Kevin Costner wrote, directed & stars in this 4-part epic about the settlement of the West in the 1860s. Chapter 2 is opening in August with the final ones due later. This first part starts with some confusing events that don’t develop or even make sense til later in the narrative. Eventually, it’s clear that it’s following several groups of people in their often perilous adventure. Costner knows how to effectively tell a story, but that’s the challenge…the story is confusing and the characters are too. In addition to lots of personal interactions, there are well-staged violent encounters with the inevitable cruel villains. The scenery is expectedly stunning and the final 5 minutes are basically a montage of what’s coming in the second chapter, which promises even more big moments. Even so, at 3 hours it isn’t likely to ever make it to the 4^th chapter, primarily because it simply isn’t that compelling. NOTE: Richmonder Raynor Scheine shows up as Hermit in the first 5 minutes. He told me that Costner’s people called him and flew him to Moab for the shoot. A link to my podcast with Raynor is below. (2.5 / 5)

Movieland link

Raynor Scheine’s podcast