Fight Club: The Second Greatest Film of All-Time

Fight Club: The Second Greatest Film of All-Time

Fight Club has commonly been referred to as one of, if not, the best cult films of all time. A film that failed to reach its expectations at first, but slowly over time a powerful fan base has arisen, myself a member of this illustrious group.

Released back in 1999 as an adaptation of the 1996 novel of the same name (by one of my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk), the film was a financial disappointment, despite the popularity of stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton (who were both a few years removed from critically acclaimed performances in Se7en and American History X respectively), grossing only $37 million at the box office during its official theatrical run.

But don’t let the low money numbers fool you, critics found this film to be fantastic, as it currently boasts a 79% on the most “accurate” review site Rotten Tomatoes. But also remember that since I like this film a ton, it’s obviously something worth watching (I’ve been told that my movie taste is supreme, okay?).

Now notice how I’ve listed in my title that Fight Club is the SECOND best film of all-time. Well that’s simply because that it’s a 10 / 10 film, but The Dark Knight is just better.

Okay I need to cut to the chase. I’m gonna dive into the greatest aspects of this masterpiece of art (without spoiling possibly the best plot twist in fiction history).

To start: Brad Pitt. Not only being a beautiful man with a chiseled jawline, he’s also a fantastic actor. His performance as the man’s man and co-creator of the titular Fight Club, Tyler Durden, is not only his best performance, but also one of the greatest performances in history. Due to this film’s poor financial standings at the time of its release, Pitt was not recognized as much as he should’ve been for this role.

Next up, it’s the flow of the film. Despite being an over two hour long film that has constantly evolving plot points and a multitude of twists and turns, it never feels slow nor does it feel as if it’s forcing things into it for the sake of beefing up the runtime.

Of course, I must mention the themes and overall message of the film. It pulls you in with its sentiments towards male oppression and the inability for us to be able to release our emotions. It teaches us how we’re free to do anything once we’ve lost everything. The film shows us what it’s truly like to hit rock bottom, and how liberating the feeling can be.

Lastly, it’s the plot twist. Oh wait, I can’t talk about it because all you space monkeys haven’t watched it yet. Get up, watch it, and then come back to me and we can discuss it over some Starbucks.

I’m being serious, quit reading this and go watch it. It’s on Hulu, and don’t tell me that you don’t have it. C’mon, we can all start up a free trial.