Overrated!

Rating: 5/10 (7 November 2001)

Pick up any guide about movies, particularly one written by a professional movie critic, and "Citizen Kane" is rated the best or near the top of the list of movies ever made. There is no question that Orson Welles coalesced many film-making techniques of the thirties, as well as innovations of his own, in producing "Citizen Kane". Additionally, at the time of release in 1941, there was great pressure brought to bear on Welles and the studio not to put the film out due to its (fictionalized) portrayal of powerful publisher William Randolph Hearst. All very admirable, but does it make for a great movie? Not in my opinion.
The story itself is not all that remarkable. The characters, including Kane, are not overly engaging and I never found myself caring what happened to any of them. Parts of the film are staggeringly boring. It takes a good 15 minutes for the plot -- or what there is of a plot -- to get moving. Yes, certain techniques of directing, camera angles, flashbacks, and the like, are interesting from a scholarly viewpoint. However, the real interest of a dramatic film should come from interesting characterizations, a good story, and tension amongst the characters. In these critical areas, "Citizen Kane" is sorely lacking.
Watch this movie if you are a film scholar, professional or amateur, or if you want to see what all the fuss is about. In my opinion, this film is wildly overrated.