Kevin Costner’s Horizon Is As Bad as You’ve Heard

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is a sprawling, misguided mess that fails on nearly every level. Kevin Costner’s three-hour Western, meant to launch a four-part saga, feels bloated, regressive, and unconvincing in its attempts to grapple with the complexities of the American West. While the film includes gestures toward a more balanced portrayal of history—such as massacres committed by both Native and white characters—these efforts are undermined by a narrative and aesthetic that lean heavily on old-fashioned, triumphalist Western tropes.

Costner seems desperate to channel the grandeur of classic Westerns like John Ford’s, but lacks the master’s narrative boldness, visual dynamism, or ability to delve into morally fraught territory. Instead, the film indulges in sweeping shots of white men standing heroically against sunset vistas, while its treatment of women and minorities veers from patronizing to outright offensive. The reverence for genteel white women and the degrading treatment of others, especially women of color, are painfully regressive.

Critics have not exaggerated—Horizon is every bit as clunky, tone-deaf, and painfully long as reported. Costner’s ambitions to revive the Western fall disastrously flat, leaving a film that is slack, boring, and at odds with its attempts at modern sensibilities. If there’s any justice, the first chapter’s failure will save us from suffering through chapters two, three, and four. Stay away.