"Return of the Living Dead" - Is it REALLY that great?

Okay, hear me out. I just re-watched "Return of the Living Dead" (again, because apparently that's what makes me a cool, hip contrarian now?) and I'm still scratching my head about the eternal praise it gets. Yeah, it's got some funny moments, and the whole 'brains' thing is iconic, I'll give it that. But is it actually good, or are we all just suffering from nostalgia goggles turned up to eleven? Specifically, I'm thinking about the tone. It tries so hard to be this meta-commentary on horror tropes, but it kinda just ends up feeling... I don't know, smug? Like it's constantly winking at the audience, saying, 'Look how clever we are! We know we're making a zombie movie!' The ending, with everyone getting nuked felt less profound and more like the writers just ran out of ideas, tbh. Like, we get it, the government is evil... slow your roll. And honestly, the acting is… spotty. Linnea Quigley is hot and iconic, obviously, but everyone else is phoning it in and screaming a lot. The practical effects are decent for the time, but not exactly groundbreaking. Maybe I'm just jaded, and surrounded by too many people who treat this like the zombie genre's Citizen Kane, but I'm genuinely asking: what am I missing? Is there something beyond the camp and the 'brains' catchphrase that elevates this to legendary status, or is it just a product of its time that's become a little too beloved? No hate towards the film or anyone if you disagree, I'm just curious to know if other people feel the same way. What's the thing that you ACTUALLY love about it and maybe can open my eyes to it? And maybe some of you secretly agree that the movie's okay, but you're too afraid to say it out loud because Dan O'Bannon will come back from the grave and direct you to a fate worse than death.