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Kevin Costner seems to have lost his footing in the Old West. With hisYellowstoneexit and the disastrous outcome of the first part of his passion projectHorizon, Costner has fallen far as an actor and filmmaker. A couple of years earlier, he was the revered cowboy character John Dutton, whom everyone seemed to love.
Netflix brings its own Western drama to life in a six-part miniseries and it is surprisingly far better than Costner’sHorizon.American Primeval, starring Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin, is set during the Utah War and focuses on the real-life Mountain Meadows Massacre. The series has earned great reviews from viewers, causing more trouble for Costner.
American Primeval‘s success would rub salt on Kevin Costner’s wound
Kevin Costner‘s 3-hour-long passion project set in the Old West,Horizon, did not make any of his fans jump up and down in theaters in excitement. The film ended up being a failure,grossing only $38.7 millionafter Costner invested $50 million of his own money in the first part. He has put another $50 million into a second part, which had its release at the Venice Film Festival last year but has yet to hit theaters.
For Costner and his fans, it may feel as if theviewers aren’t interested in Western storiesanymore. However, the success of a recent Netflix Western proves them wrong.American Primevalhas earned amazing reviewsfor its engaging story and brilliantly choreographed action sequences. On X, fans have started singing praises for Peter Berg’s Western attempt.
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One fan shared that the film caught them entirely off-guard with its incredible cinematography and violent action sequences. Another fan mentioned it as an award-worthy show put out by Netflix. One fan noted how the series was realistic in its depiction, giving credit to writer Mark L. Smith. Another fan also drew comparisons between the show andTaylor Sheridan‘s1883. Some of the fan reactions read:
American Primeval on@netflixcaught me entirely off guard. What a show! The cinematography is incredible—those arrows flying from all directions, the world so brutal, dirty, grim, and cruel… It’s impossible to stop watching!pic.twitter.com/BhvQfVZFCi
#AmericanPrimevalis the best show I’ve watched in a long time. 9.5/10pic.twitter.com/VyZ0y4p8qO
American Primeval gotta win a award or something this mufucka is Gold
American Primeval is historically accurate and so good. From the second I began watching, I said this show is as good and realistic as The Revenant. Turns out it was written by The Revenant’s writer, Mark L. Smith. We need 10 seasons of this
American Primeval is the best surprise of the year so far.
American Primeval looked at 1883 and said, “HOLD MY BEER". 🍺 🫣pic.twitter.com/p983Cj0DXb
The praise for the series is eye-opening as it proves that the Western genre hasn’t lost its audience. Costner’sHorizonfailed to click with a large section of the audience mainly due to how he chose to roll out his film. The film’s biggest criticism was that it failed to entertain the audience as a self-contained film. The film involved a lot of context-setting and the three-hour runtime definitely didn’t help.
While Sheridan dropped the ball withYellowstone‘s finale in the absence of Costner, his other shows1883and1923received positive word-of-mouth. Sheridan’s period pieces managed to win over audiences in a wayHorizoncouldn’t.
Horizonwould’ve worked better as a series likeAmerican Primeval
Kevin Costner announced four parts to his Western directorial ventureHorizon. Costner had filmed and released the first part in June. Before the first film hit theaters, he announced the filming of a second and third part of the series. Unfortunately for him, the first film failed to impress the viewers. The main reason was that it was just the first three hours of a 12-hour-long story.
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Many fans believed that Costner made a huge mistake by bringing his story to the big screen rather than the small screen. Despite the demanding nature of his story, Costner believed that he could earn a boatload of money after dividing the whole film into four installments. As a self-contained film, the first part failed to have a story that stuck with the audience or a character arc that felt complete.
Despite the failure of the first film, Costner intends to complete the production of the third film. Costner’s new production company, Territory Film Studios, is investing in these next two parts. However, others suggest that the director move the last two parts to television as a series.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1is now available for streaming on Max.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3018
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
