Apex Review — A Wilderness Thriller Set Against Nature's Brutality

Netflix's thriller Apex premiered recently. Critics often compare the newcomer to The River Wild (1994), but I think that comparison misses the mark — the two films differ not just in subgenre, but in mood. The River Wild is a solid, family-friendly adventure film. The same can't be said about Apex. Baltasar Kormákur's thriller is definitely not one to watch with kids. And is it even worth your time at all?

The film opens with the protagonist Sasha (Charlize Theron) and her boyfriend, seasoned climber Tom (Eric Bana), scaling the Troll Wall in Norway. The summit is close, but they hit the hardest stretch of the route — one Sasha keeps failing to clear, refusing help every time. The sun is setting, and a black storm cloud is already looming on the horizon. Unable to reach the top, the climbers retreat to a safer height. That night in the tent, Tom tells Sasha he has a bad feeling, but she brushes it off. The storm picks up, forcing them into an emergency descent. During the climb down, a rockslide hits — and Tom doesn't make it.

Almost six months after the tragedy, Sasha heads to Tom's homeland — Australia — where she plans to kayak a pre‑planned route. Her path runs through Wandarra National Park (a fictional location inspired by the real Blue Mountains National Park), but before setting off, she stops at a gas station to stock up on supplies.

There, a minor run-in with some suspicious "hillbillies" occurs, but the situation stays under control thanks to a local hunter named Ben. GPS doesn't work in the area, so Sasha, trusting Ben, asks him to show her the route on a map. He points her toward a good campsite and suggests a new, much harder and more exciting river route. Ben warns her, though, that tackling it alone is extremely dangerous. Sasha turns down his help and sets off by herself.

The next morning, Sasha discovers her backpack — with her supplies and phone — is missing from the tent. Nearby, she finds Ben's camp. He returns her things and tells her he restocked her supplies, because for the hunt to be any fun, the odds between hunter and prey need to be even. Sasha gets only a few minutes' head start; once time's up, the crossbow-wielding maniac will be right on her heels.

Even though the hunt kicks off in fairly spectacular fashion, the ensuing cat-and-mouse game feels dull in places. There are a few reasons for that. First, the action unfolds in an area far from civilization, full of predators and dangerous insects, but the film barely shows any of that, losing the sense of harsh wilderness survival in the process. That angle is handled far better in the movies from our best survival movies roundup.

The second reason is the overly gloomy visual tone, emphasized by a sepia filter. As a result, colors stay muted even in the sunniest moments. It's actually a pretty simple, even standard trick often used in thrillers, but in Apex it feels completely out of place, and it's hard not to notice — especially since the scenic landscapes and cinematography are among the film's strongest points.

On the plus side, the climbing sequences definitely stand out — Baltasar Kormákur, the director of Everest, has pulled it off again. The action set pieces are also handled well, though a few less-than-great CGI moments slip through.

The core action fits into just forty minutes, and not much happens even in that stretch. On top of that, the plot is simple and predictable — unlike the films in our roundup of 10 unpredictable films.

Still, some of the story's shortcomings are offset by the acting. On paper, Sasha is a fairly bland character with very little dialogue written for her. But Charlize Theron in the role completely transforms the character on screen. It's a kind of "star effect" — where the audience's attention shifts to the actress herself rather than the depth of the character. Fellow Australian director George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, also starring Charlize Theron, made it onto our list of best movies of recent years — it features plenty of acclaimed films you might have missed.

Things went a bit differently with the antagonist, played by Taron Egerton — the writers gave him more attention, though there are some shortcomings here too. Ben is clearly "not all there," which is understandable, but what made him this way? The film barely touches on his past, even though a few details could have done a lot to explain his motivation. The writers really should have fleshed out his background and built an even crazier, more eccentric character. Ben could have had, say, a split personality (or several — bringing to mind James McAvoy's character from Split). Unfortunately, though, the villain's potential is completely wasted. It feels like the filmmakers themselves never had a clear idea of who this character was supposed to be.

Apex is a thriller with decent production values but a mediocre script that offers absolutely nothing new. The film could have been significantly better if its creators had paid more attention to detail. Still, the cast's charisma — while not entirely — does make up for that shortcoming. As a tense evening watch, this Netflix title holds up reasonably well — just don't expect too much.