1999, R, 139 minutes

"Gentlemen, welcome to Fight Club." The last time a film so boldly defined a generation of people was back in 1967 when Dustin Hoffman was seduced by Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. Fight Club is an in-your-face, groundbreaking movie that holds no punches in its criticism towards America's love of consumerism. As it doesn't necessarily provide any answers to the problem it addresses, the film is of course, controversial.

Make no mistake, Fight Club is not just some flick about a bunch of guys who beat the living crap out of each other. The story's narrator (Edward Norton) is a man who basically hates his life. He has no real relationships with anyone, he hates his job, and the only way he can content himself is by ordering as much junk as possible from IKEA catalogs. Plus, as if he didn't have enough problems already, he has insomnia. His solution is to attend different support groups, which seems to do the trick as he is actually moved by everyone else's true emotion. After a year of this routine, the gloomy, foul-mouthed, chain-smoking Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) enters his life. Like him, Marla is a "tourist" in these groups, who seems to enjoy watching other people pour out their feelings in a public setting. Her presence spoils the experience for him and once again -- he can't sleep. Then he meets a guy named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), an energetic man who shares many of the same feelings as our narrator (who he calls "IKEA boy"). After sharing a few drinks, the two of them purposely have their first fight with one another (on friendly terms) and shortly after that they start up a club in a basement where men can pound the hell out of each other and then hug when it's all over. They do this because the pain they experience is actually real -- and real feeling is something that they've all been missing from their lives. Quickly, the club grows beyond them and turns into something it wasn't intended to be.

What's so amazing about Fight Club is how the story is presented. As director David Fincher (Seven, The Game) said in an interview when asked about the film's fast narrative pace, "you don't watch it, you download it." Other films in the past such as Ferris Beuller's Day Off have used a technique called "breaking the fourth wall," but Fight Club is the first to do it in such a smooth and perfect manner. There are points in the film where Edward Norton and Brad Pitt actually turn and talk to us, pulling us into the movie as if we (the audience) were a part of it. This could have been really stupid, but Fincher filmed these sequences in such a way that they engulfed us deeper into the story -- plus, the subject matter was hilarious.

My reference to The Graduate at the beginning of this review might seem odd (I don't remember Dustin Hoffman beating the crap out of Anne Bancroft?), but the connection is in how it reflects its target audience. Older viewers may not understand Fight Club, which truly represents generations X and Y (and probably Z when the time comes) or more simply: the under-35 crowd. I know a lot of people, myself included from time to time, who can relate to many of the ideas covered in this film -- specifically its harsh views towards consumerism. As Tyler Durden says, "an entire generation working jobs they hate, so they can buy shit they don't need." Even if it isn't you, believe it. There are a lot of people out there who basically live for the things they own. Advertisements tell them what their lives are supposed to be like and if reality doesn't live up to these expectations, they're disappointed.

Another great aspect of this film is the twists, which require you to pay close attention. If you like it, you'll definitely want to see it for a second time. Some critics like Roger Ebert look down on what he calls the "Keyzer Soze syndrom" (that's a reference to the twist at the end of The Usual Suspects), but I feel the big twist in Fight Club is both entertaining and meaningful. Hopefully the big twist hasn't been spoiled for you, but if it has, I still recommend you see it. This film works on many different levels and I liked it even more the second time I saw it.

Violence has been the primary topic of controversy surrounding Fight Club. While a lot of the fight sequences are quite bloody and gruesome, they are not gratuitous. This type of violence (and much worse) has been depicted on film before and the only reason it's so hard to watch is because David Fincher shows it to us in a way that makes it feel as painful as it would in real life. I'm shocked that a director has actually been criticized and called "irresponsible" for making a film that doesn't glorify violence like so many Hollywood movies do.

Edward Norton and Brad Pitt give two very different, but equally solid performances. Norton shows us a huge range of emotions throughout the story and I've never seen Brad Pitt throw himself into a role quite like he did with Tyler Durden. His performance is even better than when he played Jeffrey Goines in 12 Monkeys. Helena Bonham Carter is also good as Marla, which is an interesting change of pace for her career considering she's usually in period-based movies.

Fight Club is a film to experience -- not watch. I strongly recommend it to Gen-Xers and teenage moviegoers, as well as older audience members who can relate to that drive of consumerism. The violence might make you cringe from time to time, and if so, make sure you see it twice.