My first instinct was to write some witty, over-used joke about the first rule, but then I realised that I actually had a decent chunk of serious things to say about this movie, so here we go. Speaking of the first rule, I just broke it.
Fight Club is another one of those films that the so-called filmbros will tear you from limb to limb for not liking. Ever since its release, to say that it's built somewhat of a cult following is an understatement. It's been so ingrained in popular culture that even I've got to admit I made the "first rule" joke a couple of times before I had even watched it. And the problem is that ever since then, it's been worshipped as the epitome of filmmaking, the most profound commentary on culture, the greatest movie of all time, etc. Etc...
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Fight Club a lot. I've always been a fan of Fincher's, and this film, stylistically, is a beautifully gritty thriller, the kind that I've come to love. And it certainly deserves a lot of the praise that it gets. I don't think that it's the greatest movie in existence, but I did like watching it a lot. And a lot of the stuff that I'm about to say is going to make it sound like I hate this movie, and I don't. Fight Club is a good movie. However, I think that the biggest problem with this movie isn't the movie itself, but rather, the culture of people who have come to worship this movie like it's some sort of cinematic god. You know, those same people on Letterboxd and Instagram who think Parasite is an obscure foreign film and think that Joker is "relatable".
And it's honestly kind of annoying that this perfectly great movie had been ruined by this filmbro culture, to the point when someone says it's their favourite movie your first thought is "oh s**t". And that's the thing - I have nothing against people who do say Fight Club is their favourite movie, but just because of that small percentage of people who are just... like that, your mind will automatically go RED FLAG even if it completely isn't. And it's almost ironic how this movie has been packaged and adored by the masses, adored for its anti-consumerist culture by the very consumerists that it criticises.
I'm realising that this has veered away from being a review and is slowly turning into an essay about how much I hate filmbros, so let me just wrap it up with some final thoughts. I don't hate Fight Club, but I hate the people who have ruined it for people who genuinely like it.
-Sasha.
Fight Club is another one of those films that the so-called filmbros will tear you from limb to limb for not liking. Ever since its release, to say that it's built somewhat of a cult following is an understatement. It's been so ingrained in popular culture that even I've got to admit I made the "first rule" joke a couple of times before I had even watched it. And the problem is that ever since then, it's been worshipped as the epitome of filmmaking, the most profound commentary on culture, the greatest movie of all time, etc. Etc...
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Fight Club a lot. I've always been a fan of Fincher's, and this film, stylistically, is a beautifully gritty thriller, the kind that I've come to love. And it certainly deserves a lot of the praise that it gets. I don't think that it's the greatest movie in existence, but I did like watching it a lot. And a lot of the stuff that I'm about to say is going to make it sound like I hate this movie, and I don't. Fight Club is a good movie. However, I think that the biggest problem with this movie isn't the movie itself, but rather, the culture of people who have come to worship this movie like it's some sort of cinematic god. You know, those same people on Letterboxd and Instagram who think Parasite is an obscure foreign film and think that Joker is "relatable".
And it's honestly kind of annoying that this perfectly great movie had been ruined by this filmbro culture, to the point when someone says it's their favourite movie your first thought is "oh s**t". And that's the thing - I have nothing against people who do say Fight Club is their favourite movie, but just because of that small percentage of people who are just... like that, your mind will automatically go RED FLAG even if it completely isn't. And it's almost ironic how this movie has been packaged and adored by the masses, adored for its anti-consumerist culture by the very consumerists that it criticises.
I'm realising that this has veered away from being a review and is slowly turning into an essay about how much I hate filmbros, so let me just wrap it up with some final thoughts. I don't hate Fight Club, but I hate the people who have ruined it for people who genuinely like it.
-Sasha.