Dull & way overrated

Rating: 3/10 (18 April 2002)

I'm not going to slate the film any more than that, as millions still love it now, so it must be me that's in the wrong, but it was such a hard film to watch.
The acting was faultless. But that's it really. The ending going against typical Hollywood happy ones, is the only other praise I could give this.
The 1st half hour or so of Casablanca wasn't bad at all & set up some fairly interesting premises. Likewise the last 15 minutes was an ending that still stands up well today.
But the period between 30-75 minutes was 3/4 of an hour of chronic boredom. There was no character to connect to or like until the finale & what plot there was, was in no way enjoyable.
Good cinematography, romance & Nazi's together seem to account for the popularity of this, but in reality it was poorly executed & lacked a plot that could hold the viewer's attention.
There was too much dialogue sometimes & seemed an attempt to cram as many 'cool' lines into the film as possible. Some of them were good & fitted in well, but others, particularly "here's looking at you kid" don't hold up well at all, & by the 3rd or 4th time, made you cringe.
A 50 word review of the film makes it seem fairly straightforward. Granted, the main plot was, but I had real trouble understanding the sub-plots & relevance of some of the secondary events & storylines or characters.
Though this wasn't an awful film at all & may go up a mark or two more with another viewing. But like Citizen Kane which I found far worse, it seems another one thats liked because it's been drummed into everyone for 50 years that it's a classic & so we're supposed to like it.
But then what do I know, I'm just an ordinary bloke.
3/10