A film that hooks you in with an outstanding first hour, and then descends into perplexing chaos

Rating: 5/10 (3 May 2008)

It baffles me to see Fight Club get such a high score to rank in the top 25 of all time. Never before has a film been more deserving of a 5/10.
The first half of the film is exceptional. The narration draws you in, Norton's character is compelling to watch, and when Tyler Durden (Pitt) is introduced, the idea of self-destruction as the way forward, rejecting the norms imposed on society and acting in accordance with the essence of man, for good or for bad are amongst the fascinating issues explored subtly for the viewer to think about.
The film should have continued like this, but instead decides to impose a bizarre twist, suddenly focusing on a plot rather than the character-based psychological issues previously being explored, which just descends into complete chaos, with unbelievable subplot after unbelievable subplot, which left me overwhelmed and regretting the demise of the intriguing first half of the film, which I am sure I'll watch over and over again before switching it off at the appropriate point.
For many, I am sure, the unveiling of the big twist around the middle of the film will spark it into life as the film develops a real story, but for me it did not need a spectacularly unbelievable ending, it had it all from the start, but lost its way and never recovered.