Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 1 4K UHD Review
“Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 1” would have been better served as a television series.
Written by Kevin Costner and Jon Baird, “Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 1” is the first installment in this new western saga. A second chapter is due in the near future while a third one is being planned (although it’s unclear if and when the third entry will be made). As the title suggests, the story revolves around the town of Horizon which was established in 1859 (where the film begins). The story jumps ahead 4 years in which Horizon (which is now inhabited by American homesteaders) becomes raided by an Apaches resulting in numerous deaths. Certain indigenous Apaches (led by Pionsenay) are fighting a war against the settlers as they believe they are being forced out by them. Among the survivors are Frances (who lost her husband and son but kept her daughter safe) and a young boy (Russell) who alerts the US Union Cavalry to assist. The survivors are taken to Camp Gallant where Frances begins to fall for a Lt. named Gephardt. Russell, meanwhile, joins a reckless posse led by Elias to hunt down the Apaches.
Another key arc here involves Lucy (AKA Ellen)- a woman who fled the unstable Sykes family and is now raising her son (Sam) with a new man (Walter) and living with Marigold (a prostitute). Marigold meets a horse trader (Hayes) and soon finds herself on a new path when 2 of the Sykes brothers find Lucy and create havoc.
The third arc finds wagon train leader Matthew venturing to Horizon carrying a British couple, members of Frances’ family, among others. The wagon train runs into Pawnee warriors which complicates their trip.
Coming off “Yellowstone,” Kevin Costner returns to the big screen with an ambitious sprawling ensemble western that feels, well, like it should have been a TV series. In fact, it’s even structured like one. Of course, these days, the line between film and TV is blurring more and more as people’s tastes begin to change. Anyway, ‘Horizon’ doesn’t feel like a film at all to me. Sure, it’s cinematic, but it’s long (161 minutes), slow, and full of set-up for part 2 and beyond. By the time the credits roll, you’ll feel as if very little has happened outside of character introductions (of which there are many). Had this been broken up into individual episodes, it would have flowed better and allowed audiences to absorb the characters more not to mention the story about American history, survival, settlers, and violence. With that said, it’s quite possible chapter 2 could wow us all and allow viewers to view the first chapter in a new light.
One thing that needs to be said though is that it’s refreshing to see Kevin Costner go all in on this passion project. The actor and filmmaker is no stranger to taking big original gambles with films “Dances With Wolves,” “Waterworld,” “The Postman,” and now ‘Horizon.’ They may not always work, but it’s just nice to see original stories being told regardless.
Speaking of Costner, one would figure he would be the star, but his character comes into the movie around an hour in and isn’t in it as much as you’d think (which is a shame). As mentioned above, this is very much an ensemble piece with characters like Frances (Sienna Miller), Matthew (Luke Wilson), Gephardt (Sam Worthington), and Marigold (Abbey Lee) getting a lot of screentime. Sienna Miller stands out the most here as a widowed wife/mother who is trying to move on with her life after the raid. Expect to see plenty of great actors in smaller roles too like Jeff Fahey, Jena Malone, Michael Rooker, Will Patton (naturally), Danny Huston, and Giovanni Ribisi.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p. How does it look? This beautifully shot movie gets a striking transfer, but it looks a little TOO clean for my taste no doubt due to the digital camerawork.
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? An epic movie like this deserves an epic track and this layered Atmos track delivers the goods.
The lone extra is a Digital copy
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