Rating: 
Summary: Yes, Okay, it's a guy movie....
Review: Okay, so this is about as 'guy' as guy movies get, but, hey, I'm a guy, and I loved it. An adaptation of the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club shows up the ludicrous extremes of the male psyche in a brutal and adolescently honest way. Our unnamed protagonist narrator (Edward Norton), slogging through life in the corporate world meets up with a hedonistic anarchist named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a plane. And that's when the world gets turned on its head. His condo destroyed in a mysterious explosion, our protagonist finds himself living with Durden in a ruined house in "a toxic waste part of town". Lashing out at the frustrating impotence they feel as unwanted members of a lost generation, they begin fighting; first each other, in the parking lot of a local bar, and then other lost men who feel themselves unwanted and angry. Throw in Helena Bonham Carter as Marla, the waifish and junkie-pale love interest for Tyler Durden, and you've got a tough combo to not pay rapt attention to.
As an adaptation of Palahniuk's novel, Fight Club fits the bill in a first rate way. The script remains entirely faithful to the novel (To an embarrassing extent: Lines of dialog from the novel shoved into the actor's mouths in places they simply don't fit. Bonham Carter mumbling out "They were burning off their fingerprints with lye. The stink was awful." as Norton hauls her down the street springs to mind.), both in content and, mostly, theme.
The sheer anger of Palahnuik's characters shines through under director David Fincher's careful hand, as does Tyler Durden's grinning braggadocio, Marla's sighing disdain for the world, and the narrator's mix of latent anger and sheer wimpiness. What's not played up in the script, however, is the novel's vision of the narrator, Tyler Durden, and Marla as existing in a love triangle in which Marla wants the narrator, the narrator wants Tyler, and Tyler wants Marla. It may simply have been too much for scriptwriter Jim Ohls to fit into the movie, or, and this seems more likely, far too homoerotic for a Hollywood blockbuster. If the latter is the case, however, Fincher managed to work around it by filming the fight scenes, in the dark and damp basement of the local bar whose parking lot provided the original arena, in deep intimate closeups showing the writhing bodies of half-naked men grappling, groping and twisting together. The feeling is that of extreme intimacy, which, thematically, works well, but also lends itself to more alternative lifestyle explanations. Conversly, the sex scenes in the movie, between Bonham Carter and Pitt, are shot in an exaggerated still frame, with a soundtrack of echoing moans laid overtop. The mood is more that of posing, of reaching for an esthetic perfection rather than feeling any true passion.
To me, the movie works better, in most ways, than the book. The book's premise of men fighting in basements and on street corners works better as a visual than as described actions, and, really, Palahniuk's extremely spare writing style lends itself better to the narrator's constant internal questioning than it does to adequately describing the look on his face when Tyler Durden has him in a headlock and is ready to knock out half his teeth.
What the movie lacks, though, is the novel's ability to give us nothing but our narrator's thoughts, which play a huge part in the narrative. His feelings about his job, his boss, his parents, Marla, and the support groups he regularly attends are given lip service in the movie through extensive voiceovers, but mostly as a way to move the plot along. In the novel, these are essential to the development of his character, and I feel that we get to know him in a considerably less intimate way in the film than in the book.
But, as stated earlier, this is a top notch adaptation of a mostly cerebral novel, and the cast and crew should pat themselves on the back in congratulations of a job well done. A movie that I've watched dozens of times, and expect to watch dozens of times more, Fight Club makes me cheer, makes me laugh, makes me cringe, and makes me almost like Brad Pitt.
Rating:
Summary: Best Movie Ever!
Review: (...)In my opinion this is the best movie of all time, to me it is even more than just a movie. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt played to of their best roles of all time. I also would like to thank the director David Fincher for putting together such a great spectacle. And everyone else who worked on it , thank you all for this great gift to america and human spirits alike.
