Great movie, but not the greatest

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2000)

Casablanca is a great movie with strong acting and script. But I don't think it's THE best or top 10 movies of all time. I haven't seen that many classics, but in comparison, it lacks the complexity and inventiveness of Citizen Kane. Gone With the Wind, as melodramatic as it is, has astounding cinematography/sets, strong performances and 2 memorable characters instead of 1 (i.e. Rick. Ilsa and Victor are rather 1-dimensional, the script's fault, not acting). With the same strong ensemble performance, All About Eve's wittiness would blow Casablanca's script away.
Of course, Casablanca is a nice package of romance, suspense and action, but it is not without its flaws. The Paris scenes felt subpar and corny to the rest of the movie. Besides, Rick already seems cynical back in Paris. So it hinders the supposed transformation after Ilsa left him. As mentioned above, Ilsa and Victor are bland characters. Louis' transformation in the end is incredulous. The plot is predictable. Can't you see it coming that Rick still has a golden heart, that Victor & Ilsa would escape Casablanca, that even the bad Nazi gets what he deserved. All in all, it feels more "black and white" and dated than other classics, and it's not just because the movie is set during WW2.