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11th Hour, The Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies. |
Fight Club
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MPAA RATING: R for disturbing and graphic depiction of violent anti-social behavior, sexuality and language
Starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, and Jared Leto
The film's narrator (Norton) attends support groups of all kinds as a way to "experience" something within his unfeeling, commercial existence. On a business trip, he meets Tyler Durden (Pitt) who encourages them to form a fight club as a release for their latent aggressive tendencies.
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Chuck Palahniuk (novel)
Jim Uhls |
| DIRECTED BY: | David Fincher |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: June 6, 2000 Video: April 25, 2000 Theatrical: October 15, 1999 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 139 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 137 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Chris S. gave it a10:
It's a long shot to say this is the greatest movie ever made, but the argument can be made by anyone who sees it and truly gets it. I've never written a review for any film before, but even 9 years after its release, Fight Club has earned it. Violent, yes, of course. It's called Fight Club. But strangely enough, that's a misleading title. It's the most ambiguous fable ever, in that the moral is whatever you make it out to be. This movie solidified Edward Norton to me as a top-tier actor capable of sheer brilliance, and Brad Pitt is amazing as well, cool and scary and ridiculously funny with his red leather jacket. Which brings me to my next point, if you've heard the word "comedy" used in relation to Fight Club, you heard correctly. It points out the hilarious nature of society's individuals to try desperately to reach some form of perfection, but of course we know this is impossible. Almost every motif you could think of in a great satirical tale is present in Fight Club. The one I never hear people mention is addiction. (Society’s addiction with material things, Norton’s addiction to support groups, as well as the ideals of Pitt’s character, etc.) It also hints at the desire of people to destroy the beautiful things in their lives to achieve a sense of freedom, hence a portion of the Fight Club-ian philosophy. People are quick to assign a single "meaning" to this film (denouncing materialism), when in fact, there are dozens upon dozens of them. The presentation is superb in every way. Every camera angle, cut-scene, freeze-frame, and line of Norton's impeccable narration is done with searing precision. The film occasionally breaks the proverbial “fourth wall” similarly to Farris Bueller’s Day Off. There're even some interesting chemistry lessons presented, that noone can claim they weren't at least a little intrigued by. The plot is set up brilliantly, in a way I could not imagine trying to pull off myself. Chuck Palahniuk’s novel is transferred seamlessly to film like no movie has been able to do before. The movie itself plays out like a book, with that familiar sense of detachment as you read, even as you’re thoroughly engrossed by the characters’ angst. That metaphorical multi-layered effect is in full force. Nearly every scene tells you the story on three levels–what Norton thinks, what Helena Carter sees, and what Brad Pitt would have you believe. Everything you think is true in the movie is eligible to change by the end, even though you’re told a million times the simple truth. But the twist near the end isn’t for the sake of twist-dom, as many critics will tell you. This isn’t some forcefed, “you know the twist is coming, but you’re not sure how or when” sort of twist. It’s more like the Sixth Sense’s shocker where if you watch a second time, it’s so ridiculously obvious, but in a way that makes you appreciate the movie that much more. It’s a real twist that is set up throughout the film, and concretely supported at all times, despite countless accusations of the contrary. This film DOES NOT in any way glorify violence, nihilism, anarchism, or any other -ism that critics blame it for glorifying. Then again, it doesn’t denounce them either. That’s the beauty. . . You’re left to decide for yourself how to fit together the pieces and make a decision, from the extremes of totally hitting bottom, to total conformity, to everything in between. Most people won’t like the end, understand it, or even accept it as having happened, and that’s the price you pay to have the right ending sometimes. So it’s totally understandable for a large portion of viewers to see Fight Club as nothing but senseless pummeling and cheap MMA rip-off action adventure with a pointless psychological twist dripping with wannabe intellectual spittle. It will get its props one day. Every line is potentially quotable, every frame, and I mean every frame, is vital, and every word Norton speaks–in live action or narrated–is genius. Buy 2, maybe 3 copies of Fight Club, one to watch, one to keep as a collector’s item, and one to put in your time capsule for people of the future to know what the deal was in the late 90's/early millennium. The only movie I’d ever give 5 stars. PERFECTION.
Katie V. gave it a10:
This movie possibly suffers for its title. Fight Club is one of the most cynical and bitter expressions of the world. Yet, in a completly dark and disturbing way, it's beautiful.
Ben B gave it an8:
A very intelligent, thought-provoking movie that I really enjoyed. The performances were top notch, and the premise extremely original. That being said, the movie somehow failed to grab me: very good, epic, but not exceptional. I expected slightly better, but it's certainly worth a rent. Also, the final twist was a little too foreshadowed: when you guess it (as I did fairly early on), the movie loses some of its drive.
Justin S gave it a10:
One of the greatest guy movies ever. Anyone who doesn't like this movie probably listens to Kenny G music. And by definition should be legally and morally stripped of any human rights.
Alex F. gave it a10:
An exquisitely crafted thrill ride with heavy philosophical tones.
RL gave it a10:
I really don't understand the scoring system meta has.. but what ever I saw a few 100s for this movie. Good enough. What an original movie.The people who rated in the red are fags I think.
Tyler Durden gave it a10:
This film defines the generation gap between Baby Boomers and Generation X more than any other film. Virtually every Baby Boomer I know who has even seen this film hates it, and every Gen Xer I know thinks it is one of the greatest films of all time. Baby Boomers lost their determination to change the world for the better and to lead more rewarding, fulfilling lives by giving up materialistic desires. They became the Me generation who bought into all the crap that Madison Avenue had to sell them. Hopefully Gen X does not follow this path, but unfortunately I think the slide from youthful idealism into elder complacence is probably a universal thing that affects every generation eventually. What a true gift it would be to be able to shake off the artificial needs instilled in us by a consumer society and be happy to just exist in the world.
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