This summer Kevin Costner directs and stars in his two-part Western epic, Horizon: An American Saga, which takes place during the American Civil War.
Chapter 1, which clocks in at 3 hours, is set to hit cinemas on June 28, followed by Chapter 2 on August 16.
The first movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation as the Hollywood star himself was captured tearing up.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, which the filmmaker and actor put $38 million of his own money into, has received mixed reviews from the critics.
Check out some of the highlights below from those who thought it boring to those who cannot wait for the second half.
The bad reviews
BBC
But a film – certainly a Western – needs to have a plot, a bit of credible characterisation, and a structure that preferably includes a beginning, middle and end. Horizon doesn’t have any of those.
Hollywood Reporter
Any of these plotlines might have sustained an hour of compelling television but they don’t add up to much in this awkwardly stitched quilt, which rarely provides the space for anyone’s experiences to resonate.
Inverse
Every magnificent vista and each swooningly romantic moment can’t make up for the fact that Horizon is excruciatingly dull.
Vanity Fair
At least Horizon accomplishes one staggering feat: it makes one wonder if we were maybe a little too hard on The Postman.
Variety
As a stand-alone film (which it isn’t, but let’s pretend for a moment), “Horizon” is by turns convoluted, ambitious, intriguing, and meandering. But it’s never quite moving.
The good reviews
Daily Telegraph
Part of the pleasure of Horizon is the sheer, magisterial sweep of the thing – with mountains and buttes and mesas like these, who needs CG? But its texture lives in small, telling details.
Total Film
A rigorous and handsome drama, finely hewn by Costner and his cast, this is an absorbing ride into the Old West.
The Times
Costner boasts an instinctive understanding of the archetype and thus elevates the role and each line beyond the possibility of camp.
Deadline
For Costner, this is an impressive beginning, with the promise of more to come.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 hits cinemas on June 28, followed by Chapter 2 on August 16, 2024.
