Review: Fight Club (1999)

Whether you like David Fincher's Fight Club or not, there are things everyone should agree on. First, its a film that inspired a whole new generation like films often do, it will always be a pivotal movie in the 1990's, and everything about it oozes dark themes and violence.


You rarely get films like Fight Club these days... well, you rarely got films like Fight Club before Fight Club. In a wave of overused themes and Oscar-winning monotony, this film stands out like a bloody degenerate in a crowd of white-collar stiffs (in a good way). Considering its brand-name stars and Hollywood appeal, its incredibly thematic and actually challenges almost everything about the way we view the world. Its one the quirkiest films I've seen in awhile, which makes still wonder why it was such a hit considering its very out-there (almost convoluted) plot. It really does examine the way one becomes his own master through decomposition and death, then regeneration. Though some critics argue its shallow and merely an aggressive, anti-society train wreck, I think its a modern masterpiece.


The film opens with the story of Jack, a highly-paid, simple guy who just wants to sleep. His insomnia forces him to find comfort by attending multiple support groups for dying individuals, so he can "hug it out" (have I lost you yet?). It moves on through a long chain of events, and eventually leads him to a man named Tyler Durden, a free spirited, corporation hating macho-man who sells soap. This leads to the formation of a club where emotionally distant and bored office workers can beat each other up for fun. Again, more events lead to the formation of a cult, and an insane terrorist plot. I guarantee I lost you now. Though these sound like three different movies, it all adds up to be one big mind trip. This is a film you have to pay attention to if you want to enjoy it. Fincher's direction makes the entire movie plausible, and it all fits together like one grotesque puzzle. Both the lead characters, Pitt and Norton, give amazing, disturbed performances, and really epitomize the films underlying themes of self-deception, and how a man finds out himself (though not in a contrived way). If you haven't watched this movie, then go watch it without any preconceived notions of morality, social code, or mental disorders.