3 Good Things, 1 Bad Thing about... Fight Club

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 2008)

ONE GOOD THING: David Fincher's "Fight Club" is arguably a perfectly directed movie. The film is highly watchable on the first viewing or the 1000th, even the insert shots of buildings and coffee cups are fascinating. One of the first movies to properly use CGI without abusing it, it also cleverly incorporates an original score by the (electronic music inspired) Dust Brothers. And most of all, "Fight Club" manages to be highly stylized without being overly distracting from the story.
ANOTHER GOOD THING: "Fight Club" is cast without flaw. Edward Norton's "Narrator" is a prime example of the pre-9/11 every man, disillusioned by the ideals and confusions of an entire generation of bored consumers. Brad Pitt's "Tyler Durden" not only steals every scene he is in, but later fits the exact description (because of his real-life persona) of why the character acts the way he acts, and looks the way he looks; all simply because the role is being played by Pitt. Helena Bonham Carter plays her part in an amazing dual fashion; managing to be both grating and unlikeable on the first viewing, yet sympathetic and endearing upon all subsequent watchings. Even Jared Leto's "Angel Face" and Meatloaf's "Bob Paulson" are ideal for their roles, once the viewer learns those characters' fates.
EVEN ANOTHER GOOD THING: Chuck Palahniuk's novel was expertly crafted into a screen play by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en and 8 Millimeter). Much as the story, and the characters' roles in it, evolve upon multiple viewings, so does the overall message and tone of the film. "Fight Club" manages to transform itself from dark action/thriller to the silliest of comedies in about 3 viewings; with every line of dialogue managing to be social satire while still furthering the story.
ONE BAD THING: The only bad thing I could come up with, for a movie this expertly crafted was... the fighting. Even though the violence and self destruction of the characters is integral to the story being told, it is the by far the most misunderstood thing about the film. The studio's marketing department originally advertised this film as a type of Jean Claude Van Damme vehicle, with the main character being Brad Pitt's abs, causing many perspective viewers who would never watch such garbage to miss out. The violence of the movie has also inspired many real-life "fight clubs," full of confused young men on the same journey of self discovery as Edward Norton's character. However, none of them seem to grasp that their hero's anarchistic manifesto is revealed to be the ramblings of an insane schizophrenic whose best friend is imaginary.
OVERALL GRADE: A+
OTHER ENJOYABLE MOVIES FROM DIRECTOR FINCHER: Se7en (1995), The Game (1997), Panic Room (2002), Zodiac (2007)