Netflix‘s latest action extravaganza wastes zero time in getting to the good stuff, so this review won’t either. Sasha (Charlize Theron) and husband Tommy (Eric Bana) are adventurous mountain climbers are out scaling the heights of Norwegian cliffs together, something we assume they done on some of the world’s most desirable peaks, when horrible weather makes this adventure a little dicey. Before we even get to know much about Tommy, he’s out of the movie, slipping to an awful death and leaving Sasha hanging by a thread.
Cut to five months later, and Sasha is driving down a big dirt road somewhere in Australia. We learn soon enough that she has come there to spread Tommy’s ashes in his homeland, but is danger and even greater adventure than that mountain that took Tommy’s life lurking for her? You bet.
Stopping at a gas station to buy a map of the rough terrain she must traverse to get to that special spot in remote Australian wilds, she meets some other customers, notably Ben (Taron Egerton) — who seems friendly, well-versed with the land and helpful — before going on her way. Soon she is deep in a lush forest area with a raging river below when she runs smack into Ben, who reminds her of their brief meeting. Of course he had first-hand knowledge of exactly where she was heading since he basically sent her there, and yes, you guessed it, Ben isn’t what he seemed but instead a raging psychopath equipped with a sophisticated crossbow arrow weapon, and about to play his terrifying game with his specially selected prey in the form of Sasha who is instructed to start running so his plans can proceed.
Now this movie gets into high gear from ace director Baltasar Kormákur whose past titles include Trappped, Adrift, The Deep, Everest, and Beast, each of which seem auditions for elements for a ride whose ad line says it all: “Hunt. Survive.” Ben hunts, and Sasha tries to survive, not just him but various treacherous and dangerous elements that make that mountain climb at the start look like kids play. With a little nod to Deliverance Sasha navigates the fiercely rolling river to escape but this guy knows how to catch up, no matter how unlikely the feat. After some more chase scenes he traps her like an animal and soon we are in Silence Of The Lambs territory and a distant hidden cave where we see Ben’s trophies, the hanging corpses and bones of other unsuspecting victims, Sasha set to be the next.
Running a tight 95 minutes, and never letting up for one of them, Apex is yet another perfect showcase for Theron’s exceptional physical talents as the premier female action star working in movies. From climbing those mountain peaks to sterring her canoe down that river wild, not to mention several other impressive survival skills along the way this is Charlize at full tilt. There isn’t much character development because this is clearly meant to be a visceral two-hander, the hunter and the hunted set against spectacular Australian scenery that is worth the price of admission if Netflix had one. Egerton shows he can play psychos with the best of ’em and delivers a real sicko here. The actor is all in on this one, so if this sounds like your kind of nightmare, well, go for it.
Kormákur certainly knows his way around this kind of fare, but for my money he is too talented a director to waste his time on a script (by Jeremy Robbins) that just dials up the cliches of this stalking sub-genre. Still his style is almost old fashioned, CGI-free moviemaking like they did in the old days, putting our stars in harms way for real and giving lots of work to stunt teams as well. A real plus here is Lawrence Sher’s stunning and gorgeous cinematography.
Producers are Peter Chernin; Jenno Topping; David Ready; Ian Bryce; Theron; A.J. Dix.; Beth Kono.; and Kormákur
Title: Apex
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: April 24, 2026
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Screenwriter: Jeremy Robbins
Cast: Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana
Rating: R
Running time: 1 hr 36 mins
