Review: Apex

Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur

Written by: Jeremy Robbins

Starring: Charlize Theron & Taron Egerton

Rating: [2.5/5]

Thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies who get their fix from extreme outdoor challenges are simply a different breed. Their quest for entertainment involves activities that could easily lead to their death, but that’s part of why they enjoy it so much. It allows them to feel as if they defy death and accomplish these admittedly impressive physical feats. In Apex we have a lead character who delves in this area, but the thrill-seeking has led her into a situation she did not anticipate. 

Reeling from the death of her partner some time ago, Sasha (Charlize Theron), who enjoys rock climbing, has found her next adventure in Australia. While down under, she decides to drive alone to Wandarra National Park to spread his ashes despite the warnings of disappearances of some individuals by the park ranger. Ignoring the warnings, Sasha meets a local she crossed paths with in town named Ben (Taron Egerton). Feeling uneasy about his presence, Ben decides to play a game of hunting down Sasha. 

Opening with her and Tommy (Eric Bana) climbing a ridiculous mountain under horrific conditions serves as the appropriate introduction to what Sasha likes to do during her free time. Plenty of danger involved, but reaching the summit provides a sense of pride and accomplishment that far surpasses the healthy fear of death. Unfortunately, this latest instance involved Tommy falling to his death, serving as a reminder of what can happen when things go wrong. Now Sasha finds herself in a place where things have gone wrong not because of the weather or a displaced step on the mountain but rather another human literally hunting her down. 

At its core, Apex operates as a survival movie, one where a woman tries to withstand the pursuit of a man who decides it would be fun to hunt her down. This leaves her at quite the disadvantage, given Ben, the local, definitely knows this park far better than she does, and the isolated nature of it leaves her with no place to call for help. Therefore, she must traverse this area and avoid the grasp of this lunatic who takes enjoyment in the fear he elicits through his very strange antics. The strangeness of Ben begins with giving her a head start while blasting “Go” by Chemical Brothers. Things only get much worse from there as we learn not only of his proficiency at hunting Sasha down but also some revelations about this man’s identity. 

With a strong buildup, unfortunately, that’s where Apex hits its peak. Once we get to the actual hunt, everything that follows the film begins to falter and weigh far too heavily on lackluster special effects. Much of the marketing push of this production leaned on mentioning how much Charlize Theron did practically from the climbing and the physical work put into this role, which made it all the more confusing why the film had this gloss around it that made everything look so artificial, which only makes those special effects used later on much more garish. For as much as Theron’s physical work received this level of focus, it did not stand out as much as it should when on-screen.

That does not take away from the decent performances on-hand. Theron does a solid job as the lead, but Taron Egerton came into this role and ate it completely up. Tasked with portraying quite the demented individual, who enjoys himself some strange dancing and howling as if he were a wild animal, you can tell Egerton had plenty of fun with the ridiculousness of this role. From the softer side we see in the beginning to the outright lunatic that makes himself present, he proves to be a fun villain even if the story and where it goes ultimately lets him down. 

While having elements that certainly impress, Apex, as a project, fails to make a larger impressionable impact. It brings us moments of quality, but by the time the credits roll, it does not offer anything remotely intriguing to take away from it other than the obvious of not going to a remote Australian park by oneself. It can provide baseline entertainment for those looking for a decent survivalist thriller, but I found myself wanting a bit more from this film, and it did not deliver on that front.