Kevin Costner’s latest film has been criticized by critics, despite receiving a 10-minute standing ovation from audiences after premiering at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.
Horizon: An American Saga is an epic multi-chapter Western film that follows the American Civil War and the expansion of the American West.
Kevin, 69, not only stars, but also serves as director, producer and co-writer with Job Baird – the actor got teary-eyed during the long applause just after the credits rolled.
His happiness could be short-lived, however, as not all critics are fans of the three-hour western film, which has received some scathing reviews and a very low score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film has a stunningly low 20% on the Tomatometer – this score represents the percentage of professional reviews that are positive for a particular film or television show.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon epic was criticized by critics on Rotten Tomatoes and received scathing reviews, despite receiving a ten-minute standing ovation at Cannes
The film has a stunningly low 20% on the Tomatometer – this score represents the percentage of professional reviews that are positive for a particular film or television show
Kevin Costner, 69, was teary-eyed during a 10-minute standing ovation after the premiere of his new epic Western multi-part film, Horizon: An American Saga
Because the film has not yet actually been released, an audience score has yet to be generated, which represents the percentage of users who positively rated a film or TV show.
Critics do not hold back in their opinion of the epic, from which Richard Lawson comes Vanity fair penning: ‘Horizon delivers at least one stunning achievement: it makes you wonder whether we might not have been a little too hard on The Postman.’
He described the film as “far from stately or even coherent,” describing it instead as “a jumble of clichéd plots rendered in washed-out colors.”
The critic adds that it “doesn’t feel like a movie at all,” as viewers are introduced to “a television season’s worth of characters and plot threads.”
In the meantime, Variety Owen Gleiberman agrees that it “doesn’t feel like a movie. It feels like the breeding ground for a miniseries.’
He wrote, “As a standalone film (which it isn’t, but let’s pretend for a moment), ‘Horizon’ is by turns complicated, ambitious, intriguing and meandering. But it is never completely in motion.
“It’s too busy laying out narrative tracks and working out the details of situations that don’t feel like they’re leading anywhere in particular.”
Lee Marshall out Screen daily also negatively comments on the number of storylines, joking, “Costner’s Civil War epic offers an old-fashioned celebration of the pioneer spirit – and a series of storylines that never really have time to engage before the film moves on.”
The standing ovation for Horizon and Costner lasted ten minutes with loud cheering
Because the film has not yet actually been released, an audience score has yet to be generated, which represents the percentage of users who positively rated a film or TV show.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter One opens in theaters on June 28, with Chapter Two to follow and debut on August 16.
Sienna Miller joins star-studded ensemble cast that also includes Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, Ella Hunt , Jamie Campbell Bower and Thomas Haden Church, among many others
So far, there’s no official word on when the other chapters will premiere in theaters
‘Even an audience that might have enjoyed Costner’s pensive Montana Bullet ballet (2003) risks being alienated by Horizon’s bracingly abrupt shifts between the different stories.’
Peter Bradshaw out The guard rated the film a paltry two out of five stars, writing that the film “doesn’t deliver anything exciting due to its several unresolved storylines, and doesn’t leave us hanging in suspense for anything else.”
He continued, “Aside from a few slightly distracting moments, it keeps you guessing when and if things are going to get interesting.”
Despite the many scathing reviews, there were also some positive opinions among them.
Pete Hammond out Hollywood Deadline wrote: ‘For Costner, this is an impressive start, with the promise of more to come.’
In the meantime, That of the Telegraaf Robbie Collin also praised the film, writing, “Costner and Jon Baird’s tonally accurate script has three main stories that play out side by side – but takes its time with each story, allowing their flavors to build in long, unhurried scenes.”
Costner previously revealed in June 2022 that he planned to make a total of four Horizon films, shot back-to-back.
Most recently, production on the second film wrapped last summer, but then production on the third film was paused due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
Costner previously revealed in June 2022 that he planned to make a total of four Horizon films, shot back-to-back (pictured above at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival)
So far, there’s no official word on when the other chapters will premiere in theaters.
Sienna Miller joins star-studded ensemble cast that also includes Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, Ella Hunt , Jamie Campbell Bower and Thomas Haden Church, among many others.
The actor and producer has a long-standing love for the Wild West and American history, and he has been able to bring that passion to life through film on a number of occasions.
‘We often measure ourselves against other generations. I think about what was at stake. How did people survive? There is something raw and unpredictable about it. It haunts me,” he explained People in November 2022.
He went on to explain how difficult it was to make Horizon, but at the same time confessed that this is exactly what he should be doing right now.
“Horizon is incredibly meaningful to me,” he said. “It’s honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s exactly what I want to do.”
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter One will premiere in theaters on June 28, with Chapter Two to follow and debut on August 16.