Fight Club (1999)

reviewed by
Nick Lyons


Fight Club Review

"First rule of Fight Club is, don't talk about fight club." This quote deals directly with my opinion of this film, because quite frankly, it's not even worth mentioning. Director David Fincher (Seven) has completely gone over the edge. With crude humor, an intolerable script and 2 hours and 19 minutes of pure torture, I'm surprised I didn't walk out. This just goes to show that hype kills. It's very rare that a film so hyped up as "Fight Club" turns out to be noteworthy, and this is no exception. The story goes like this. Edward Norton is an insomniac trying to enlighten his dull life by going to a variety of disease therapy sessions, until he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). Norton claims that she is wrecking his pleasurable lifestyle, when he spots her at a session that he also attended. Apparently the disease sessions help them see what life is like, literally living in pain. Why any person would think of such a thing is beyond me, but things do get worse. Norton is soon assigned to a job that calls for traveling, and it's on a plane that he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). The two men develop a bond, and go out to a bar, and by golly after they get drunk, the two pitiful characters fight. How do they come up with this stuff? Anyway, their fighting catches other pathetic loser's attention, and a club is formed. Out of all this mess, there manages to lie a message. Fincher shows us that society is like robots. We work in our jobs doing things step by step, and want out. Our insanity gets to our brain and makes things worse than they really are, and we blame it on others. Call me crazy, but this is common knowledge. I think Fincher was acting as if the film is moodier and more poignant than it really is, which is probably one of the reasons it fails miserably. Even with two good actors, and a solid actress, they only manage to weaken the story. I couldn't help but hide my face in shame when Norton beats himself up into a bloody pulp. It just shows how desperate the script is for attention. I guess Brad Pitt was right for this role, because I felt like beating him up myself. His bothersome and depressing character, made me disgusted at his 20 million fee. It only showed me that he was in it for the money and nothing more. Helena Bonham Carter however really had no purpose. She just popped up on screen, mumbled some lines, smoked and left. This continues for what seems like 6 hours. The film drags on and my headache gets bigger, while "Fight Club" nears what I think might be the end. Unfortunately by then, the film hits rock bottom. Though the conclusion kept my interest for a mere 5 minutes, it backs down again and continues to move at a snails pace. On a side note, the trailer shows the only redeeming elements of the film, that coincidentally lasts the same amount of time that they did on the trailer. Fincher will hopefully regret making this film or at least learn a lesson. Concentrating on the atmosphere or a particular key moment, won't do any good if everything else is in need of support. Also, I'm afraid that immature men might respond to the film's violence. The last thing the world needs is people praising a leader of a pointless cult. When the film ends, I'm just glad to get home and take some advil. You'll either enjoy what the film has to offer, or agree with Ed Norton when he says "This is so F***ing stupid."

Grade: D-

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