An experience like no other

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2007)

It's so hard to review a classic like this. There's nothing you can find to say besides "this rules, go buy it immediately." But here's my stab at reviewing this masterpiece, and to date one of my favorite movies.
This is a great movie. It's entertaining and very charming, and all the actors do a wonderful job. It's 2 and a half hours long, yet manages to keep you wanting more and more. It doesn't hold back either; there are a few pretty violent parts in here. The directing is top-notch, out of this world. Dark and surreal with a touch of silliness and satire in there, David Fincher's directing is genius and untouchable. Every scene here is extremely memorable; some touching, some humorous, and some riveting.
The acting is through the roof, and Brad Pitt delivers one of his best performances yet. In every movie I've seen from the man, he manages to take on a completely new persona, disappearing into the role like a man into camouflage. There are no traces of his own personality here that we can detect, and he delivers a realistically insane performance, convincing us that he's not PLAYING Tyler Durden, but that he IS Tyler Durden. Ed Norton plays a hesitant and mousy little man being brought---forced---out of his safe shell and into the hard world, and he does it in a way that nobody else really could. I can't picture anyone else delivering the lines that Norton does here. Of course, the other actors are great as well, but I'm only going to mention our main two due to time constraints.
The story isn't told in a traditional sense, but rather "read" like a narrator's commentary in a novel, and I've never quite seen anything like it. I suppose this can be attributed to the fact that it was originally a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, and David Fincher tied it all together, giving us a very memorable narration that we view like we read a novel. One of my favorite attributes of the film.
Now, that plot may sound odd when you read it without seeing the film, but this is a very deep movie. It's telling us to let loose a bit, showing us that we worry too much over materialistic possessions. And we do, that's the problem. The Narrator had so many material possessions in his home, bought everything the finest, but was he happy? Do materialistic things ever make us happy? Does having a white-collar job and a nice home guarantee happiness and security? No, and that's what Fight Club wants to tell us.
The fight club itself...it's an escape from reality of sorts. Men who were trapped in a vicious, dull cycle of life found their escape by coming down to the fight club and letting their aggression out, having fun. The Narrator's view on life is a pessimistic one, and he sees our consumer-obsessed culture, although he is not able to escape it. Tyler Durden is somewhat of a polar opposite for the Narrator, with his carefree attitude and explosive ideals. This movie's overall theme is to stop conforming, to just say "screw it" and destroy everything in your way. Destruction leads to salvation. Chaos leads to order, as is stated in the film.
In conclusion, this is essential for anyone who likes good movies and can stand a bit of violence. My highest recommendation.