fight Club" morality as their very own. We can only pray that this film does not prove to be prophetic for the increasingly affluent and "End of History" American society beginning the 21st Century.

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