Rating: 
Summary: Not Just for the Guys
Review: I didn't see this movie at the theatre because of the way it was being marketed...which appeared to me as nothing more than a bunch of men beating the crap out of each other!Once I finally saw the movie, I realized that this doesn't even begin to explain the plot. A truly terrific movie with enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. Edward Norton does a wonderful job of portaying a "lost soul" out of place in today's society. Brad Pitt is wonderful in a performance that could have been so easily over the top. This is one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time. It gets away from your standard cliched movies which seem to simply rehash plots older than movies themselves (for example...Gone in 60 Seconds...I don't think this movie had one original line or thought). Even if you think you know what Fight Club is about, you don't. I think the studios did a poor job marketing this film. It should appeal to anyone who truly enjoys something different.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant American Film
Review: This movie is just brilliant. Read the other reviews for more in depth examination, but as a film lover and always preferring "relevant" films, this one stands with the best commentaries on american mores and standards like "The Godfather" and "Boogie Nights". As a fan of great cinema I was flabbergasted. I own all of Fincher's films and he ranks as one of our most important voices. As a man watching a film about being a man in today's society I was shaken to the core of my being. I've spent days re thinking my own addictions to consumerism, my fear and loathing of other men, unresolved conflicts with my father...this movie does what i want every movie i see to do..change me through the experience. PLUS the DVD release is so chock full of extras it will take me a month to get through it all!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, often misunderstood, film
Review: Fight Club is one of my favorite films, and certainly one of the best films of 1999. I bought it as soon as it came out on DVD, and soaked in every nuance of it. But it's pointless for me to sing its praises, for people either like it or they don't. Whether or not I like it won't change their mind. However, I felt compelled to write this review because of another review I read by flickjunkie. Reactionary reviews like that remind me that there is one aspect about this film that seems to overshadow everything else about it: it's misunderstood. Most people think one of two things about Fight Club. 1) It's a brawl film, a guy's movie, something that a bunch of brainless lugs would like. And, 2) It's a fascist film that wants everyone to destroy civilization as we know it. The truth: it is neither. The film is a warning. It's saying that we're being numbed by society. That in itself is dangerous, and true. However, the true warning is not about how we are being numbed. The warning is about how some people are drawn to incresingly violent solutions to their numbness. It's a warning that fascism is actually very seductive when you are young, yet becoming mature is seeing that more constructive, and less destructive methods are what is necessary to move society forward into a more meaningful place. This movie is condeming everything that the critics are saying it is preaching. I really wish that people would take the time to really understand a film before they react violently against it. And remember, use soap.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Witty, Brilliant and surprisingly great acting
Review: I have never been a fan of Brad Pitts work. I thought he had as much personality as a rock. So when I heard of this movie, I thought it was too funny to look at. Boy, was I wrong. Fight Club is one of the most brilliant films of 1999. Along with American Beauty, Man on the Moon, The Matrix, Being John Malkovich, and the Blair With Project, Fight Club holds its fists up in the innovative category. It has wonderful and interesting characters, great storyline, superb acting (by Brad Pitt!), and vastly directed. It'll keep you interested to see where Edward Nortons character will end up at. To be honest, I dont think anybody else could play Tyler Durden better than Brad Pitt, he really did a marvelous job at his role. Their were many great scenes but the very best scene was when Edward Norton starts beating himself up in front of his boss. Unlike most of the movies in the world, Fight Club is one of the most unpredictable. You never know where one of the characters are going to end up at. It is brilliant. I thought it deserved an Oscar nodd (at least). Do yourself a favor and buy this, you will not be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: TAKE A MENTAL BEATING
Review: The first time I saw this film, I was mentally stunned... staggering, shaking my head, and blinking my eyes to make sure I was awake. Every critic that lambasted this film should be shamed... because obviously they didn't really watch the film or they failed to grasp the layered content. The film attempts to attack your pysche with subversive images and concepts that are explored through the mind of a mentally ill character. It does not glorify violence... it does not offer violence as a means to solve problems... it does not validate male aggression - at least it is social commentary in the tradition of A Modest Proposition and at most it is high art. Director Fincher uses rich visual cues and subliminal techniques that seap into your conciousness. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton deliver dynamic performances that they trully enjoyed delivering. Buy the special edition DVD and listen to the commentary throughout the film. This special feature suits this film very well and the information shared by the director and stars is fascinating. I thoroughly enjoy watching this film over and over again and hope that you will too.