Rating:
Summary: A must see
Review: I don't know what else to say that has not been said before. I have wanted to see this movie for quite some time and not sure why. I must say after watching the Fight Club, I found it one of the most interesting films ever. The story, camera and acting of Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were excellent. True there is violence, but it was the right amount given the story. Absolutely one of the top 20 films of all time. Watch it you'll not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: The First Rule Of Fight Club IS...
Review: .. You DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!A brilliant translation of the book, and the special features are a treat for anyone interested in filmmaking. A sweet book, a sweet movie, and a sweet DVD. A media trumph, in my humble opinion, and they didn't have to sell out to make it happen!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie of all time.
Review: I went in to this movie thinking it would be one of the stereotypical action movies with solely gore and violence to entertain me and a meaningless plot, so that I wouldn't be confused in the midst of the fighting. Well, I was quite disappointed at first. The name "Fight Club" of course was misleading.. I think this movie should be an example for those learning to be directors, as it's almost perfect, and maybe if someone got an idea as to how to make a movie we would see more thriller-thoughtprovoking movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure Garbage
Review: Save time and money by not seeing this worthless pile of slime. It is a disgusting, boring, horrid put together piece of film that is a insult to intelligence. Why do good actors like Brad Pitt and Edward Norton constantly make bad movie after bad movie?. This horrible movie rates lower than one star. Believe me. Don't waste any time on slime like this!.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie But May Be To Disturbing For Most People
Review: David Fincher's Fight Club is a very well made movie it pushes the limits in every way and the ending is just out of this world. Its hard to watch the last scene of the movie do to what happend in New York on Sep 11. But its still a great movie the DVD is one of the best DVD made so far. The violence is extremely bad and the film is for adults only.
Rating:
Summary: It could be the best DVD on the market.
Review: "Fight Club" is a great (and often misunderstood) satire on masculinity and the dangers of conformity. Ed Norton is a Joe Regular whose life turns upside down when he befriends oddball Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), and they both start an underground fight club. As the club becomes a big success, Ed Norton's character becomes increasingly numb to the world around him. He shows up to work bloodied from the previous night's fistfight, and ultimately quits to join the club full-time. Although Brad Pitt gets top billing in this movie, this is really an Edward Norton film all the way. He gives the film its soul and pulse with his solid performance. As for the DVD, it's the best in the market. There's not one but FOUR commentaries, multiple-angle shots, trailers galore, and a good look behind the scenes. "Fight Club" isn't for everyone, but it's highly recommended for those who want a good example of unconventional filmmaking.
Rating:
Summary: "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake"
Review: Fight Club provides an alternative perspective on the world we live in -- a VERY alternative perspective. The first time I saw this movie, it scared me to death. Confused, I left the theater, continuing my attempt to understand the meaning behind all the gore. I was too fascinated to leave it alone so I saw the movie many more times, each time seeing it in a new light. Ed Norton's character satirized the place we work, the mail order catologues we drool over, and the support groups that we so dearly depend on. While on a plane, he even adresses the "single servings" of condoments and beverages and the like, while at the same time identifying Brad Pitt's character as a "single serving" friend. Ed Norton's character endures struggles at work and with insomnia, and throughout the movie helearns, with the brutal tutelage of Brad Pitt, that his life is not a tragedy and he has to learn to live life for what it is. He discards the value of material objects and things of the sort. Brad Pitt's character wishes to be "delivered from clear skin and perfect teeth," meaning these things are not truly important entities in life. Even though this movie is a challege to watch and endure, the message it delivers is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: How does it feel after Sept. 11
Review: I loved Fight Club the first time around. I was mesmerized by the visuals, the story, the mystery, the fine acting and the surprise at the end.
Now I want to seeit again, becasue I think it says something about the destruction of society that may not be far from what the suicide bombers were thinking.
This movie might just get inside that type of head a little bit and give us some understanding at least, if not solutions.
See it, if you haven't. And if you have, see it again.
|
