Technically great, poor story

Rating: Null/10 (25 November 2001)

Now that I've watched Citizen Kane, I realize that it is "technically" excellent - meaning, it is very well-acted and -filmed. Doubtless you will get a big charge out of the film if you are the type of person who is interested in the way a film is crafted. Now that I've seen the movie, I understand that many of the glowing comments on IMDB about this film are made by this type of person.
If you are the type of person who likes a very good story, one that draws you in and keeps you focused on the story until the end of the movie, you'll probably be let down.
I thought Citizen Kane was beautiful to look at, but I found the story and storytelling to be of lower quality than the rest of the film. It takes around 15 minutes for the movie to actually get started, and then the rest of the two hours are filled with the search for "Rosebud", while the (story-oriented) viewer is still wondering why he or she should care. As far as I'm concerned, the story isn't good enough to get the viewer interested. When "Rosebud" is finally revealed, the symbolism and the point of the movie are obvious, but so is the lack of a good story.