Ouch! Kevin Costner’s new Horizon: An American Saga Part 1 is not sitting too kindly with critics after its Cannes premiere.

Costner directed, starred in, produced, and helped finance the new Western epic, which will feature four films. It’s about the expansion of the American West before and after the Civil War, featuring perspectives from Native Americans, ranchers, farmers, and others.

Variety reported that during its premiere at Cannes, Horizon had a 7-minute standing ovation that had Costner trying to hold back tears. The actor thanked the audience, and everyone seemed swell. Considering its warm reception, you would think good reviews would be cranked out.

So, what happened?

Well, maybe Cannes attendees were being generous in the presence of Costner because now that it’s been shown, the reviews are not good.

Currently, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits at 27%. That’s not a great outlook, considering there are three more films after this initial one. If it flops at the box office, the chances of the other ones doing well are unlikely.

Reviews of Horizon: An American Saga

Nicholas Barber of BBC.com rated the film 1/5 and said, “But a film—certainly a Western—needs to have a plot, a bit of credible characterization, and a structure that preferably includes a beginning, middle, and end. Horizon doesn’t have any of those.”

He added, “Kevin Costner’s Western is a numbingly long, incoherent disaster.”

Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire gave the film a C- and said, “These aren’t characters so much as the spokes of a plot in human form, each of their storylines moving as if being pulled by horses across the entire span of the American West.”

Meanwhile, Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair stated, “A jumble of clichéd plots rendered in washed-out color (and washed-out performances), Horizon may rival Megalopolis as the biggest American boondoggle at this year’s Canes.”

He added a dig, saying, “At least Horizon accomplishes one staggering feat: it makes one wonder if we were maybe a little too hard on The Postman.”

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman said, “As a stand-alone film (which it isn’t, but let’s pretend for a moment), Horizon is by turns convoluted, ambitious, intriguing, and meandering. But it’s never quite moving.”

Giving the film two stars, Robert Daniels from Roger Ebert.com said, “While the first film in the possible Horizon series does well in setting up future pictures, continuing the momentum Costner gained before he left Yellowstone, this single film is a chore to sit through. It rarely gives viewers what they want: see Costner on the open range. It gives us few memorable characters outside of Costner: I can’t remember the name of a single figure without looking at my notes. It feels like a debilitating mistake to bank on possible future films to land the entire concept. Horizon keeps far too many of the best bits far out of reach.”

Does Horizon: An American Saga have a chance at box office success with reviews like this? For Kevin Costner’s sake, let’s hope so. After all, he has three more films to distribute after this first one. If the first fails, the others may gallop into the Western sunset without much fanfare.