You have to admire the dedication to the craft. Kevin Costner, who directs, co-writes and stars in Horizon, clearly wanted to tell this story, so much so that he put up his own money to finance and market the film, which is the first in an original series, something of a rarity these days and part of the reason I was so interested in it. Despite a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, Horizon Chapter 1 didn’t do so well with critics, causing the $100 million film to debut with around $11 million. Considering Costner put up a lot of his own money in the project, that’s got to hurt. But I was curious nonetheless and went to see it and you know what? I liked it!

To call Horizon an epic would definitely be an understatement. This is part one in a planned four-part series, with Chapter 2 due in August while the third entry is currently a few days into filming, which does make its prospects of completion that much more dour as Warner Bros hasn’t inked a distribution deal for Chapter 3. It has a sprawling ensemble cast, telling stories across many states during the mid-19th century. The cast includes the likes of Costner, who only shows up an hour into the movie, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, Michael Rooker, Abbey Lee, Danny Huston, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Jenna Malone, among many others. Stories include the settlers of the camp of Horizon, a wagon train, army personnel at a fort, the divided Apache tribe, mishaps at a mining town and more.

So yes, this is a very jam-packed movie and it is only really a part of a movie; most of these arcs get no real conclusion as we await further stories. This leads itself to the biggest issue and obstacle in Horizon’s path: this really should’ve been an HBO series. It feels like an episode of television, but stretched into three hours, with at least six more hours to come, I would imagine. Collectively, that would make up a whole season of TV. It is great to see these kinds of movies on the big screen, don’t get me wrong, the cinematography is stellar and fills up the screen in a way that can’t be replicated on a TV screen. But the way the movie is assembled leads me to think streaming may have been a better call in the end.

What did surprise me with Horizon, all that being said, is the overall tone of the series. If you were expecting something like 1883, you may be surprised to learn that this film feels more in line with the big studio westerns of the 1960s. The excellent score by John Debney definitely reminded me of Elmer Bernstein more than a few times and the overall vibe is more Shane than it is Once Upon A Time In The West. The trailers definitely made the movie feel like it was going to be gritter-and gritty it still is don’t get me wrong-but there’s a more classical approach to this film in terms of its tone and scope and one that felt oddly refreshing in a way. I was also never bored with the film, which considering its runtime, is a big win.

By the nature of its multi-film narrative, some of the stories in Horizon end up working better than others. Sienna Miller’s role as a recent widow after her home was burned down in an attack on the Horizon settlement is one of the stronger arcs in the film, while Luke Wilson’s wagon train, which is introduced roughly two hours into the film, does feel like a random last minute addition that at this point, is far too disconnected from anything to be meaningful. It also has the least amount of screen time and resolution, making me wonder if this should’ve been added in Chapter 2 and if the plot lines already established should’ve just been extended in this entry. There’s also a few scenes here and there that felt like they could’ve been trimmed or cut entirely to ease the three-hour runtime. Who knows, my opinion on the cut may change once future instalments cut out, but basing Chapter 1 solely on its own, that was a takeaway.

Thankfully, despite the inconsistent stories, all the actors involved are fully committed. No one phones it in, but shoutout to Miller and Campbell Bower for being standouts in such a stacked ensemble. Miller’s recent widow finds herself striking up a romance with Sam Worthington’s Lieutenant at the local fort while Campbell Bower is a sadistic criminal on the hunt.

Costner adds screen time for the Apache tribe as well, but they do end up feeling more like a plot device rather than core characters. There’s potential, with the tribe being divided on how to tackle the encroaching “white eyes” on their land, but it’s not explored enough to be impactful. But once again, this may change down the line.

But the best thing I can say about Horizon, despite its faults, is that if Chapter 2 was playing right now, I’d still go and see it on the big screen. Costner is arguably a better director than he is an actor and he’s clearly put a lot of love and dedication into this passion project. There may be a lot of hubris involved in the making of Horizon, but this feels like one of those movies they just don’t make anymore. So I’d say if you’re a fan of Westerns and/or older Hollywood-style filmmaking, give this one a go and bear in mind it’s not a complete whole, so don’t expect any closure or resolution.