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Horizon:
An American Saga – Chapter 1
(2024)
  
Review
Structured and paced like a limited
series made for streaming, Kevin Costner’s latest western epic
Horizon: An American Saga combines familiar elements of settler
life in the American West during the 1850s, complete with the grand
landscapes and the sentimental musical score. The cast of characters
is extensive and the storylines are sprawling, and although this
arguably gives the film the grand scope Costner aims for, it also
results in a diffused narrative that lacks cohesion and is not
particularly compelling as a whole. He also fails to generate the necessary tension around the
final showdown. And, of course, the promise of three more chapters
to be released at varying intervals isn’t exactly the best sales
pitch. Among the large ensemble cast, Michael Rooker and Abbey Lee
deserve special mention.
Side note: The included teaser trailer for Chapter 2 that the film
ends with is neither here nor there.
Side note #2: Remember when everyone in westerns smoked? Well, now
nobody does. How’s that for historical accuracy?
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