Review of Fight Club (1999) by Tylerdscreation — 09 May 2013

Lots of movies try to be daring. Lots of movies try to be hyper stylized, interestingly crafted, confusingly brilliant, and narratively abstract. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, actually I love different, but what I'm trying to say is that everyone tries to be "the first" and no one does a better job at creating something like that than Fight Club.

Fight Club is the definitive perfect movie. Not one movie does what this movie has accomplished and I don't think any other movie will ever do something like this again. It's the exact definition of abstract and I think that is a beautiful thing. There's a lot I have to say about this movie because this one is very near and dear to my heart and I know it is with a lot of other people too, but I also know that a good amount of people also hate this movie, but that's just part of the beauty. It has the unique ability to both be worshiped, and be despised all at the same time. I'm a worshiper.

If you haven't seen Fight Club you will probably guess that it's all about two guys who create a club that lets people release their aggression by beating each other to a pulp. Well, that is a part of it, but a surprisingly very small one. That's just the background, not only is Fight Club one of the most narratively abstract movies I have ever seen, it is also the movie with the most underlying themes. Fight Club is about much, much more than just fighting.

You may have heard the line, "this is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time." Well, I live by that line, literally. This was also the first lesson that I picked up from this film full of great lessons, you have to live your life to the fullest. You shouldn't care what other people think, do it for yourself and do it quick because the clocks ticking. This brings us to our next lesson. Edward Norton plays the main character known as "the narrator." We meet him as a traveling automobile company employee who has insomnia. This character is a very interesting character because he goes through a very large change throughout the movie. Before he meets Tyler Durden he is known as the "everyman." He is emotionally unstable and he tends to put all of his worries and fears into his possessions and he is one of those people who has to hold onto his structure and have everything straight and tidy and it becomes a problem. That is the next lesson, you have to let go. The average human is stuck in a box going about their average days going through their daily cycles until they go to bed, and they could be doing a lot more. "You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake." So embrace that and use it to your advantage. Embrace the fact that God may not like you, "we are God's unwanted children, so be it!".

Now let’s talk about Tyler Durden for a second. This guy is indisputably the coolest character in all of movies, ever. You see him and your just like, I want to be him. The best part about him is that he is relatable in the strangest way. I can relate to him although he is completely insane. Even though he is completely insane, he does in a way symbolize all of us, but in our most free state. Tyler Durden is free; he is chaos, which is the exact opposite of Edward Norton. This then ties in with our next theme, freedom. The fight club that is created is in every way illegal, and the whole point of it is to get away from all the rules and your dull and normal life. “At the end of a fight, nothing is resolved yet nothing matters.” That tells you everything you need to know about these people. The first two rules are “you do not talk about Fight Club,” as you probably know. Rules? Yes, there are rules in fight club, but rules are meant to be broken. How can Fight Club spread if no one talks about it? That’s the point; Fight Club thrives on the breaking of its own rules because the whole point of it is to set you free from rules. It’s not even with those first two rules either. In the movie there is a fight between Edward Norton and this other guy and Norton literally beats the living hell out of him breaking the third rule, “when someone says stop, or goes limp the fight is over.” Afterward Norton says that he was feeling destructively beautiful and that’s all that matter in the end.

Fight Club is a movie for the generations. It is a cult masterpiece that will never seize to amaze and disturb its viewers. It is a polarizing film and I am proud to say that I am a part of the following. Never believe that it’s all about the fighting, it’s not. It’s about much, much more than that and even with all the blood and violence; this movie shines as a disturbingly beautiful film. David Fincher does an outstanding job with the directing which is masterful to say the least and the two leads kill it. Plus with a surprise twist that you will never see coming, this movie just brings more and more to the table. A brilliant and yes, beautiful film that I wish to show my children one day.