Chapter 2 Could Have One of Kevin Costner’s Worst Rotten Tomatoes Scores

While general audiences are left twiddling their thumbs for the second chapter in Kevin Costner’s epic new Western saga, Horizon: An American Saga, a lucky group of critics were treated to a screening of the movie at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and the first reviews have hit the internet – but the results are not looking good. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 is the second installment in Costner’s 4-part movie saga, which outlines the birth of a new settlement in the untamed west, named Horizon. Chapter 1 was met with mixed reviews from critics and failed to live up to the studio’s box office expectations. Despite this, the movie has gained a dedicated fan base after a very successful debut on home video and streaming, leaving fans anxiously waiting for news about Chapter 2‘s theatrical release.

Following Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2‘s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the first reviews spell bad news for Costner’s follow up. Only a handful of reviews have been released so far, with more expected in the near future. But, Chapter 2‘s hopes of a more successful theatrical release than its predecessor are looking more distant by the minute.

Horizon: An America Saga – Chapter 2 is yet to be given a Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score. However, examining the patter of its current reviews (of the seven reviews available, only one is positive), it’s heading for a much lower RT rating than the first installment.Chapter 1 sits at 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a much stronger audience score of 70%. However, with Chapter 2‘s theatrical release still on shaky ground, it is unclear when general audiences will get to weigh in with their own reviews and opinions.

What Critics Are Saying About Horizon – Chapter 2

According to the first reviews, Chapter 2 features the same problems its predecessor was weighed down with. Following several groups of characters, as their unique circumstances lead them to the emerging town of Horizon, Costner fails to cohesively intertwine each narrative thread, leading to a messy and choppy finished film. Critic Robin Holabird wrote:

“Looking for the sweeping scope that personifies the full title’s concept of saga, Costner stumbles along the way as he cross cuts between places and characters, failing to make all connections clear.”

Stehanie Bunbury of Deadline shared a similar opinion. Their review suggests that Chapter 2 had the potential to be so much more, but Costner couldn’t deliver on his original creative vision. They wrote:

“What it is, unfortunately, is a collection of anecdotes lying side by side, never cohering — so far, anyway — into the comprehensive panorama of the turbulent making of America that Costner and his co-writer, John Baird, must have envisaged.”

Sadly, even the most positive review for Chapter 2 isn’t a glowing report of the movie’s success. Fionnuala Halligan, a critic for Screen International, is hopeful for the future of Costner’s saga, saying that Chapter 2 does well to set up the events of future installments (should they ever see the light of day), but still acknowledges Chapter 2‘s rough around the edges storytelling. They wrote:

“The fussily-conceived Chapter 2 is a little more dynamic than the opener. There’s a comfort in knowing that every bad guy will get his just deserts in this prairie oater, after all.”