Had potential, but.....

I've just watched Cinema Paradiso, and I'm amazed that it is held in such universal regard.
Yes, it was a good film. It kept me very interested for the first half, and had several good moments. I loved the character of the priest, and Toto as a young kid also.
HOWEVER... the last hour was some of the worst cinema I've seen in a long time. It was simply painful to watch. Hollywood sappy sentimentality mixed with an indulgent homage to the film itself. Not only was the ending poor, it showed up a major flaw in the movie... that the storyline didn't really have any purpose. The film started out as a really enjoyable homage to movies, halfway through became a teenage love story, and then ended up as a sort of character piece. It was a shame especially because Cinema Paradiso had so much potential... there were plenty of good scenes early on, and if they had downplayed the sentimentality a bit, it would have been quite moving.
It's not the first time I've watched a film that looked like it was going to be really good but turned out disappointing, it just surprises me that apparently the only people who don't love this film are trolls. Surely there are other serious film viewers out there who share my disappointment in this movie.