R | 3h 1m | Drama, Western, Action | 2024
“Horizon: An American Saga–Chapter 1” (“Chapter 1”) is the first in what will be a four-installment project from co-producer, director, co-writer, and actor Kevin Costner. So massive is it in scale and scope, it will likely make his similarly themed “Dances With Wolves” play out like a short film.
The story is split up into four parts starting in 1859 and takes place in the New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, and Kansas territories. In all instances, U.S. citizens faced adverse conditions from the elements, slow wagon-train travel, criminals, and in most instances, hostile Native Americans.
The latter angle is particularly impressive as it adheres closely to historical fact. Native American tribes, especially Apaches, slaughtered thousands of peace-loving, largely defenseless Western-bound settlers. This was a bold move on Costner’s part as it eschews the current revisionist mindset that far too often misrepresents and whitewashes actual events.
Multiple Distinct Characters
Despite the critics’ opinions, “Chapter 1” isn’t unfocused and disjointed; in fact, it’s the exact opposite. Costner and his co-writer Jon Baird introduce six major and a dozen more supporting characters in each of the four segments. The script gives them all distinct personalities and voices, and it is done without coming off as rushed, choppy, or forced.
On the downside, the score by John Debney is relentless, often intrusive, and thematically all over the map. While some of it is properly upbeat and reminiscent of past Westerns (including “Silverado,” starring Costner), too much of it feels lifted from classic “sword & sandal” biblical epics from the 1950s and 1960s.
The first act takes too long to get going, and its one hour feels like two. Conversely, the swiftly moving final two hours feel like one and finish strong.
Standout Performances
Among the standouts include Sienna Miller as a widowed plainswoman, Luke Wilson as a wagon train leader, Sam Worthington and Michael Rooker as Union Army officers, Abbey Lee as Ellison’s possible love interest, and Costner’s former “Yellowstone” cast mates Danny Huston and Will Patton.
Adequately critiquing “Chapter 1” is problematic on a couple of levels. It offers great promise, but it fails as a standalone movie. There’s a lot of preamble, table-setting, and character and story introduction, but next to zero follow-through or payoff.
To put this in perspective, take a look at the multi-installment franchises “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Both of these properties were based on long-established books, and each of the movies had a beginning, a middle, and an end. “Chapter 1” is all beginning.
A Brilliant Tease
Rather than ending “Chapter 1” in a traditional fade-or-cut-to-black fashion, Costner seamlessly closes out the narrative with a five-minute “Chapter 2” trailer-preview reel. It is a brilliant marketing move. It whets the appetite of captive audiences in a throwback, Golden Age “cliffhanger” manner.If “Chapter 1” is any kind of indicator, the total “Horizon” saga running time will exceed 12 hours, an unprecedented move that will test the patience of most theatergoers. However, for devoted fans of both Westerns and Mr. Costner, it will be cinematic heaven. If there was any (non-sci-fi) live-action movie of the last quarter century that should be seen on a big screen, it’s “Chapter 1.”
Despite this film’s epic scope and eye-popping theatrical presentation, I think Mr. Costner should have waited until all four installments were in the can. It probably would have been better to present everything as a six-part miniseries. This would not only eliminate long waits in between releases (it’s likely the third and fourth parts won’t come out until late 2025 at the earliest), but would also make critical evaluations far less nebulous, pejorative, conditional, and incomplete.
