Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Fight Club, one of the most beloved cult movies of the 20th century.
Given the subject matter covered in the film, it’s also easy to understand why this is one 20th Century Fox film that Disney has largely kept at arm’s length. You may not see this one on Hulu, and it’s definitely not going to Disney+.
However, this movie will be exiting its current streaming home very soon.
That’s why Watch With Us is sharing the reasons why Fight Club is our pick for the great movie you have to watch before it leaves HBO Max in September.
Brad Pitt and Ed Norton Give Terrific Performances
Ed Norton gets top billing over Brad Pitt in this movie, but the latter has the most dynamic performance in the flick. Tyler Durden (Pitt) is everything the unnamed Narrator (Norton) could never be: handsome, charismatic and fully self-assured. He’s kind of the embodiment of the current online manosphere as well. Pitt plays Tyler with conviction and wasn’t afraid to make some over-the-top choices.
The Narrator may not be as flashy, but Norton’s narration gives Fight Club a lot of its funniest moments. He’s a downtrodden cynic until Tyler shows him a new way to find self-respect by beating each other up before they team up to start their own underground fighting club. The Narrator feels a lot more empathetic than Tyler does, and less inclined to make the same choices.
Helena Bonham Carter is also great as Marla Singer, the woman who plays a big role in both of their lives. She doesn’t factor into the story as often as the two guys, but Carter elevates the film whenever she’s on the screen.
The Twist Brings Out the Film’s Dark Humor
As explained by Tyler in the clip above, the first two rules of Fight Club are to never talk about Fight Club. To paraphrase that for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, the same rule applies for the film’s big twist. That’s why we’re not going to get into the specifics of that here. It’s enough to say that the Narrator learns a big secret during the course of the story that re-frames everything he experienced up to that point.
The twist has been divisive for some movie lovers, but it also sent the story into some unexpectedly hilarious directions. Fincher clearly loves the story’s dark humor, and the Narrator finds himself increasingly isolated when he dares to go against Tyler’s ideology. There are some comedic moments throughout the movie, but those darkly funny aspects rise to the forefront after the Narrator’s revelation.
The Ending Is Incredibly Audacious
The story paints the Narrator into such a dire corner that it creates a great deal of tension as the film nears its climax. There’s almost no way for the Narrator to come out on top. Tyler has planned everything out to a ridiculous degree. And then the Narrator surprises both the audience and Tyler with his ultimate choice.
Fight Club‘s ending may not work for everyone, but when The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” starts playing, it’s hard not to laugh at those final moments. It’s the happiest ending possible in this world, and an audacious choice that a lesser film wouldn’t attempt. Fight Club probably wouldn’t be as popular as it is today if it hadn’t gone for that bonkers conclusion. That’s definitely the biggest reason I love the movie.
Fight Club is streaming on HBO Max until September 30.
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