Kevin Costner's New Western Movie Sounds Worryingly Like His 14% Flop From 27 Years Ago
Critics' opinions of Kevin Costner's Western epic Horizon: An American Saga have been divided, with many of the reviews mirroring their feelings toward one of the director, writer, and actor's earlier works. Costner is a very renowned director, yet his track record in the business is actually somewhat uneven. He has been in iconic flops like Waterworld, yet he has also found great success with projects like Dances With Wolves. His participation in a project does not, then, ensure its success; this pattern appears to be continuing with Horizon.
Horizon embodies the essence of a passion endeavor in many respects. Despite studios' reluctance to support his idea, Costner acknowledged having commissioned the project in 1988 in an interview with Deadline. The tale has evolved into a multi-chapter saga with four Horizon films overall after decades of labor. This is a noble goal. Even so, just 35% of reviewers gave the first installment a positive rating, indicating that the project's size did not prevent them from responding negatively (via Rotten Tomatoes). This response is disappointing on its own. More concerning, though, is the way it seems to follow a pattern set in a prior Kevin Costner movie.
Horizon Brings Back Memories of The Postman with Kevin Costner.
A comparable narrative niche may be found for Costner's 1997 film The Postman, which gives a broad and epic take on the Western genre's traditions, just as Horizon does. The Postman's post-apocalyptic American setting, in contrast to the 2024 film, gives its Western sensibilities an intriguing, futuristic edge. Though the two films' backgrounds are vastly different, there are some fascinating parallels between them as well, which raises even more concerns about Horizon's future before its wider theatrical release on June 28, 2024.
To begin with, Costner stars in and directs both of the films. Unfortunately, the shortcomings in the two films are about equivalent because of how much of Costner was involved. The Postman did considerably worse, receiving only a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to Horizon's 35%. Critics emphasized the two films' self-serious tone, sluggish plot, and bloated runtimes (both clocking in at approximately three hours). The Postman was a critical and financial flop, thus Horizon's box office chances are not good considering how similar it appears to be to it.
Why The Postman Was Such A Failure.
There are several explanations for why The Postman did not strike a chord with audiences. The main criticisms pointed to the film's 177-minute duration and tone. "A massive miscalculation in self-mythologizing by director and star Kevin Costner, The Postman would make for a goofy good time if it weren't so fatally self-serious," reads the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus. Notable critics were especially critical, with veteran critic Gene Siskel taking particular issue with what he saw as the film's apparent self-aggrandizement (remembering to refer to Costner's previous Oscar-winning feature as "Dances With Myself").
Like with a lot other box office failures, it's not always evident how much negative reviews influenced the film's dismal box office results. However, it's indisputable that the film tanked at the box office following a thorough critical dissection. The movie only made $30 million worldwide on a $80 million budget (again, not too far from Horizon's reported $100 million), which is a staggering loss by any standards. The Postman is actually a more complete failure than Waterworld, Costner's second post-apocalyptic adventure film, despite being less well-known.
The Postman Reminiscences in Horizon Are Not Good For The Film's Future.
When you consider that Horizon and The Postman have a similar director, actor, tonal problems, long running times, similar themes, and negative reviews, it would seem that Horizon's chances of succeeding in theaters will be limited by the precedent set by the 1997 film. The film arguably already had a steep learning curve. Being an independent production without ties to a larger franchise, it was always up against formidable challenges. In addition to its $100 million budget, Horizon faces the difficult challenge of needing to earn about $250 million worldwide in order to turn a profit.
Even though the two movies are over two decades apart, any movie can learn from The Postman's shortcomings. It's widely acknowledged, though not a hard-and-fast rule, that any original epic movie needs favorable reviews to entice potential spectators to settle down for a three-hour theatrical marathon. Even in that case, Western films may find it difficult to draw a sizable audience. This is exemplified by critically acclaimed box office hits such as the slow-burning 2007 epic The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, which made $15 million on a $30 million budget.
