After proving his worth in Taylor Sheridanās neo-western drama Yellowstone, Kevin Costner has continued his tryst with the genre with his latest film Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 which he has written, produced, directed, and starred in. Set during the American Civil War period, the movie is the first installment in a 4 part film series that premiered in the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
But the drama does not seem to have caught the fancy of critics, ahead of its US release at the end of June, and has also currently earned a poor Rotten Tomatoes rating following its premiere. But fans of Costner are standing firmly by their iconās side and have quoted another legend who also faced a similar fate last year, but quickly made up the numbers with his iconic film.
Kevin Costner Fans Have Full Faith In His Latest Film Despite Mixed Reviews
Kevin Costnerās next major film sees the veteran take on every aspect of filmmaking. His western drama Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 which he has written, produced, directed, and starred in, premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Based on the American Civil War and the expansion of the American West, the movie also has an impressive ensemble cast that includes Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington among others.
The drama which is the first installment in a 4 part film series taken on by Costner, unfortunately does not seem to have impressed critics in its initial release in Cannes. Based on the current Rotten Tomatoes rating after 19 published reviews, the movie has earned a disappointing 32% score.
But this figure is not deterring fans of Costner from looking forward to its release in theaters. Firmly supporting their favorite star, one social media user quoted the example of Harrison Fordās Indiana Jones and the Dials of Destiny which also premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and faced a similar predicament initially. Other netizens expressed confidence that the film will make up the numbers over the weeks.
It was at 20% last week when it was screened on Cannes. I bet that it will continue to grow. The same thing happened to Indiana Jones last year.
— Gonzalo (@gonzalo_9122) May 24, 2024
Reviewed by critics who hate America.
— BigJuicyBootay (@BootayJuicy) May 24, 2024
I don't care what critics say. I'll be there.
— SketchyW (@SketchyWriterKU) May 24, 2024
Don't listen to tomotoe scores. Be an independent thinker. I've always been a fan of Costner's Westerns, so I'll be watching Regardless ššš pic.twitter.com/uLk5q15lLX
— YeOldWorzelš“ó §ó ¢ó „ó ®ó §ó 暬š§š½ļø (@YeWestCountrySW) May 24, 2024
Well itās going up.
— Matt (@mattfshipp) May 24, 2024
To put this into context, Indiana Jones 5 also began its quest poorly as per a report in Screen Rant. But as the weeks went on, it gained momentum with fans flocking to theaters to see Ford reprise his iconic role one last time. As a result, its Rotten Tomatoes score which was pretty low at first, quickly increased and ended at 70% in the critics rating and received a very impressive 88% score from audiences.
Keeping this statistic in mind, viewers seem to be confident that Costnerās ambitious film will also follow the same path as Fordās Indiana Jones 5 especially with audiences. With loyal support for the Yellowstone actor, all thatās left is for fans to eagerly look forward to the release of the movie in June.
Kevin Costnerās Love For Westerns Is Inspired By His Father
While Yellowstone will remain one of Kevin Costnerās best efforts in the western drama space, the veteran actorās love for the genre goes back many years. The Water World star has also worked in many other Western films and shows like 1985ās Silverado, and the three-part 2012 History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys with Bill Paxton.
In 2003, theĀ celebrity directed and acted in the American Western film Open Range. The narrative follows a former gunslinger and Civil War vet played by the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves star, who is forced back into action to fight a corrupt lawman played by Michael Gambon.
Open Range also starred Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, and Diego Luna. The film was a box-office success, grossing over $68 million (via The Numbers), and was well-liked by critics and audiences. Costner, who credited this film as the beginning of his love affair with Westerns, spoke of the influence his father had and his wish to see the Yellowstone actor portray roles of this nature.
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainmentās Role Recall in 2014 on the occasion of the 20th year of the film, Costner looked back on the events leading up to making Open Range and the impact it had on him going forward in his career.
My dad really loved John Wayne. And he said to me, āYou can do thatā. And of course I canāt be John Wayne. But I have personally taken an interest in the American Western. That final shootout, a lot of people say that they really enjoy that. Thatās been ranked as maybe the top shootout. So Iām very proud of that.
This film was almost a premonition for Costner by his own admission, as the actor was certain that he would go on to make more projects of this nature along the course of his career.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 will release in theaters on June 28th, 2024.
