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Fight Club Customer Reviews (130 - 132 of 146 Reviews)

I won't explain or run through the whole plot of the movie, but I would like to discuss some important points (SPOILERS AHEAD): Jack (Edward Norton) works in automotive insurance. His job consists of flying all over the world to take pictures of horrifying traffic accidents that were usually caused by a defect in the car that was his company's mistake. Jack is also an insomniac, and he feels that no one truly listens or pays attention to him. He begins to go to grief groups and support groups for diseases and conditions he doesn't have, like testicular cancer and tuberculosis. No one really listens to Jack until they think he is dying, and with his new feeling of acceptance he can finally sleep well. But then a woman named Marla (Helena Bonham Carter) shows up at all the same groups and Jack knows she isn't sick either. Her lie reflects his lie and once again he cannot sleep. Jack is totally fed up with everything wrong in the world (materialism, big business, falsity in advertising, etc.) and creates an alternate personality named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) that acts out his anarchistic self-destructive fantasies. If you watch the movie closely you can see little flashes on the screen of Tyler before Jack and him actually "meet", because Tyler was a part of Jack's psyche all along. Jack and Tyler beat each other up all the time in order to get out their violence, sexual frustration, and natural male anger. When this idea catches on and attract other men with similar backgrounds, the fights are done weekly and it is called Fight Club. The members of Fight Club also receive missions that reflect Tyler's anti-social attitude. Tyler's ideas and philosophies are well-respected and he achieves a cult-like status. Fight Club eventually evolves into Project Mayhem which is far more serious and dangerous. When Bob, a man Jack met at the testicular cancer support group gets shot and killed on a mission serving Project Mayhem, Jack gets his first wake up call. His and Tyler's foolish little missions have resulted in the death of a man. Jack begins to realize his "friendship" with Tyler is disintegrating as Tyler takes control and kind of leaves Jack behind. Tyler's "empire" of Project Mayhem begins to spread all over the country and Jack realizes that it needs to be stopped before the anarchistic behavior takes over. He confronts Tyler and they literally fight each other for the dominant personality. Jack eventually rids himself of Tyler-- with a bullet to the head. Jack doesn't die, but the shock of the bullet to his head destroys his alternate personality (I don't know if this is possible in real life). Jack knows that it is only natural to have evil thoughts and ideas, but to act them out physically harms other people and threatens their right to live.

"Most importantly, I am free in all the ways you are not."

This film was the inspiration for my High School research paper on the dangers of materialism. While some of the philosophy of the film may not be agreeable to some, they are certainly thought-provoking and demand you to step back and take a look at the bigger picture.

"His name is Robert Paulson."

"Fight Club" is an amazing film that provides great questions to the viewer. While some viewers may not agree with all of it's ideas and philosophies, I would reccomend it to everyone. Also check out the book of the same title by Chuck Palahnuik, and if you decide to buy it try to find the out-of-print 2-disc special edition that has been reviewed here. The special features are interesting and plentiful. Multiple commentaries, special effects vignettes, trailers and the awesome PSA's, etc. There are some great Easter Eggs, too! It's one of the best DVD's I own and is comparable to Criterion collection movies.

"Slide."

The Best Movie I've Ever Seen
This is my favorite movie. When I first saw the advertisements for this movie, I figured it was a stupid boxing movie (not to mention that I think Brad Pitt is way over-rated) so I didn't go to see it at the cinema. A couple of years later, I was up late at night and had nothing to do, so I watched it on HBO(or one of those similar channels). I'd forgotten the ads so I had no expectations. I just watched it unfold, seemingly leading nowhere in the first half hour. I've never enjoyed a non-adrenaline movie as much as I did this one. Edward Norton's performance is wonderful. The scene called "Jack's Smirking Revenge" on the dvd, is by itself worthy of an Oscar. Norton is believable in every second of the movie. The story is also brilliant. I read the book a while later and loved it, although I think I would be less pleased with the movie if I'd read the book first. Then I read Chuck Palahniuk's other novels. The man is a genius. Survivor, my absolute favorite novel of all time, is satire at its best. Oh yeah, the quality of the dvd is very good too.

Pure In-your-face Brilliant Satire
Although David Fincher's Fight Club, is acclaimed by many critics as an excellent film who's ideas and revolutionary filmmaking may shape the way that movies of the future are made, many people do not like Fight Club. Violence undoubtedly turned some people off to the movie, however many people who do not like Fight Club, do not dislike the film because of its violence, but rather because these people have an inability to comprehend and/or identify key components of the plot and its underlying themes.

Fight Club has every element that defines a classic movie. The complex satirical plot is well developed although; it does require an open-minded audience. The plot is enhanced drastically by a witty and comical dialect. In order to be an epic film, acting performances must be impeccable, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt both delivered all-star performances and every supporting actor or actress was cast perfectly to fit their parts. Innovative visual effects were used throughout the film, to enhance the already energetic movie. Scenes like the one where Edward Norton's character describes the accesorizing of his apartment are unlike any display of effects of the past. Even the sound was befitting of the film. The soundtrack does not consist of a lot of big name acts; it merely includes tracks that would go well with certain scenes. Above anything else it is the motifs, the ideas being presented, and the way in which they are being presented that makes the film the masterpiece that it is.

One of the ideas that Tyler Durden tries to convey to Edward Norton's character throughout the film is the idea that as he puts it, "It's only after we've lost everything that we are free to do anything." Tyler tries to show him that life would be much more valuable if people stopped worrying about the material things that truly don't matter. Like when he holds a gun to Raymond, the store clerk's head, and tells him that he is going to die. Raymond really thinks that he is going to be shot. Then when Tyler tells him that he must get back on the track of being a veterinarian, which Raymond had always dreamed of but given up on, because it was "too much school", or else he would be killed. Tyler is able to show Edward Norton's character that Raymond's life will be better. Every breath that he takes will be sweeter than most people can ever imagine. At this moment in time Raymond won't be thinking about what kind of car he drives or what type of stereo he owns, he will be glad that he is getting a second chance and will live his life to the fullest.

Fight Club has every aspect of a great movie, yet many people do not like this wonderful film. Fight Club uses beat-em-up and often brutal satire to portray intense ideas, and some viewers may have trouble understanding these ideas. Fight Club is not for the faint of heart, but rather an audience who is willing to open their mind to the experience of not only watching a great film, but also questioning their own lifestyle.