Don't believe the hype

Rating: Null/10 (10 November 2002)

As usual, Fincher's darkly stylish themes are to the fore - in lesser hands this could have been a disaster. But ultimately, the far-fetched ending lets it down: it's like one of those elaborate jokes which go on for twenty minutes only to have a punchline like "Rudolph The Red knows rain, dear". To suggest, as have some comments below, that this is Fincher's best work is an even bigger joke. It provides an interesting segue from 'Se7en' into 'Fight Club' but is certainly inferior to both. Compare and contrast with Scorcese's 'After Hours'.