Don't Read Those Reviews With Spoilers. Please Don't!

Rating: 9/10 (28 March 2010)

I have to admit from the beginning that I had never seen FIGHT CLUB before 2010. Yes (hangs head in shame), I'd heard all the hype and thought it to be just that: hype. Although I did notice that most of the kudos came from guys, not gals, even though the well-built Brad Pitt (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS) was liberally smeared on cover displays along with witty (and not unhandsome) Edward Norton (THE PAINTED VEIL). Hmm. So I finally took the plunge and picked up a Blu-Ray copy.
Although brutal along the lines of GOODFELLAS, Fight Club is smart, funny, and exceptionally dark. It also has at its heart a (very) surprisingly good love story starring Helena Bonham Carter (SWEENEY TODD). I also think this is one of Carter's strongest roles. She is so beyond anything I'd ever seen from her that I originally had trouble believing it WAS her in the film.
If you can get past some of the more gory scenes, I dare say that all viewers will be well-rewarded in the end. That's not to say you should dismiss the violence. Indeed, it is part-and-parcel to the entire components of the film and its incredibly awesome story structure.
And this isn't the first time Brad Pitt and director David Fincher have worked together. In 1995 they did the excellent film SE7EN. If you enjoyed that film, you'll absolutely fall in love with this one. Fincher loves to play mind-twists but he doesn't do it in a heavy-handed way or even in a directly misguiding one (unlike M. Night Shyamalan with his groundbreaking THE SIXTH SENSE).
Although the twist towards the end was enjoyable, I was an astute enough viewer to realize what was going on long before its reveal. Which didn't make the movie any less enjoyable. It was HOW the reveal was pulled off that made the film so amazing.
Some of those who haven't seen the film might want a kind of blow-by-blow description ...and many reviews like that can easily be found. DON'T READ THEM! They will absolutely ruin the film for you. I have, in the past (and probably will in the future), given descriptions of films, but not here. This one needs to be experienced without foreknowledge. Kind of like a surprise punch to the face...