‘Apex’ Review: Charlize Theron Faces a Brutal Outback Survival Thriller (Netflix)

A survival thriller that’s equal parts Deliverance and your standard-issue chase movie, Apex is exactly what it looks like from the very first minute. Or, more accurately, from the moment the obligatory Netflix-style cold open wraps up—that contractual hook designed to grab you by the collar before you can even think about switching tabs. It all begins like a mountaineering film that isn’t really one, but uses that setup to introduce its protagonist and her situation.

Charlize Theron plays Sasha, who’s climbing a mountain under perilous conditions alongside her husband, played by Eric Bana. She’s the one who always seems on the verge of slipping, but naturally, fate flips the script and he’s the one who dies during the climb. Months later, Sasha is driving alone through the sun-bleached, dust-choked backroads of the Australian outback, unaware that humans can be far more dangerous than nature. Clearly, this is a woman who doesn’t watch many Australian thrillers.

Sasha is fearless and outdoorsy to the point of absurdity—she tackles near-impossible kayaking routes like it’s a casual Sunday plan, somehow dodging hundreds of jagged rock formations by sheer miracle. Still, she’ll have a harder time dealing with a group of Aussie blokes who look like they snack on kangaroo for breakfast. A couple of them are openly hostile, eyeing her the way guys like that tend to look at women traveling alone in movies like this. Then there’s Ben, played by Taron Egerton, who seems gentler, more empathetic—almost protective, even—shielding her from the surrounding pack of macho idiots.

You already know where this is going. That’s a trap. And the (not-so) nice guy Ben soon reveals himself as the one orchestrating a sadistic, violent game of cat and mouse with Sasha. What he doesn’t realize, of course, is that she’s not your average lost tourist fumbling with Google Maps in the middle of the wilderness—she’s got survival skills of her own. What she doesn’t know is that he’s even more unhinged than he first appears. From there on out, it’s all running, fighting, rinse and repeat.

Director Baltasar Kormákur (of Everest and Adrift) leans on experience—and plenty of drone shots—plus a healthy dose of CGI to dangle Theron from impossible heights and keep her from being smashed to bits by rivers, forests, or mountains. Once Egerton drops the friendly façade, his character becomes a by-the-book movie monster, leaving little to do but watch as scenery, nature, and violence run their course. The film clocks in at a brisk 95 minutes and fades from memory just as quickly—about as fast as we forget the two or three scenes featuring Eric Bana.