A rare film that challenges the viewer to come up with his own interpretations

Rating: 10/10 (18 October 1999)

Faithfully following Chuck Palahniuk's acerbic satire, Fight Club presents the vast emptiness of modern existence- ridden as it is with shallow values, rampant consumerism, empty of meaning, feeling and life itself- in a slick and ironically consumer oriented fashion. In a different vein from American Beauty, Fight Club explores the solutions to the veritable sleepwalking existence that plagues modern life. The film is violent, but it is not gratuitous violence, and any reviewer who claims that the film is promoting violence has missed the entire point of the film. A very black comedy, it is sure to provoke much conversation- it is definitely a film to see with friends. The film is fast-paced, densely packed and merits a second viewing, just to take it all in, especially if you haven't read the book. In typical Fincher style, you the viewer are left to draw your own conclusions. He feels no impetus to tell you how to interpret what you've seen, appropriate since the film condemns falling victim to the strictures of what society tells us to think and to value. My only criticism is that the editing is not as tight as it could be in the middle section of the film, it drags just a bit then picks up again. Other than that, it should definitely be an Oscar contender.