Interesting, strange... and unsatisfying

Rating: 6/10 (30 August 2012)

I began watching this movie with no expectations. I knew it was rather well-rated on IMDb, so I was hoping it was average at the very least. I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't pleasantly surprised either. Fight Club struck me as a interesting idea, but somehow I felt the script wasn't completely able to capture it. During the first two thirds of the film, I felt slightly intrigued, reasonably upset about the message that was being sent and yet, somehow, I was thinking. I really enjoy thought- provoking movies, and Fight Club is a fine specimen.
This isn't a visual masterpiece nor an all-action movie picture, and the development is slow, sometimes too slow. But it keeps you tuned (at least it kept me) because everything feels so strange that you just want to try and understand it. I felt a little bit like I used to feel watching Alice in Wonderland while growing up. So, I forced myself to sit through it, simply because I wanted to understand what the point was. Some action scenes made the movie flow better, but they weren't at all that interesting nor that much of a visual experience. I felt like some of the fight scenes' violence was over- exploited, but that didn't bother me all that much as I'm a tolerant watcher. The fact is, when the major plot twist occurs, I was thrilled for a moment. I thought: "hey, that was clever. Didn't see that one coming. Now I get were all that slow, bordering boring plot development makes some sense. This might actually be a good movie". So, I hoped. And I was let down, because the one idea that formed in my head that seemed to me worthy of saving this film wasn't explored. You see, when I finished watching the movie, there was one big question just flashing in my mind: "Now what?". The ending is so brutally unsatisfying in the way that it makes the film all about people relating to it (which is important, of course) but completely forgets the plot, forcing you to enter in such a state of acknowledging that the film is meant to be a wake-up call about consumerism and rotting lifestyles and not a reflexion about it that you end up feeling unsatisfied. Although this isn't a fair comparison, what I love about Chris Nolan's films is that everything just seems to come together so perfectly in a plotwise masterpiece time after time after time, while presenting amazing thought-provoking premises; and David Fincher, in my opinion, failed to do exactly that, leaving an idea floating in the air but somehow failing to grab it, make it his and build a coherent, believable plot around (our about) it. All in all, Fight Club is a movie worth watching. It starts from an interesting premise and explores it, it has one significant, believable and interesting plot twist, the acting is brilliant and the directing is very reasonable. It captivates you because it's strange, and ends up making you wonder. However, it develops very slowly and it ends up forgetting it's own plot and will leave you with a bitter-sweet scent on your mouth because, even if you must recognize this is a good movie in most aspects, you end up thinking it could have been so much more if just the script was just a little bit more satisfying.
6/10; Pros: interesting premise; great technical aspects, directing, acting, some very enjoyable scenes and a great plot twist
Cons: Besides the plot twist, the plot is rather weak and the ending is unsatisfying and bordering on ridiculous.