PLOT: When an adrenaline junkie sets out to conquer a menacing river, she discovers that nature isn’t the only thing out for blood.
REVIEW: I will always love a cat and mouse thriller, especially when you pair two top tier actors. It’s great to see performers on the top of their game, going toe to toe. And I grew up loving The Most Dangerous Game, so the concept of a person being hunted down for sport has always been intriguing. Apex follows a similar concept, with an extreme sports enthusiast falling into the crosshairs of a serial killer.
The film starts off with a pretty impressive sequence with Charlize Theron’s Sasha and Eric Bana’s Tommy climbing a mountain together. It’s got good tension, even if it’s a bit predictable with where it goes. I definitely feel like we’ve seen this kind of scene time and time again, which takes a lot away from it. But the two actors have good chemistry together at the very least. It makes Sasha seem more guarded, even though it doesn’t seem to have changed her trajectory so much. The next time we see her, she’s setting out on a dangerous kayaking trip in Australia. While I understand the jump, because we need to get to the actual story at hand, it really undersells the entire opening.
It’s easy to see why Charlize Theron wanted to take on the role of Sasha: she’s a very capable adrenaline junkie with a strong will. She takes on all challenges and never backs down. Despite her being our point-of-view character, we don’t really get to enter her head much. They’re clearly trying to sell how cut off emotionally she is, but it’s hard to connect with her in any significant way. This makes it less impactful once she’s actually put into a dangerous situation. But she sure as hell can handle all the stunt work like a pro.
Taron Egerton often makes for a great hero, but he feels like he was born to play a villain and revels in it. Ben starts off as a helpful stranger and turns into an absolute madman. There’s a playfulness to his interactions with Sasha. He and Charlize have an interesting dynamic together and part of me wishes there was a bit more of a chase element. Between the opening on a mountain and the big climb in the third act, there’s not enough focus on Sasha trying to get away from Ben.
Unfortunately, Apex really doesn’t take advantage of its premise. The stakes never feel real enough, and I think a lot of that has to do with how everything looks like CGI. The world never feels properly grounded because it’s always going from one absurd sequence to another. Even the jungle, despite it being real, feels like a set with how it’s presented. I know for a fact that they did practical stunts on the film, so it’s too bad that it’s shot in a way that makes it look so fake.
Apex really doesn’t bring anything new to the table and feels like a missed opportunity. It plays it a bit too safe, especially given where the film goes at point. Despite the R Rating, it always feels like its trying to skirt the line of anything too dark. Even Taron’s character feels a bit handicapped in how evil he can be, and I was genuinely shocked that this wasn’t PG-13. Egerton is a clear highlight, and Theron is dependable as always, but the film never enters that next gear that it desperately needs.
Apex is streaming on Netflix on April 24th, 2026.
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