What do you think of Fight Club?

[Nighthawk 0]

Spawned by Mole's comment that it's overrated and my agreeing with him, thought I'd try for some more detailed discussion.

 

I love the movie, and it is one of my favorites, but it does get too much credit. On the one hand you'll got the people who buy into every word it says. It's not meant to be taken that way. I don't seem to see much of that here though.

On the other hand, I think the message really does speak to people. Even if you know you're not meant to emulate what goes on in the picture, people can really get behind the moral, and because of it, tend to overrate it as a movie. As an aside, I suspect the same thing of Requiem For A Dream with the score.

It has it's fair share of cheese, and sometimes goes overboard with gimmickry. I think it has a good concept, good story, good presentation, but overall take it a little too far. Like Chris Farley talking about the dog in Tommy Boy.

Your thoughts?

[Youth N Asia 0]

While I think it's a very good movie, I'm a little suprised that some people consider it the best ever. Very good movie, but not in my top 10.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Do I see it as overrated? Somewhat.

 

I love the plot. There are so many chances for plotholes to pop up and they just aren't there. It's nearly perfect in sense of plot and story, and that's all I really ask for a in a film.

 

Do I think it's the best ever? Not exactly. It would make my top 15 as far as my favorites go, but probably not the top ten. It is something that I enjoy watching once every few weeks to see if anything new pops out and catches my attention that I haven't seen before. And after reading the book I like to think of the two as one in the same (save for a few minor scenes and the different endings).

 

 

The people that read the message as something literal that should be followed are a little nuts. While some of the quotes do make you think and make you see things differently, on the whole nobody should be like Tyler (or even close) in his thought processes and personality.

[cabbageboy 0]

I've heard others say how much they enjoyed this movie, and in a way I can see it. But I have always hated the lame crap where a main character isn't real, or is dead, etc. Thus it wouldn't remotely be near the top of my all time list.

[Mole 0]

Welllllllll Fight Club is a good movie, don't get me wrong, it is just overrated. It isn't the "best movie ever made" because well, it isn't. I haven't seen the movie in a while, so I can't talk about certain points.

 

The movie has an AWESOME concept and they do a great job at telling the story. However, where the story went after awhile just took too long. Then they seemed to rush the ending because they were running out of time/money or something.

 

The acting was great, the directing was great, the story was awesome, but it seemed like tried to do WAY too much. Plus the movie ended up being really cheesy at certain points, which brings it down too.

 

If you think about it, any great movie can be called overrated. Memento could be called overrated because there are plenty of plotholes and it is so damn confusing at times. I don't think it is overrated, but I can see where people are coming from.

 

The only movie that is awesome that I can' see people calling overrated is Dazed and Confused. What is overrated about it, eh?

[Nighthawk 0]

For the record, Leonard Maltin doesn't care for Memento.

[Mole 0]

And Lisa Schwarzbaum (EW reviewer) doesn't care for Fight Club.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Yeah, it is overrated. I mean is it really better and more influential than Citizen Kane, like most of the Net seems to think?

[justsoyouknow 0]

My only beef with Fight Club is the ending. If Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were supposedly the same character, why does Norton survive the gunshot, but Pitt doesn't? They do that whole "The gun's not in your hand, it's in my hand...." thing, then Norton shoots himself, and it exits his cheek. But it doesn't exit Tyler's cheek, instead going out the back of his head. If they were supposedly the same person, why didn't it come out Tyler's cheek as well?

 

I posed that question to Rando last night and he went off on a tirade about Norton using mind control to make the bullet come out Tyler's head. The only other thing that bothered me about the movie was that I recognized a couple lines in the movie that were also lyrics from Papa Roach songs...and that should never happen.

[nl5xsk1 0]

There's a lot that I'd like to say about the movie but the first rule of fight club is don't talk about fight club. (Thank you, Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the veal.)

 

Actually, Mole, the reason that the end seems so rushed is because that's how all of Palahniuk's books end. It's a slow burn until the last chapter or 2, and then it all falls into place. And I think that the movie tried to capture that same feeling.

