Maybe avoid reading this post if you want to watch Citizen Kane.
HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF CRAP THIS MOVIE WAS BORING. Nothing happens for nearly two hours and then all of a sudden it turns out it's the damn sled that caused him to become this huge monster of a personality that almost ran the world? Ok, I get that it was symbolic of his childhood and all that, but it took an hour and a half to get to that?
While I agree that it is probably the most overrated movie of all time, as it isnt the greatest movie ever made but just a fantastic movie, you have missed the point of the plot.
It wasnt the sled that caused him to be the big monster personality; the reason was being taken away from his family at a young age. After all the riches, all the life experiences he still valued this sled from his childhood (which I know you get).
But, it sounds like you have missed the reason why he valued this sled so much; it was the only item or thing in his life that is from a time he truly valued, which is ironic because it's from a time when he didnt have all the riches in the world.
The reason he was never able to give his singer wife any gift that meant anything to him was because gifts could only be bought with money, money was the only thing he had. He couldnt give her anything he truly loved because the time he truly loved was when he had no money.
It wasnt until it was too late and she was gone (and all the other stuff that happened) that he realised he cared about the time symbolised by the sled, and realised that all these years he's been trying to buy peoples love (politics or partners, spun newspaper stories or opera houses) to replace the true love he missed from his childhood.
He couldnt receive love and couldnt give it to others either which we saw throughout the movie. The reveal at the end was the entire point of the film, the reporters were interviewing people to find out the meaning of Rosebud, and personally as the film was nearing an end I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know.
It was refreshing to see someone who had so much influence, power and money be so humbled by the nostalgia he holds for his childhood, a human quality a lot of us have.
As for being overrated, yes I agree, even for a dramatic old film it does feel quite slow. I like to think Citizen Kane revolutionised mainstream cinema with techniques found in lesser known foreign arty films, therefore surely something in the last 70 years has improved on the new formula it brought to the forefront, perhaps any truly great movie has.
Ok it has deep focus shots and amazing musical score, but havent most films tried to since?
It's like everything that does something to a large audience for the 1st time, was Hogan Andre truly the greatest WM match? HBK Razor truly the greatest ladder match? So overrated yes, and I agree its understandable why.