Apex Review
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Date Created: 2026-04-24 18:33
2.5
Apex Review: Directed by Baltasar Kormákur and written by Jeremy Robbins, the movie stars Charlize Theron as Sasha, Taron Egerton as Ben, and Eric Bana as Tommy, with supporting roles from Matt Whelan as Hunter, Bessie Holland as Cashier, Aaron Pedersen as Park Ranger and others.
Apex Review
Netflix’s Apex opens up in a rather dramatic manner. Sasha and her lover Tommy are skilled climbers who love adventure. While climbing in one instance, something terrible happens, resulting in Tommy dying an abrupt and brutal death. Not only does this serve as a basis for showing how affected Sasha is by her lover’s death, but it also shows her fascination with danger. It seems to be something that Sasha loves and seeks out as opposed to fearing. Several months after this event, Sasha finds herself travelling to an unknown national park in Australia.
Once she has arrived, however, the pace of the Netflix movie Apex starts to slow down and shows how isolated she is. There is an emphasis made on how lonely she is; setting up camp, moving around in the environment, and meeting some locals who give her hints that things are not always what they seem to be in that place. She meets a man named Ben, who appears to be kind and helpful, and even gives her good advice.
It is not until Ben appears again at her campsite that the action truly begins. In the beginning, Ben acts strangely but not aggressively towards her. He hangs around, engages in conversation and starts violating her space. There is an undercurrent of strangeness in the air, but the movie builds up the suspense until his true intentions are revealed. It is not in the form of violence but rather in psychological torture. Ben starts playing games by taking away her things and creating chaos around her until she becomes the prey of his game.
This is when Apex shifts into becoming a chase movie. Sasha is forced into an unrelenting struggle to survive, employing her expertise at climbing and relying on her natural instincts in order to do so in this unforgiving setting. There are scenes involving Sasha scaling treacherous rock faces, hiding in tiny cracks within the rocks, and exploiting her surroundings to their fullest extent. These are some of the best parts of the film because it fits well with Sasha’s skill set.
Nevertheless, the survival thriller Apex does not do full justice to such a promising setting. Although there are some elements of suspense, the development of events tends to be rather predictable, and one could almost draw a diagram for its course: escape, short-term safety, conflict, and then rising action. Even when the film throws its own twist in at the halfway point by giving Ben another side to his personality, this does not add much to the plot’s progress.
Another aspect that undermines this film is the development of its characters. It is immediately established that Sasha is grieving, but she hardly changes throughout. Instead of exploring Sasha’s emotions through her experience in the woods, the movie makes her journey simply a background element. In addition, Ben begins with promise as his seemingly unbothered personality is very creepy, but when he accepts his hunting persona, he becomes much less appealing since there is no psychological rationale to guide his actions.
That being said, there certainly are some good things about the movie, mostly due to Charlize Theron. It is the way she physically plays Sasha that makes it realistic. If she is climbing up high rock cliffs, running in a thick forest or dealing with pain from injuries, Theron does it in a way that draws your attention and commitment to the story, despite the lack of depth she has in the script. You feel what Sasha is going through, although not much thought is put into the process.
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However, Taron Egerton’s Ben, on the other hand, has some ups and downs to his performance. He does manage to establish credibility at the start—charming, weird, and yet not dangerous. The most exciting part comes when he starts to play tricks on Sasha by invading her personal space. Perhaps the best thing about his role is the scene where he plays psychological games with Sasha, steals her stuff, and freaks her out before showing his true colours.
But after Ben takes on the part of the antagonist, he becomes a one-dimensional character that is disappointing. He does not become an antagonist whose mind and psyche can be considered multi-layered. In fact, Ben just seems like a generic antagonist that could have come out of a horror movie. Even though there are suggestions made in the film that his character can be more multi-layered, the film does not follow up on them.
The relationship between Sasha and Ben was supposed to be the best thing about the movie, but it fails to achieve its full potential. The scenes with action elements are enjoyable in certain parts, particularly in the first part, where there is better timing and more suspenseful elements. There are also times when you can really get into how tired and desperate Sasha is feeling. However, the further you go into the movie, the more you see absurd elements in the storyline.
Another problem with the Netflix film Apex is its inconsistent tone. At one point, it attempts to create a realistic story dealing with themes of sorrow and perseverance. On other occasions, it resorts to creating a slasher atmosphere through the character of Ben. In addition, some scenes resemble an advertisement for outdoor sports activities. This inconsistency makes it difficult for viewers to relate to the film’s message because it does not have a clear identity.
Netflix Apex Review: Summing Up
Overall, Charlize Theron’s Apex is not an awful movie, but it is definitely forgettable. The cast includes some decent acting performances, the film has several suspenseful scenes, and the setting is unique. However, the script, weak characters, and lack of creativity undermine all the positive aspects. All in all, it is a conventional and conservative movie that follows a tried-and-true formula.
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