You Do Not Talk About Fight Club

Rating: 6/10 (12 June 2018)

All the clues are there-- probably every frame analyzed by huge cult followers. Fight Club is a film that is almost begged to be rewatched, yet there's still something that compels me to not give it all the credit it has garnered. There will be plenty of you that are huge fans of this film, and those that haven't seen it may end up really enjoying it. So, I will make sure not to give away the mind-numbing twist, unlike Rosie O'Donnell (she spoiled it on her talk-show).
Let's start with the main ingredients (of the cast and crew, not for soap). Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are brilliantly cast for their roles. Norton fits the insomniac 100% even if his narration dulls slightly after two-thirds of the film, and, along with his iconic wardrobe, Brad Pitt has the perfect look of a rabble-rouser type of friend. And when is Helena Bonham Carter not awesome? There are also fun parts for Meat Loaf and an unrecognizable Jared Leto. Needless to say, I have no issue with the acting.
As regards to the skewed time line, I have zero complaints about the first 45 minutes or so (Pitt's monologue for the fight club is pretty dang cool) of the film. The setup is all there with some clever dialogue, especially for subsequent viewings, and David Fincher employs a certain craftiness to how he envisions the film to play out. It's not so much that the film had too many issues, but my vision and expectations for what to come were basically on the opposite spectrum of what did happen. What I can say that is that the writing started becoming as crazed as the protagonists portrayed in the plot that followed. To pinpoint a little better what I am trying to get across; basically, I felt the film took a turn for the worst as soon as Project Mayhem was mentioned. I was fine swimming with the sharks in the deep end the movie was already in, but they lost me when the water started to fall off the side of their flat perceived world.
It's becoming a much bigger problem than I anticipated to discuss this film (despite explicit directions to not talk about Fight Club) the way I should be able to, but to do so is too compromising to those that haven't watched it, so hopefully I can refrain. As I say that, let's talk about the ending without talking about it: I'm not a fan of it. The anti-establishment campaigns of the cult army club thingamajig went too philosophical in its uprising message. The most basic way to express my opinion on it is to say that it bit off more than it could chew. I believe a smaller payload with a different direction for the fight club could have made the twist more rewarding. In its strange defense, the ending is exactly what was needed to propel Fight Club to the level of cult status (ironic and satirical for an ironic and satirical film, I got that). Achieving this cult following does not cement a film to greatness necessarily, but it causes viewers to at least try understanding better the effects and results from the film. With that perspective, I do understand the brashness of the storytelling that captivated a set of audience. In fact, I would probably admit to recommending this film because of iconic moments and the uniqueness of its entirety; however, I will keep my outsider place of personally believing it is overrated in what it accomplished.
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