What a hot button film considering how little it made at the box office. Around its release, this became the lightning rod for what was labeled as a “woke vs anti-woke” battle over whether or not the film was actually not what the other half was claiming it to be. is it too long? Are people just rejecting the idea of an original epic? Is it politics? Why did Horizon fail?
In my opinion, it was likely due to a few things. The runtime, of 3 hours, doesn’t necessarily welcome audiences, though movies are seemingly getting longer on average. But, depending on how many screens you have, it limits showtimes, which limits box office. it works when Avatar is three hours, because a multiplex is going ton stuff themselves with many screens of Avatar. Horizon might get two screens. It’s also original, and it was basically a really expensive indie, funded by Costner and some wealthy donors. As far as I know, he was shooting the third part, and I don’t know if they’ll try and close the series in three films over four. Costner probably should have pulled a Renny Harlin, who shot three parts of the new Strangers franchise, that way box office wouldn’t matter. Mostly, I think people just have an aversion to Parts.
Actually using Part 1 and part 2 is a bit of a marketing failure, as it tells your audience that there will be more. sequels are different, because they suggest that the film you are about to see has an ending. Even franchises like Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit avoided parts completely. Divergent decided to try and split up the final novel, come up with two names, and then never finish the series. Hunger Games, Twilight, and Harrpy Potter avoided “parts” until the finale, where all three got split in half.
Look at the last Mission Impossible film. Paramount pulled the part 1 off Dead Reckoning. Warner Bros wisely marketed Dune as just Dune, and not Dune: part 1. Yes, the sequel got named ‘Dune: part II, but you were already hooked or not. Even Wicked, which has an already filmed second half coming out in 2025 is pulling ‘part” from its name.
This is one ambitious film from Costner. it is long, it intends on telling a long and sprawling story, but it has no ending. It is a true Part 1. we are introduced to many different stories, from following the indigenous population as they try and figure out how to keep the intruders off their land, to a wagon train, to a woman fleeing her past, and the promise of this new town called Horizon, that is the answer to everything. Or is it?
Costner’s casting is both perfect, and not, as he has some very likely candidates here other than himself, like Will Patton. Actors who seem destined to star in westerns, but there are some who still feel too modern. It is violent, which really doesn’t matter, but in some ways this just feels like Costner trying to show up Taylor Sheridan. It doesn’t feel like the director of Dances With Wolves, Wyatt Earp, Waterworld, or The postman directing. This feels like Taylor Sheridan directing a feature set vaguely in the Yellowstone universe.
And maybe that’s where the parts come into play, is that while it is cinematic, it also could just be a high value TV show like Westworld, The Penguin, or the Rings of Power. Things that could be on the big screen, but aren’t. I’m not throwing the phone book at this though. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, based on feedback from other critics, but I do need to see more than just this. if this is the only Horizon, then I would feel like I got ripped off. it would change the way I feel about an uneven film.
this is exactly what Lionsgate did when not finishing the Divergent series. it was a three book series, and they made three films. But if you are going to have the chutzpah to make the final book into two films, you make the second film no matter what. And that’s where we’re at with Horizon. I know PArt 2 is shot, but if for some reason we never saw this franchise again, my optimistic look would certainly diminish. A lot of things I’m willing to let go, assuming they will resolve in the next part. but when there is no “next part”.
Basically, if this was the first, last, and only Horizon saga, I would lower this grade.
The audio description was pretty great, describing this intense violence that persists throughout the film, but also captured the majestic feel of the west, undeveloped, and in its natural beauty. Wherever Costner shot this, he certainly would have needed expansive landscapes not just to build the limited set, but also give people the feeling the whole thing was shot in our Wild West.
In some ways, this is a grade prediction, since I need to know what is resolved in Part 2. I’m assuming that comes out, so I’m going with my “it’s pretty good, not perfect” grade.
Final Grade: B
