From the get go you know you've found something special...

Rating: Null/10 (18 November 2000)

From the first couple of seconds, this film offers a vivid and stark contrast to most other high-budget hollywood efforts now adays. We're greeted by the narrator held captive by his alter ego, Tyler Durden. The colours scream at us, the lighting freezes us and the dialogue (more often than not, in the face of disturbing imagery) makes us want to laugh. Not so much at the plights of the characters on screen, but at ourselves. I saw this film recently on DVD and was blown away. The acting was top notch, showing Pitt in a role that he ACTUALLY decided to act in. Norton was as whole-heartedly convincing in Fight Club as he was in American History X, his performance often making me feel physically ill in response to the sheer confusion he faced. The film carries with it a message as immense as the shock at the end. The film directly attacks materialism and the ways in which we see the world in todays society that is so focused on social standing and material gain over happiness. Fincher directs the film like a music video, however (unlike many who have tried this approach) it actually fits in perfectly with the films subject matter. The stark, over exaggerated contrasts betweem the outside world and the damp basement in which most of the violence in the film is based. The world slowly, during the course of the film, comes to resemble that basement in more ways that are apparent through a single viewing. This movie will take repeat viewings to appreciate fully, but it is worth it. The direction is fabulous, the acting brilliant, the story engaging and at times sickeningly close to home. I give it a high 8 out of 10. The only downer being that at times (especially near the end) the film takes a turn that will have most frustrated with the sheer unreality of it all. This may be a turn off to some (it wasn't to me) but to others whose ability to suspend belief is sharper, this film makes for amazing eye and mind candy. Watch it.