Great, but not "all that..."

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2002)

I put off seeing this film for the longest time and after re-reviewing it through comments here, I just had to add my own. I did see it finally a couple of months ago and my thoughts are as fresh as when I did...I think this movie was great and innovative for its time, and it's still a good movie, hey I even rated it a "ten," but I would have to go against the tide, which gives it a "greatest movie of all time" rating. I just don't buy it.
Sure Welles brashly bucked the establishment and gave everyone a lot to think about at the time, but it is dated and the message (I think) is not as clear as that brought forth in some works of today. The filmmaking itself may have been new at the time, but when compared with today, the technique is old hat. The story was interesting and from a historical point of view, we might regard the innovations Welles brought with Citizen Kane, but are the accolades lauded on this work here, really warranted in comparison to what has come since? Again, don't get me wrong, on all fronts I thought this was a solid work, but in comparison to other solid works here in the top 250, I thought the film wanted for comparison. In other words, I wasn't sucked in. So...in sum, I will give the work its due for what it represents both artistically and technically, and if it were still the 1940s, I too would most likely rate in the tops ever made, but I refuse to apologize for what has been done in cinema since 1941... It's hard to take away from that which is innovative since.