Good, not great [8/10]

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 1999)

Like all David Fincher movies, Fight Club is very pretty. Seven demanded that it be seen on film at least once. I think Fight Club, which also looks like it was processed with ENR, is in the same category. There are some incredible, unexpected effects in this movie as well. Definitely check out the super-macro-lens effects.
About halfway through, I thought Fight Club would be a 10/10 -- and then it suddenly grinds to a halt. Almost all movies are too long and this is no exception. I would bet that about half-an-hour could be easily cut from this movie. The end result is interesting, but it just didn't seem to work. It may that things didn't translate well from the book... I'll have to read it to find out.
I think that Fincher has learned a lot with respect to directing actors. I walked out of Seven asking myself if that was really Morgan Freeman on the screen or some impostor. The Game was saved by the overwhelming talent/personality of Sean Penn and Michael Douglas, especially Penn, who is a genius. In Fight Club, Pitt was good and his comic timing was definitely on. But, I'm convinced that Pitt's best role will always be the stoner in True Romance. Norton, whose performance in Primal Fear blew me away, was just kind of blah here. Meat Loaf played a really nice character.
Anyway, do see it. You'll either like it or hate it, which is usually a sign of a good movie.