ADVERTISEMENT

Ignore the critics – Kevin Costner’s three-hour western is a must-watch

I saw it today. I didn’t have a problem with the pacing. It was a fast three hours. But it was a weird experience watching it. There were a few times I was like “wait..what?” during the movie. The end was especially confounding and odd to me. But I did like it and hope the second movie will redeem the first movie as it as set the plate.
 
I saw it today. I didn’t have a problem with the pacing. It was a fast three hours. But it was a weird experience watching it. There were a few times I was like “wait..what?” during the movie. The end was especially confounding and odd to me. But I did like it and hope the second movie will redeem the first movie as it as set the plate.

I thought it was solid.
Liked the montage at the end as a lead in/connection to part 2.

Some really good scenes.

Everyone needs to go into this understanding that it's a miniseries.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mister_Man
It's such a dumb argument, too, as when in the course of human events have newcomers EVER not expanded as far as their numbers and military power allowed?

I'm anti-genocide and think the way Europeans treated Native Americans was apalling - but it was also BAU for the era. Who had the most advanced weaponery and political cooperation was able to displace and replace those without them.
True. Exactly the thing NA’s were doing to each other before european involvement. Nothing new or unique about this whether it was Red Cloud dominating lesser NA nations or europeans expanding west.
 
I thought it was solid.
Liked the montage at the end as a lead in/connection to part 2.

Some really good scenes.

Everyone needs to go into this understanding that it's a miniseries.
Stand alone it would be pretty bad with as many storylines happening at once and the amount of bouncing back and forth between them. Then not tying anything together at the end. But like you said, have to understand it’s part of a series and the storylines will start being connected, I assume, in part 2. I definitely enjoyed it enough to go back for part 2.
 
I will be seeing all 4 of these movies. As for the slow moving issue, it's 4 movies. It's not going to be fast paced. There is time to flesh out the story.

I wonder if these movies would have been better served to be released as an HBO series. Imagine a season of GOT being released in 4 long movies, people would have complained about the slow pace.

I have been wanting another epic western. This series will be the crowning achievement for a guy who has done a lot in that genre. I am in for all 4 Horizons.
We went last night. I enjoyed it once it started putting all the plot lines together. Even after sitting through 3+ hours, I left wishing for more. I now have something to look forward to August 16. And like you, it would seem, to me, it might work better as a television series.
 
  • Like
Reactions: noleclone2
I will be seeing all 4 of these movies. As for the slow moving issue, it's 4 movies. It's not going to be fast paced. There is time to flesh out the story.

I wonder if these movies would have been better served to be released as an HBO series. Imagine a season of GOT being released in 4 long movies, people would have complained about the slow pace.

I have been wanting another epic western. This series will be the crowning achievement for a guy who has done a lot in that genre. I am in for all 4 Horizons.

With ticket sales where they are, I would have to imagine parts 3 & 4 might never be finished.
 
I’ll watch them. Always liked Costner. Think No Way Out is his best flick.

The problem with Westerns is that Eastwood made the perfect one with Unforgiven and everything else is fighting for second place.
 
I’ll watch them. Always liked Costner. Think No Way Out is his best flick.

The problem with Westerns is that Eastwood made the perfect one with Unforgiven and everything else is fighting for second place.
Donald Trump GIF by Election 2016

brother anyone GIF
 
Hopefully they have a streaming plan to help make up for it or there likely won’t finish four movies.


Meanwhile, the even quieter place is on the Western front. Kevin Costner‘s hopeful franchise-starter “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1″ isn’t performing up to its price point on opening weekend. The epic-length Western took in $4.1 million from 3,334 locations across Friday and preview screenings. That puts it on track to land within projections for a three-day opening in the low-teens — good for bronze on domestic charts.

That’s not small potatoes for an original adult drama these days. But the first chapter of “Horizon” was built to be a blockbuster, with a $100 million production cost — $38 million of which was put up by Costner himself, the film’s director, star and co-writer has bluntly shared. Then there’s a $30 million P&A spend on top of that, also backed by Costner and mysterious investors. Warner Bros. is distributing the film, but it’s not on the hook for production or marketing costs apart from some development costs incurred through New Line.

More than three decades ago, reports gave the coming release of Costner’s directorial debut “Dances With Wolves” the humorous moniker of “Kevin’s Gate,” coloring the Western as a brewing disaster on par with Michael Cimino’s notorious flop “Heaven’s Gate.” Like “Horizon,” Costner invested millions of his own money into “Wolves” too. But he proved the naysayers wrong then, scoring the sixth-highest-grossing release of 1991 and taking home the Oscars for best picture and best director.

But there have been clouds over the box office prospects for “Horizon” for a while now, not only because of its hefty price point. The film largely bellyflopped with critics after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. But now, more alarmingly, Costner’s target audience doesn’t seem to especially taken with the film either. “Horizon” landed with a B- grade on Cinema Score — an ominous sign that the Western isn’t fostering the buzz that it would need to leg out a successful run at the box office. Older audiences don’t usually rush for opening weekend and the coming Fourth of July holiday may end up buoying things a bit, but “Horizon” could’ve really used a bigger splash than this. And with Warner Bros. putting out “Chapter 2” in theaters just seven weeks from now, the overall fortunes of the production stand to sink lower.
 
I can't watch it anymore. Americana overload. The Costner "cock and balls" speech hurts. Also I would be super pumped to hold the minor league home run record. Avoid a real job for two decades
Somehow, I'd gone most of my life without watching Bull Durham - not deliberate, just somehow we never rented it or anything growing up. Finally got around to watching a couple years back; while a good flick, I honestly don't get the absolute love for this movie either.
 
Somehow, I'd gone most of my life without watching Bull Durham - not deliberate, just somehow we never rented it or anything growing up. Finally got around to watching a couple years back; while a good flick, I honestly don't get the absolute love for this movie either.
America loves baseball movies. And it is a good baseball flick for sure🤷‍♂️
 
3 is already being filmed. If anything, they may wrap it up with the 3rd one.

At the pace of tickets sales even that could be a devastating decision. If relatively few people see part 1, why would studio execs have any reason to think tickets sales with continue to grow for parts 2 & 3?

This unfortunately could be one of the worst decisions in film history playing out in slow motion, with no hope for a graceful landing. It's too bad, I'd have liked to have watched the film on HBO.
 
At the pace of tickets sales even that could be a devastating decision. If relatively few people see part 1, why would studio execs have any reason to think tickets sales with continue to grow for parts 2 & 3?

This unfortunately could be one of the worst decisions in film history playing out in slow motion, with no hope for a graceful landing. It's too bad, I'd have liked to have watched the film on HBO.

When we went the other day it was a decidedly older crowd. That surprised me because even in my younger days I enjoyed a good western.
 
When we went the other day it was a decidedly older crowd. That surprised me because even in my younger days I enjoyed a good western.
We consume media differently now. Add in the fact the built in movie going audience didn’t grow up with Westerns on TV or the movies.
Then there is no younger star attached to it. Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Leonardo, etc etc r now considered elder stars by young people . They are who molded their culture.
 
The promotion of the film is terrible. You don’t see many commercials for it and when you do you don’t see the fast cuts showing some action/drama, etc that will excite an audience. And, I haven’t seen anything yet but from all I’ve heard this should have been broken into a 10-episode series on HBO or something instead of several films.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerome Silberman
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT