Less Should be More

Rating: Null/10 (30 March 2002)

A young man finds escape from his boring job, frustrations, alienation, and lack of identity through a underground fight club. The problems ensue when it becomes even more complex and dangerous than at first perceived.
The story rather sharply looks at the very thin line between the mainstream and the underground. How conformity and the American dream can actually be the catalyst to nonconformity and the American nightmare. It astutely examines the fact that there is a lot of unrecognized ticking time bombs right here in our midst. The problems with the film really lies in the direction, which runs both good and bad.
Finchers direction is good in that he matches the bleached out color of his print with a almost in your face analysis of the degeneration of his characters, with almost no let up. He also includes some 'subliminal messages', which are kind of fun. (so pay attention!)
His direction is bad with his overuse of dazzling camera work and computerized effects. This should only be used if it can help accentuate the scene or define a character, but here it does nothing but drown out the story and make it look like a video game instead of a movie. Having the camera glide thru the garbage in someone's trash can is nothing more than indulgence by the director to boast his cutting edge technological prowess. Also with all of todays 'advanced' effects it's amazing how easy it is to tell when it's been computerized. For instance the penguin (another example of unnecessary indulgence) the second you see him you know he's been generated and is not real.
It's interesting that out of all their effects only two things seem to remain. The rundown, abandoned house the two men live in leaves the most lasting impression and the scene with the exploding skyscrapers looks as tacky as any 50's Japanese Godzilla flick. You may have come a long way baby, but you still have a long way to go.
The plot has too many quirky and unnecessary story lines and characters (especially Carters) that almost make it convoluted. The scenes hopscotch between savage humor, gritty drama, and psychological thriller. Put together and they tend to contradict each other and hurt the overall cohesion. Although it stays metaphorically strong it becomes so overly exaggerated that by the end it losses it's overall impact. In fact the ending is kind of like killing a ranting lunatic. Your just glad it's over so it can't get anymore wildly incredulous than it already has.
Meat Loaf has his finest role since ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW playing the unforgettable Robert Paulson.