Chris Tina

The presence of multiple storylines is not the reason this movie was a disaster. Many movies have masterfully woven together various narratives with great success. In contrast, this "western" suffered from prolonged scenes, an incongruous and distracting score that rarely complemented the visuals (making many scenes almost insufferable) and lackluster, murky performances from the actors that failed to engage. Numerous moments felt irrelevant and excessive, some were creepy and many scenes were poorly edited, dragging on far longer than necessary. For instance, the opening scene featured a massacre that dragged on longer than necessary. There’s a moment (or 30) where a prostitute throws herself at an uninterested Kevin Costner, which also feels excessively prolonged. In another scene set in a cabin, a woman faces two brothers who have been searching for her, while the man accompanying her remains oblivious to the escalating tension in their dialogue. The brothers argue and again the scene goes on much longer than it should. Additionally, there’s an unsettling exchange between two soldiers and a young girl that stretches into an awkward five-minute interaction, entirely irrelevant to the plot. As for the score, many scenes are accompanied by odd, upbeat rhythms that clash with the events unfolding on screen—imagine the Indiana Jones soundtrack playing while a boy runs from Native Americans who just violently slaughtered his mother and father. To make things worse (if that's possible) the final moments of the movie felt like a stark contrast to the preceding three hours. Rather than being drawn out and superfluous, it turned into a montage that seemed to hint at what might come in any potential sequels to this unfortunate series. Unfortunately, the montage was just as awkward and disconnected as the rest of the film. Overall, the movie was a disappointment, as it had the potential to be outstanding but fell short in nearly every aspect. I love Kevin Costner and I truly wish I could say this was worth the three hours I wasted watching it. Unfortunately, it felt like a tragic misfire in the realm of western cinema. Save your time and skip this one.