a cup in the middle of the sea

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2000)

as a dissenting voice against fight club, i feel as if i am, as the pearl jam lyric so indelibly states, " a cup in the middle of the sea." reading through the user comments, i see enthusiastic appraisals of fight club as a great and inspiring film, and i am baffled. i like dark movies. i like david fincher -- i thought seven was the best film of 1995, and one of the most influential mainstream movies of the 90's -- and i like "message movies." i like slammin' techno soundtracks, and camera tricks and crazy twists and intricately photographed carnage and subversive leanings and i love the sound of the name "tyler durden." and yet i did not like fight club. i felt it abandoned its intriguing premise in midstream to become the movie its fans wanted it to be: a violent mindf*** that appeals to those who like their messages mixed and their endings Kubrickian and cryptically, deperately apocalyptic. forget the dvd packaging and "underground" soundbites and tell me something: what is this movie about? what is it actually saying? even the people i know who liked it mumble about "social unrest" and then just tell me i "didn't get it." tell me what i should have "gotten." i see a director who likes jump cuts and using his large special effects budget. i see a lot of powerful images with no underlying connections besides poor overhead lightning. i hear a lot of sermonising about a generation of unhappy men but i hear brad pitt's voice, and how can i take him seriously when he says "we'll never be movie stars or rich?" my mind boggles at the notion that this is considered the movie of my generation. sure, i can appreciate it for being all "cool and cinematic" as one of my friends say, but it's pretty banal in terms of meaning. men hit each other to get in touch with their emotions. we all hate corporations. identity ain't what it used to be. this has all been done before, and while i appreciate the craft of this movie, isn't the proliferation of style over substance one of the things that script is railing against? that anyone could call this the best movie of 1999 is amazing.
if you feel that way, then please, view one or more of the following: eyes wide shut, titus, the straight story, children of heaven, the iron giant, being john malkovich, toy story 2, being john malkovich, the insider or even south park: bigger longer and uncut. i'm sure your problem will be remedied.