 

All in all, I think that Fight Club is good, almost very good, but certainly not great. And certainly not in my top 10. The acting, like has been said, is great. The plot is definitely not the same-old, same-old that's so prevalant in movies these days. It certainly keeps my attention when I try to watch it. Like I said, good but not great.

 

And I actually do find Dazed and Confused to be over-rated. People want to make it another Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and I don't think that it ever will reach that level. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it's far from great. The plot is non-existant and the acting is average. (The fact that Comedy Central plays it ad nauseum doesn't help it's standings). Overrated, but still a pretty good movie.

[Ravenbomb 0]

My only beef with Fight Club is the ending. If Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were supposedly the same character, why does Norton survive the gunshot, but Pitt doesn't? They do that whole "The gun's not in your hand, it's in my hand...." thing, then Norton shoots himself, and it exits his cheek. But it doesn't exit Tyler's cheek, instead going out the back of his head. If they were supposedly the same person, why didn't it come out Tyler's cheek as well?

 

I posed that question to Rando last night and he went off on a tirade about Norton using mind control to make the bullet come out Tyler's head. The only other thing that bothered me about the movie was that I recognized a couple lines in the movie that were also lyrics from Papa Roach songs...and that should never happen.

If you notice, the shot goes through his jaw, now the back of his head.

 

 

It's at #23 on my list

[Guest Ram]

My only beef with Fight Club is the ending. If Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were supposedly the same character, why does Norton survive the gunshot, but Pitt doesn't?

Because Norton's taking control of himself. His schitzophrenia was based on the fact that he was coasting through life depending on material goods and a crappy job. Through Pitt, Norton could live a different, more action-oriented lifestyle. He originally was led by the norm, then by Pitt, and then in the conclusion, he led himself.

 

 

 

 

And stuff.

[Sass 0]

A buddy of mine who is a fanatic about Fight Club said the book was better since the movie was "Hollywood" up at the end.

 

I haven't read the book so I'm not sure what he meant by that.

[1234-5678 0]

I liked the movie better. Brad Pitt made the Tyler Durden character.

[Nighthawk 0]

My only beef with Fight Club is the ending. If Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were supposedly the same character, why does Norton survive the gunshot, but Pitt doesn't?

Because Norton's taking control of himself. His schitzophrenia was based on the fact that he was coasting through life depending on material goods and a crappy job. Through Pitt, Norton could live a different, more action-oriented lifestyle. He originally was led by the norm, then by Pitt, and then in the conclusion, he led himself.

What I said was, when he pulled the trigger, he fully intended to kill himself. So when he feels the shot, in his mind he thinks "I'm dead." with absolute certainty, and Tyler dies. But a few seconds later he's like "Holy shit, I'm still alive?"

[Guest Coffey]

It wasn't terrible, and I like Brad Pitt, but I didn't see what the big deal was. Not even in my top fifty.

[spiny norman 0]

Yeah, not my top fifty. It is really quite a good movie and is fairly interesting, but there are several better movies out there (eg. Gone With The Wind, which nobody has put in their top five list bar me. See that kind of thing frustrates me, one top five mention compared to however many Fight Club got. That's a sign of a film being over-rated).

[DCMaximo 0]

The only other thing that bothered me about the movie was that I recognized a couple lines in the movie that were also lyrics from Papa Roach songs...and that should never happen.

 

I'm pretty sure the film came out first and Papa Roach were just trying to be clever (and failing).

 

As for the film itself, I enjoyed it, but not as much as many others seem to. I thought the twist was pretty good, but I wouldn't put it in my top ten films.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Yeah, not my top fifty. It is really quite a good movie and is fairly interesting, but there are several better movies out there (eg. Gone With The Wind, which nobody has put in their top five list bar me. See that kind of thing frustrates me, one top five mention compared to however many Fight Club got. That's a sign of a film being over-rated).

to tell you the truth I never cared much for Gone with the Wind

[Mole 0]

Actually, Mole, the reason that the end seems so rushed is because that's how all of Palahniuk's books end.  It's a slow burn until the last chapter or 2, and then it all falls into place.  And I think that the movie tried to capture that same feeling.

Well, that isn't very good writing then.

