Horizon: An American Saga Disappoints in First Reviews

Critics currently aren’t impressed with Horizon: An American Saga .

The first chapter in Kevin Costner’s series of epic Western films debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of just 30%. That’s based on the reviews of 20 critics so far.

It comes as a surprise after the initial optimistic reaction to Horizon: An American Saga . Kevin Costner cried during a lengthy standing ovation at Cannes , and there’s been relentlessly positive word-of-mouth about the film.

“The first part of a planned four-part epic saga strives for a lot, but serves more to remind us of the best of the genre without achieving it itself,” writes Stephanie Zacharek from Time in their review.

“Any of these plotlines might have sustained an hour of compelling television but they don’t add up to much in this awkwardly stitched quilt,” writes David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter.

Horizon: An American Saga is a planned four-parter. Chapter two is set to release on August 16, 2024; chapter three started shooting in May 2024, and chapter four is in development.