Kevin Costner's Horizon: Chapter 1 Is Off to a Highly Divisive Start
The former Yellowstone star risked it all to make his historical Western epic — but how did it pay off? Critics and viewers are incredibly divided on the first movie.
There’s something distinctly charming and captivating about the genre of Western in cinema. So captivating, in fact, that some actors dedicate their entire careers to this particular genre — and Kevin Costner might just be the best example of that.
For decades, the man has always been up in the saddle with a gun in his hand, and he’s still true to himself, roaming the prairies in his latest movie.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon Was a Huge Gamble
It’s borderline impossible to imagine Kevin Costner betraying the genre of Western, and the actor has proven it time and time again. For years, Costner has been nurturing his idea of the perfect American Saga, but he had no luck in finding producers for it — but recently, he did, and he jumped at the opportunity immediately.
To make Horizon, Costner risked everything. He sacrificed his iconic (and highly profitable!) lead part in Yellowstone, dedicated all his time and energy to the new movies, and even spent an unholy amount of his own money on it, mortgaging 10 acres of his oceanside property for $50M to invest it all into the Horizon saga.
Horizon was and still is a massive gamble for Kevin Costner. Now that the first movie is out and reviews are rolling in… Was it worth such sacrifices?
First Horizon Is Proving Highly Divisive So Far
At the time of the writing, quite a few people have already left reviews on Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, and the picture we’re getting from them is interesting. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first installment has an abysmally low 20% Critic Score, which sounds terrifying until you learn that it’s based on just five reviews.
On IMDb, however, things are looking very different: there, Horizon: Chapter 1 boasts a sensational 9/10 score which is almost unheard of on this far stricter platform. That rating is based on 87 reviews which still isn’t much but far more representative than the five reviews on RT.
The two platforms give off really different first impressions of Horizon, so we’re curious to see how those scores change as more critics and viewers get their hands on Kevin Costner’s ultimate American Saga.