As empty as the society it condemns

Rating: 6/10 (23 December 2001)

***SPOILERS***
"You are not the car you drive. You are not the contents of your wallet."
I agree. But I also think a movie is not its special effects, its flashy violence or its tacked-on incoherent twist ending. Let's be fair, this movie was probably THE thrill ride of 1999. But after repeated viewings, its flaws become painfully apparent.
A lot of users on this board talk about the movie's message. What exactly is the message? That materialism is bad? This movie is as materialistic as they come. This movie is all about looking good, talking cool and dressing sharp. It's a quote mine, it tries to be a Tarantino movie minus the actual storytelling. The visuals are astounding and the acting is compelling, but the plot is totally incoherent. For example: if Tyler and the Narrator are the same person, what exactly happens right before the car accident? Is Tyler talking to himself? He has to be talking out loud since the two "soldiers" on the back seat answer his questions. That scene simply doesn't work. There is also the problem of the Narrator's name. Is he Tyler Durden? No one calls him by his name until the last minutes of the movie. Even the cop calling about the explosion in the condo doesn't call him by his name. On top of that, Tyler's decrepit house was bought "under (the Narrator's) name". I get the feeling that's an area the film-makers intentionally left grey so they wouldn't have to worry about it spoiling their "great twist ending".
The movie would have been better if Tyler and the Narrator had not been the same person. But if they hadn't been, young male viewers wouldn't have left the theaters whispering "Woah, that movie was f**ked up!". I'm guessing that's the market and the reaction they were going for. (F.Y.I., I'm a 27 year old white male)
To its credit, Fight Club makes you think. Unfortunately, if you think about it long enough, the movie caves in and falls apart. This movie is anger dressed up in cool clothes. It is to cinema what a Limp Bizkit album is to music.