Horizon: an American Saga Chapter One-An Ambitious, if Scattered and Boring Western

Horizon: An American Saga is an ambitious concept detailing the rise and fall of the American West in a multi-movie saga that follows multiple people. Conceptually, many of these characters are interesting. There's a mother and daughter caught in a feud between the settlers and the natives, the American army trying to do what's right for this feud, and the Natives who have to decide what to do with the settlers building settlements on their land. On top of that, you've got two brothers and a sister in a familial feud, a wanderer caught in the middle of the feud forced to run with a woman and her son, and a group of wagoners trying to find a place to settle down. 

These are all a lot of characters to follow. So, to follow them all, Kevin Costner paces the story like a TV show, cutting from one long sequence with one character after another, with these storylines rarely intersecting. This style of storytelling could work if any of the characters were very interesting, but unfortunately, most of them aren't. These characters are all well-acted by talented actors like Costner himself, Michael Rooker, Sam Worthington, and Luke Wilson. But, with so many characters to follow, the film constantly jumps between each character, which makes it difficult for me to connect with any of them. Because of this, I found most of the narrative to be quite dull. 

The film is very well made, with Kevin Costner capturing the majesty of the American West. Costner also captures a particular atmosphere in the dialogue scenes, using light and shadow to evoke a certain mood. It all feels classic Hollywood, with visual homages to classic Western filmmakers like John Ford. 

But as well-made as the film is, it doesn't mean much if I struggle to find any of its sprawling cast of characters compelling. It's tough to judge the story entirely, as being only part one of a multi-part story, there is only half of much of this story. Maybe this story will improve with any of the following chapters. But on its own, I found Chapter One of Horizon: An American Saga to be a well-made, well-acted film with a story and characters I struggled to connect with or care about.

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