Horizon: An American Saga-Part One

 

      Co-written and directed by Kevin Costner, "Part One" is a 3 hour set up for just the beginning of Mr. Costner's passion project. He introduces lots of characters and situations that will continue to play out in future installments leaving this chapter unfulfilling.

      "Part One" stars Mr. Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Danny Houston, Jamie Campbell Bower, Luke Wilson, Jena Malone, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, Abby Lee, Tom Payne, Will Patton, Georgia MacPhail, and Michael Rooker.

       You can clearly see that Mr. Costner has an affinity for the American west but his script meanders like many western rivers. The dialog tries to be authentic but loses credibility at times (would a Calvary soldier really say "indigenous" in the 1800's) and the authentic costumes are just a bit too clean at times. The film's cinematography, however, is excellent with scenes of beautiful mountains and sweeping vistas.

        Besides opening and closing massacres, not much happens in the way of character development or story. It's all set up or as they say in the west, "all hat and no cattle". I still don't think it's fair to judge the film on it's own as it's only the beginning of a "saga" but three hours easily could have been two.