Movie Review; Horizon, produced by Kevin Costner

                                                 Painting Manifest Destiny by John Gast

07/24/2024 G. Stevens 

Western Movie Review

"HORIZON"

I know this movie review is pretty late. I waited a while, and then checked ROKU to see if Kevin Costner's new western, "Horizon" was available via streaming. And I was very pleased to find that was is in fact available on "Plex". I took the time to read and watch a few videos reviews on Youtube before watching Horizon.

 Many of the initial reviews were in the " okay category," but other reviews about Horizon weren't that great. Apparently, Horizon did not do well at the box office. So I decided to take the required three hours, and $20, (the length of this film... Kevin Costner produces long movies). And watched the film. I was glad I did it at home, because it gave me control over the time commitment, so I could hit the washroom and get a snack.                                                                                     

One reviewer had mentioned that the three hours went by quickly, and I found that was very true. However, Horizon's plot was rather slow, and the character development unfolds in a fog, there are many story lines unfolding at one time, on screen, as well as many characters which appear out of no where.  Faces become much more important than names in this story, and names aren't very clear in the story line. The screen story is somewhat chaotic. But about halfway through Horizon, I began to see a few things that seemed to be based on actual known western people. And after I explain it, those of us who were raised on old westerns by John Ford, and seen Fords's cavalry trilogy will start to see some vague similarities. Also wrapped in this story line are characters based on Frank and Jesse James and the James families. I also see shades of Sarah Jane Rousseau, the famed diarist who was part of the Wyatt Earp family wagon train from Pella Iowa to San Bernadino California. Costner most definitely created the script based upon actual events. Though the first scenes (which were really drawn out with over emphasis), included a large Indian raid on the first occupants of the town "Horizon". The raid scenes did not pull any punches, and told the truth about frontier brutality and all sides of the conflicts. This part is at least fair. Horizon is also filled with a lot of gun play, shootings and violence which also involved young people. I think this is worth noting, if you decide to see Horizon with your children.  Though, I'll be honest. Parts of Horizon could be classified as "woke". The use of modern language and context leaks out in the dialogue. But this is because, the dialogue in Horizon, is long, rambling, and in many cases hard to understand, and much of the soundtrack seems to be subdued and hard to hear. This is where the movie falls short. Much of the monologue could have been shortened, or completely cut. My theory here is that Costner is trying to tell us that story of manifest destiny, wrapped in the painful days of the early civil war, and the overlooked period of the Indian wars in the west, as the westward expansion began to gain momentum. As I mentioned there are characters in this film, one of them is based on two angry family members, one with a level head, the other, hot tempered and quick to kill. Most certainly, archetype's for Frank and Jesse James. They seem to have an angry, overbearing, rigid thinking mother, and very cohesive, though violent family. It most certainly reminds me of the James family. Additionally, the U.S. Cavalry has a big piece in this story and there is a Seargent Major, Played by actor Michael Rooker, who is a fairly well known actor. His character attempts to pull off an Irish accent, apparently mimicking John Fords Cavalry Seargent, SgtMaj Quincannon, Played by actor Victor McLaglen. I think Rookers character falls a bit flat, and his dialogue was hard to understand. The ending 

 of Horizon leaves the audience hanging, yearning to know if Horizon was going to prosper. So therefore,

The story will not be complete without a sequel. On the positive side, the scenery, costuming, and cinematography are quite beautiful, which seems to be a trademark of Costner's movies.  I can only give Horizon 3.5 stars on a scale of 5 stars.