REVIEW: ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ Is Streaming Now. Should You Watch Kevin Costner’s First Epic?

Kevin Costner’s movie passion project “Horizon: An American Saga” dropped Friday on HBO after a blisteringly bad run in the box office. And it is clear to see why the first chapter of this franchise didn’t work in theaters, though not for the reasons you may be thinking.

“Horizon: An American Saga” is not a good film, but it would have arguably made one of the best television series in the history of entertainment. The three-hour first chapter of what is meant to be a four-part franchise series sets up Costner’s vision of the old West in a way I’ve not seen since the dawn of film.

To an old fart like me, the long exterior shots of pristine American landscape are stunning and well worth the time commitment, just not in a theatrical setting. The fact anyone involved in this production thought they’d get a huge audience to sit in a gross movie theater for three hours shows just how either out-of-touch or vanity-driven this project was from the off. But the overall story, acting and premise do work. Kind of.