The Greatest Cult Film of All-Time?

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2010)

"That old saying, how you always hurt the one you love? Well, it works both ways." – Narrator
While it flopped upon its initial release and received Luke-warm reviews at best, "Fight Club" has worked its way over the years to becoming perhaps the biggest and best cult film of all time. Directed by David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") the film is as famous for its unique visual style as it is for its nihilistic and dark comedic tone. Its tale of anarchy was, in a way, a refreshing slap to the face of the mainstream, which is what makes it such a beautiful and unique film, and it still holds up just as well today, over ten years later.
Starring Edward Norton as the Narrator, "Fight Club" tells the story of a man living in a sterilized environment, suffering from insomnia and yearning to unleash his pent-up angst. He doesn't know why he can't sleep and perhaps he is going crazy, but things only get more interesting when he stumbles upon an interesting character in Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who essentially resembles everything he himself is not. United, they take to the underground and form a fight club where grown men can come and pummel the snot out of one another in good fun. Things take a turn for the worse, though, when Tyler's plans get out of hand and a troubled woman (Helena Bonham-Carter) comes between the two conflicted personalities.
The film is drawn from a bold novel by Chuck Palahniuk and is about as anti-Hollywood as a major studio film can be. Edward Norton breaks through in perhaps his finest role to date, capturing all the humor and melodramatic baggage that comes with the character exquisitely, while Brad Pitt gets a chance to go over the top in a way that few actors can handle. The film is over two-hours long, but is paced just right so that you lose track of time and feel immersed in the narrative each and every time. No doubt, it's one of Fincher's finest films and one of the best examples of film in the 1990's. Even after the twist has revealed itself, "Fight Club" is a movie worth coming back to time and time again.