Rating:
Summary: TREMENDOUSLY BIZARRE!
Review: What I expected was a 1950's style, retro movie about gladiators (This is no Rocky type picture!) beating...each other with no gloves, only to come to back to work the next day at the foundry. What I got was a solid punch in the face about social issues and the power of facism which was able to be rooted in underground, top-secret slugfests. It was alarming to see that a grassroots movement could have so much momentum. Brad Pitt was brilliant as usual as well as Edward Norton and Helena Bonham-Carter as a strange, black widow type character for which she is perfectly typecast. Trust me- you'll not be bored but floored!
Rating:
Summary: As good as the book
Review: Fight Club is an amazing piece of work. I typically have pretty low expectations of films adapted from books. A film has so much less time to tell the story and most novels tend to be pretty interior (making them hard to put on film). The book is very much like an Elmore Leonard novel; it's short, with lots of action and dialog. The translation to film is amazing. You get all the great stuff from the book, ENHANCED by the excellent visuals and performances. The scenes added or changed from the book (like the scene where the main characters first meet) are just as strong as the book. There is some violence in the film, but I didn't find it unsettling at all (there are no victims, per se, making the voilence come across more like "extreme sports"). This is an excellent movie. If you like the book, definitely see the movie. If you like the movie, read the book.
Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with my dvd?
Review: This is perhaps my favorite movie of 1999. The characters are cast well, everything is visually spectacular, the soundtrack was brilliant, the plot took me by surprise... etc, etc, etc. COMPLAINT: The dvd is supposed to have commentary by the cast, director, and author, but on my dvd it will not play any of them. This may be a problem with my player, although that's never happened before. Just want to tell the people who were really looking forward to viewing commentaries that perhaps they should purchase this at a local store in case it does not work for you either and you decide to return it. Anyhow, this movie is great and I think the entire violence and anarchist themes the media criticizes are overblown. There is more violence in the first 5 minutes of Saving Private Ryan than there is in this entire movie, and to the best of my memory, only one person dies in the movie, which really isn't much of a body count at all. So yeah... this is a good movie and deserves a viewing at the very least. I'd say buy it, but it isn't for everybody, so rent it first and decide for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: a"REAL" breakthough the ICE
Review: from a previous review--"It's comical how many people think it is avant-guard to attack the establishment, as if this is a concept only recently conceived." NO SIR, you are comical, and you should think about that as I can tell you are a thinking person. This movie is art, and not just pablum. There is something stirring in hollywood these days, and i think it's the desire to create a new era of film making beyond the general publics imagination. BRAVO to this film. The only criticism I have is that the french version makes Ed and Brad sound more like men than their true voices. The american innnocent boyishness is all to persasive in our cult hero status. This "Opey" brainwashing, though it has been effective during this time of american androgony has run it's course. It's time for hollywoods leading males to stop "sounding" like boys and make the noise of MAN.
Rating: 
Summary: "No matter what critics say,... Worth watching! "
Review: As you may have heard, Fight Club did not win the hearts of all those movie critics that we so look up to. However, I believe the opinion of the public is more applicable to the home viewer. This is a great movie! Edward Norton as always is marvelous. He plays a slightly neurotic insomniac trying to find the meaning in his life. He is addicted to the home shopping network and tries to buy his happiness by filling his home with everything he could possibly want. But it's not until he starts going to various support groups for illnesses he doesn't have, that he begins to feel he has a meaning to his life. Until one day he meets Tyler Durgen (Brad Pitt) and everything changes. Remember that line: " I want you to hit me as hard as you can." From here on it is a roller coaster ride exploring what men will really do to find their sense of self, especially if they do not care what others may think, or what consequences may come about. Ed's character soon gets in way over his head and by this time, there's no turning back... This film also has an ambitious visual style. Everything from Norton walking through a catalogue,(prices and all) to some weird dream sequences. Oh!, and don't forget to look for the "hidden" Brad Pitts. In several shots if you see a quick flash of orange, or think something flashed on the screen, rewind, pause a few seconds before, and then go frame by frame. You will see Brad Pitt's character pop on the screen for a single frame in several spots in the movie. Ok, if you have decided to watch this movie, be prepared to do a lot of thinking once it's over. On the social commentary, and what it says about us as people. And then of course there's that shocker ending, that will make you rethink the entire movie..........
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