a reasonably good film but no masterpiece

Rating: 6/10 (18 September 2009)

I do not know why but I believed that this film was mainly about some people who fought each other for pleasure and from my point of view I was not prepared to watch it for that reason. It was only recently when I saw that the film was in the top twenty five or so films in the IMDb top 250 and it had attracted over 300,000 votes that I decided to buy it and watch it. A month ago I did and intrigued I stuck with it even though I started to nod off at times. I watched it through to the end and was surprised by the twist and I decided that it was relatively entertaining film but no masterpiece. I am glad I watched it and I have to say that it is not a bad film but I probably wont be watching it again. I am not a shallow or unintelligent person but this film just doesn't ring any of my bells. I will take some time to try and tell the potential viewer why. I like all types of films from comedy to deep introspection but this film seems to try to get its basic message across in an incredibly complicated way. I suspect there are additional subliminal messages and I am sure that the product is trying to work on several different levels but it seems too cluttered as a result. I cannot say its an important film unless you like contemplating your navel and if so this film is for you. Some of the time the self indulgence of inventiveness depending on how you see it works but when it doesn't it is just boring. I can see why the film has such a high rating and why a lot of people like it but I am just not one of them and repeated viewings are not going to change my mind. I cannot recommend anybody watch this film because it is a great piece of cinematic brilliance but simply because opinion is all and it helps to see the thing your are commenting on.