 

And I actually do find Dazed and Confused to be over-rated.  People want to make it another Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and I don't think that it ever will reach that level.  It's good, don't get me wrong, but it's far from great.  The plot is non-existant and the acting is average.  (The fact that Comedy Central plays it ad nauseum doesn't help it's standings).  Overrated, but still a pretty good movie.

This sounds weird, but is what I like about the movie. There isn't really a plot because that is what high school is like on just about every night. Just a regular night, out on the town, getting wasted.

 

I have done that sort of stuff about 90% of the time during my high school years and most people here have too. I can relate to the movie, that is why I like it so much.

 

Plus, it is sooo damn funny.

[Nighthawk 0]

Yeah, not my top fifty. It is really quite a good movie and is fairly interesting, but there are several better movies out there (eg. Gone With The Wind, which nobody has put in their top five list bar me. See that kind of thing frustrates me, one top five mention compared to however many Fight Club got. That's a sign of a film being over-rated).

to tell you the truth I never cared much for Gone with the Wind

I didn't either. Aside from that though, older movies aren't favored as much by this generation I think largely just because they're old. They can still be appreciated and enjoyed (they definitely are by me), but don't speak to you directly as much because they're of an era you never experienced. I can objectively say, for example, that Citizen Kane is a better movie than almost anything, but I can name 100 movies I enjoy more.

Also part of the reason Fight Club is a favorite of mine, I get compared to Tyler fairly frequently. You can be scared if you wish. But yeah, I can relate to it.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I think a large part of the problem is that much of the younger generation hasn't actually seen these films. Hence, Fight Club is the best of the limited number of pictures they have seen (which probably includes crud like Pearl Harbor and Armaggedon).

[Guest JumpinJackFlash]

I think it's pretty good. I just don't like the whole "bitch tits" thing that takes up the first 20 minutes.

[Guest Choken One]

I love the movie. I would even classify it was my "FAVORITE" movie.

 

Although it's not the GREATEST MOVIE.

 

I'm well aware of that. It's the movie that never fails to entertain me and I am constantly captivated by the characters and actions of the movie.

 

If you were to ask me what was the GREATEST movie ever was, I wouldn't even touch FIGHT CLUB.

 

But for pure fun, Fight Club is tops for me.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I really didn't like this movie. I think a good part of it was my friends had been hyping this as the greatest thing to ever hit the screen for about 2 yrs. before I sat down to watch it. I found myself pretty bored by the whole movie. It was ok was about the best I can say.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I love the movie. I would even classify it was my "FAVORITE" movie.

 

Although it's not the GREATEST MOVIE.

 

I'm well aware of that. It's the movie that never fails to entertain me and I am constantly captivated by the characters and actions of the movie.

 

If you were to ask me what was the GREATEST movie ever was, I wouldn't even touch FIGHT CLUB.

 

But for pure fun, Fight Club is tops for me.

I can agree with this. Look at my list, most of them are adventure films. I could see arguing whether Lawrence of Arabia is the greatest film of all time, but none of the others would be in the top five.

[Ravenbomb 0]

I love old movies. Some of my favorite movies are older than Gone With The Wind. So the fact that it's old has nothing to do with it. I just didn't care for it that much.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I love old movies. Some of my favorite movies are older than Gone With The Wind. So the fact that it's old has nothing to do with it. I just didn't care for it that much.

It always was more a chick flick. It is my mother's favourite film. I found other films better too, like Casablanca for example.

[Ravenbomb 0]

absolutely. Casablanca blows almost every other movie ever away

[Bruiser Chong 0]

A buddy of mine who is a fanatic about Fight Club said the book was better since the movie was "Hollywood" up at the end.

 

I haven't read the book so I'm not sure what he meant by that.

IIRC, in the book, the Narrator (Norton's character) and Marla both die, as well as Durden, hence the "Hollywood ending" where only Durden dies.

 

As for the movie, I enjoyed it a lot and think it's been very influential, but it's very overrated, IMO. It's a great movie, but too many people carry out the praises too long for my liking. I think it has something to do with Fight Club being a complex movie that on the surface, is easy to grasp a hold to, which makes just about any viewer feel smarter and like they're watching some deep, thought-provoking and intellectual piece of cinema.