Thoughts on the Montage (For Lack of a Better Word) at the End of Horizon: An American Saga Chapter One

 

I watched Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 this week. It was OK: no more or less than that. I'll certainly watch Chapter 2 but can't promise that I'll make it through all 4 parts.

My initial concern wast that it would feel drawn-out, with the kind of lugubrious pacing that makes me want to tear my hair out.  But it was the opposite: it races from one set of interesting events and characters to another, never letting you digest what just happened before we're off to something (and somewhere) else.

 It feels like it should have either been (1) a ten episode mini-series or (2) edited WAY down. The characters and stories are interesting enough, the acting is solid (I'm a big fan of Sienna Miller and of course the scenery is spectacular, although it all looks a bit alike after awhile.

But here's my real "what the heck was that?" which isn't a spoiler.

As the Chapter 1 story wraps up, we leap into an un-introduced montage of scenes that's intended as a preview of sorts for Chapter 2. But there's nothing either visual or in the audio to indicate that that's what we're watching. There's no dialogue, no voice over, no nothing except a very fast mash up of scenes, many of which include characters that we haven't yet met. If this is really necessary, then humor us with a title card introduction that says what we're watching. Please.

Re-watching that (and several other bits that raced by too quickly for me to fully digest them), makes me want to yell "slow down!" If writer/director/star/producer Kevin Costner gives us a chance to catch our breath, this huge project will work a lot better.