I've been a big fan of David Fincher's work, most recently with his superb Zodiac (which now has a 2 disc deluxe edition available on DVD). So I was surprised to realize that one of his earlier films, Fight Club had eluded me until now. This movie starts off real strong. Edward Norton's insomniac narrator quickly draws you in as you try to figure out what this guy's deal is. Early on, there are also some neat meta-references to the filmmaking industry (like including subliminal images and then talking about it as well). It was these small touches which really gave the film character and made it real creative.
Sadly, the inspiration found in the first third of the film vanishes for the sake of gratuitous violence in the later parts of the film. As the fight clubs grow in number and popularity, the film begins to lose focus and really drags on for me. I was already tapping out before the climax of the film.
Now I will confess that I already knew the film's major twist before watching it. However, being spoiled about it did not really affect my opinion of the film. By the time the twist is revealed I wouldn't have cared because I was too worn out by all the film's gruesome scenes.
I've read a handful of reviews and heard a few different interpretations on what the film's message is. I'm not sure if any of them are right, because I feel the film fails to do a good job of making any coherent message. For this film, Fincher got too caught up in all the blood and gore to make sure the film's narrative was apparent. I'm glad to see that he's grown as a director and scaled back on the gross-out factor. For it's brief moments of inspiration, I'll give it a mild recommendation, but really this one went downhill fast. Netflix rating: ***
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