One of the best films of the decade and also one of the most important

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2004)

The first time I saw "Fight Club" I despised it. I found its message stupid and contradictory - it was a hypocritical film that preached against violence yet was more violent than any other recent films including "The Matrix" (which is not quite as realistic as "Fight Club"). I saw it again on television a few years later and thought it was a bit better and not quite as horrible, but still didn't enjoy it much.
However I was convinced into buying the DVD and seeing it again just because it had been rated the 37th best film of all time on IMDb (it's now #41).
Well I'm happy to report that I found "Fight Club" utterly brilliant on third viewing. Since then I've seen it more than a handful of times on DVD and it just gets better each time. Brad Pitt gives a fantastic performance as one of the coolest cinema icons of all time: Tyler Durden (whose name is a reference to Travis Bickle of "Taxi Driver" - according to something I read the first name is harsh, the last name simple and soft).
Edward Norton gives an Oscar-worthy performance as The Narrator, "Jack," whose actual name isn't ever truly revealed. (Many people don't seem to notice this.) I won't go into the plot and won't go into a deep analysis because so many other people have done it so well. Suffice to say it IS a very violent movie but I find its style infectious and David Fincher's direction wonderful. It is a brutal and weird film and sometimes it is a bit too pretentious and clever for its own good - I won't lie and say that it's flawless and I totally understand why so many critics bagged on it for being "a laborious dog" on its initial release. The British DVD includes a mocking pamphlet where the filmmakers brag about how they all knew it was going to be great from the start and I think this is a bit too masturbatory - the fact that they include critics' negative reviews as a mockery is humorous but childish, and I can understand why some might view "Fight Club" as a very childish, contradictory film. (After all, I used to think the same thing.) However I really have come to love it despite its flaws. I think Tyler Durden is one of the absolute coolest characters of all time and Pitt plays him so well it's scary. Norton embodies the Bored Working Repressed Everyman flawlessly. Fincher is great behind the camera.
And the film's message strikes a chord nowadays when I watch it - it is a bit contradictory and some of the violence really isn't needed, but then again I'm not going to complain because I've never really cared too terribly much about violence in films so I'm not going to start now.
Overall this is one of the most important films of the 1990s and its message was missed by a lot of people (myself included) back in 1999. In a year of some really good movies "Fight Club" was probably the best and is one of my all-time favorite films.
It's easy to see how this might be considered the next "Taxi Driver" thirty years from now.