"We just had a near-life experience"

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2014)

Edward Norton plays an emotionally troubled guy with insomnia, who is also the narrator of the film telling his own story. It is difficult to talk about the story because everything is so good that talking about anything feels like a spoiler. One thing for sure, the story is intelligent, entertaining and connects with the audience on both intellectual and animalistic levels. The believability of the plot does go down a little towards the end of the film, but who cares? The message of this movie is most interesting. It is not a new message but it is given a while new life in this movie. The first half of the film seems to show one point of view, a fairly popular point of view in the modern world, but it is later contradicted by the results of the main character's action.
Even little bits in this movie can be brilliant, in fact, especially the little bits. You blink too long and you miss them, though the movie does a real good job at keeping your attention so you should not miss things too easily. Prepare to have your eyes glued to the screen in a semi-voluntary manner.
The film looks amazing. It has a gritty and wonderfully disturbing look to it. There is a texture to everything. Even the people's clothes, it seems, were picked to invoke a specific feeling of texture.
A lot of the film was shot at night in the city or in locations that are dimly lit and the film uses all those night lights to great atmospheric effect. So the movie, despite being gritty and textury, also ends up being really colorful. There are also some computer generated effects but they are used sparingly and to great effect, bending the viewer's mind.
The dialogue is edible. If for nothing else, this what you come for. Every line is sharp and sober and hangs on to your brain with a steel hook. It really pays to see this movie somewhere where you can stop and rewind it because, like with its cinematography, the lines do not stay for long and you may miss something tasty.
This is probably also Brad Pit's best role. The guy has never disappointed, but this looks like his masterpiece, like he is working his hardest and having the greatest fun doing it. Edward Norton has always had a docile delivery so he complements the insane Brad Pit very well.
Perhaps my one problem is Helena Bonham Carter. It is not even her acting, which is quite good. It is the look. It is a mystery why that actress has to have the same appearance in every movie and in real life: The kooky Tim Burtonesque black-clad emo chick with wavy messy hairJust...paint the hair redor blueanything! The things is, it must be admitted that her look fits her role in this movie very well, so there is that.
Also, it may be useful to point out, as the title of the movie very explicitly suggests, this movie is largely male oriented. Its bluntness, its grossness, its violence, most of its actors and even its themes are catered to guys.
Fight Club is a movie for the history books. It is quite hardcore and definitely male oriented, which may limit its audience, but it is also brilliant in so many ways. Fight Club is quite possibly the most entertaining movie of all time.