Fight Club

In meinem 18. Lebensjahr, als ich das System hasste, The Doors hörte und Pulp Fiction liebte, wäre Fight Club der Film meines Lebens gewesen. Aber heute bin ich der Meinung, dass ich ein Filmstar sein könnte, wenn ich es wirklich wollen und alles dafür machen würde. Und ich habe schon gelernt, mich im System zu bewegen. Das ist ein ausreichender Grund dazu, dass ich diesen Film nur als einen sehr effektvoll verfilmten Quatsch bezeichnen kann. (23.02.2003)

An undisguised anarchist tinge of unapologetic shitting on the system? A satire on the emergence of terrorist groups seemingly based on good intentions? The hidden desires of a young man who wants to be something he can't be? Maybe none of it and maybe all of it together? In this case, I don’t care. The fact is that this is a brilliant piece of filmmaking with lots of great moments and food for thought. Fincher kicks ass. (13.04.2003)

The most indigestible, but intellectually and thematically the most charged and perhaps the most seductive Fincher's film for someone. And after mature consideration, also my favorite. Anarchy, fights, and at times hopeless situations, depression, and despair. But above all, life in it! Living energy of all characters at any time of the day, night, or person at any time. (20.08.2006)

The genius directing by David Fincher plays the main role in Fight Club, being able to keep up with the anarchically crazy literary manifestation by Palahniuk against the current lifestyle of western society. Someone else who contributed a lot toward the excellent result was Jim Uhls, who adapted the book into a screenplay that could be used to make a movie. Unarguably, the book is a stronger experience, but the movie also has much to offer, thanks to the actors, the technical side and, primarily, Fincher’s playfulness. On the other hand, the original book isn’t one of the best things ever to have trickled out of Palahniuk’s sick mind. (16.03.2022)

This is the richest interpretive film I know. Is it a critique of consumerism, a satire on the far-right and anarchist associations at the same time, or just a provocative thriller about the need for violence? Maybe all of it. In any case, it takes a good bit of genius to make it not look, through its shiny facade, like an angry young generation that wants to save the world with rocks in their hands, but rather like a serious ancient philosopher who has it all figured out to the last detail. It was a breakthrough life film for when I was in my 20s, and a decade later it’s (only) a fantastic cinematic ride without compromises, reflecting the end of the 1990s like few other things. (21.11.2008)