Don't get me wrong, I like his movies. Alien 3, seven in particular, but I don't see what the fuss is about Benjamin button and zodiac and girl with the Dragon tattoo. I do feel that a lot of things are going over my head in terms of the craftsmanship. Girl with the Dragon tattoo is a very average film to me but I've heard film lovers rant and rave about it and I think the actress won an Oscar for it?
Can anyone tell me what I'm missing?
The composition of his films is always interesting, like a darker Soderbergh. He's good at playing with mood like the he can ratchet up the tension in Zodiac even though there isn't any immediate danger to the characters.
It's interesting you say you enjoyed Alien 3 when, if memory serves, Fincher equated that movie to him be raped. This was due to the producers wrestling the movie away from him.
His movies are dark, pulpy thrillers. I don't think he makes his films to please critics or "film buffs".
I find that a lot artsy directors enjoyed by film buffs like Darren Arronofsky and Paul Thomas Anderson actually just make crappy, self indulgent movies. Not all film buffs have the same taste.
In my opinion his movies tend to have good cinematography, smart scripts, and are made for adult audiences so I enjoy them.