Movie Review: ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’

Costner has poured millions into this long-cherished passion project, which calls back to epic Westerns of yesteryear for good, and more frequently, ill.

Kevin Costner as Hayes Ellison in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Riding into theaters on June 28th, ‘Does ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’ is Kevin Costner’s latest attempt to breathe fresh life into the Western, a genre that was once dominant in theaters before fading away to be replaced by others, re-emerging occasionally as filmmakers such as Clint Eastwood and Costner himself found new ways to present some well-trodden tales.

The big question is, in an era (admittedly closer to the end than the beginning) of superhero dominance, will there still be a demand for horse-drawn epics of rough-hewn frontiersmen and cowboys fighting to secure territory, power or wealth? And has the baton been handed to the small screen where the likes of ‘Yellowstone’ (formerly starring one K. Costner) and its period-set spin-offs are filling that need?

Does ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’ Round Up Decent Entertainment?

A scene from New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It’s clear that Kevin Costner firmly still believes in the power of the Western. After all, ‘Horizon’ (you’ll forgive us for not writing the whole title out again) is three hours long and represents just the first part of a planned four-chapter story. Costner has ‘Chapter 2’ due on August 16th, with ‘Chapter 3’ in production and ‘Chapter 4’ in development.

While there is plenty to like about the movie –– sun-dappled vistas, a wealth of storylines and even (not shocking coming from the director/star of ‘Dances with Wolves’) a nod to balancing the portrayals of settlers and natives –– ‘Horizon’ really ends up feeling overstuffed, even at three hours long, and one big set up for what is become, meaning the narrative is never all that satisfying (including a montage at the end serving as a trailer for what is to come, which has the feel of a student padding their history essay with footnotes).

Script and Direction

Director Kevin Costner in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Writing with novelist Jon Baird, Costner here aims to turn the clock back to both the Western’s roots and his own work in the genre with the likes of ‘Wolves’ and ‘Wyatt Earp’. Together the duo have crafted a sprawling, multi-story tale of hardy settlers, the natives they come into conflict with and the various characters who orbit both groups. Trouble is, it’s so sprawling and so clearly designed to lay the narrative railroad tracks for the movies to come that it can’t help but turn out unsatisfyingly unfinished, the story less wrapping up than left dangling. One or two of the plotlines have the appearance of completion, but in reality this is more a pilot for a limited series (‘Horizon’ was going to be one at some point in its long gestation) than a fully rounded movie.

Directorially, it’s predictably accomplished, Costner and his crew making full use of the sweeping, glorious vistas of the American countryside and staging some epic standoff scenes (the story is bookended by a violent Apache attack on settlers and a vengeful raid by “white-eyes” on the natives near the end). The trouble comes with some of the characters and performances, whose quality vary wildly from well-sketched (the likes of Sienna Miller’s Frances Kittredge, who loses her husband and son in the first attack) to basic Western cliché (Jon Beavers’ scowlin’, spittin’, villainous Junior Sykes). And aside from Miller, and to a lesser degree, Abbey Lee’s Marigold, the majority of the women are disposable or, in the case of snippy, snooty Juliette Chesney (Ella Hunt) mostly the butt of jokes.

Costner, of course, gives himself a plum role (albeit a character who doesn’t show up in the story for roughly an hour), playing Hayes Ellison, a badass –– but humble! –– travelling worker who is handy with a six-shooter and instantly attractive to beautiful women. Must be nice to be the boss…

Performances

Macphail as Elizabeth “Lizzie” and Michael Rooker as Sgt. Mjr. Thomas Riordan in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

(L to R) Sienna Miller as Frances, Georgia Macphail as Elizabeth “Lizzie” and Michael Rooker as Sgt. Mjr. Thomas Riordan in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

With such a full cast, it would be impossible to spotlight them all, but the majority of the actors do what they can with limited screentime (surely something the completed set of movies will repair) and occasionally slim characterization.

Sam Worthington as Trent Gephart

Sam Worthington as First Lt. Trent Gephardt in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

A military man, and part of the Union army (since the movie is set during the Civil War but only peripherally touches upon it), Sam Worthington is the anchor for one of the big stories. He’s actually better here than he tends to be in the ‘Avatar’ movies, finding a low-key but authoritative gear and notching solid chemistry with Miller’s widowed woman.

Owen Crow Shoe as Pionsenay

(L to r) Owen Crow Shoe as Pionsenay and (right) Tatanka Means as Taklishim in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Apache warrior who leads the initial, brutal assault on the settlers, he’s portrayed as a complicated, hot-headed young man who is looking to fiercely defend his family, tribe and land from the invading new arrivals. That brings him into conflict with the elders, especially his father, who would rather lay low in the relative safety of the mountains. Owen Crow Shoe puts in a solid performance in a couple of scenes.

Luke Wilson as Van Weyden

Luke Wilson in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Luke Wilson gets to show a gruffer side of himself than usual as the leader of a caravan wending its way along the risky the Santa Fe Trail. Not every scene of his storyline works, but he certainly acquits himself with the required grit.

Final Thoughts

Kevin Costner as Hayes Ellison in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter One', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Kevin Costner is certainly to be applauded for keeping the faith with the movie, insisting it stay a big screen experience when there was a thought it could end up on streaming.

Yet the movie is not without some big flaws. Its old-fashioned nature leads to a stew of manly Western man and flighty female cliches, plenty of the dialogue could have used some polishing and the native characters need more shading if they’re to function effectively. Still, if Costner manages to finish the whole film series, there are plenty of hours ahead.

And talking of hours, ‘Chapter 1’ could easily have lost a few sequences that little served the narrative –– it would have functioned perfectly well at two to two-and-a-half hours.

‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

"The American saga begins this summer."

R3 hr 2 minJun 28th, 2024

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 Online

What’s the Plot of ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’?

“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many.

Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Kevin Costner’s movie chronicles a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.