Courtney Howard // Film Critic
Rated R, 1 hour and 35 minutes
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana, Matt Whelan
Baltasar Kormákur’s APEX exemplifies much of what the director loves, capturing the psyche of the adrenaline-junkies willfully battling against beautifully deadly landscapes for survival. From EVEREST to ADRIFT, the harrowing, at times heartbreaking, character drive provides the gasoline in the engine motoring the action. And his latest centered on a grief-stricken adventurer negotiating both the harsh Australian wilderness and an absolute psychopath terrorizing her plays like the pinnacle of his oeuvre. Pulling influence from DEAD CALM and THE RIVER WILD, Netflix’s white-knuckle thriller sidesteps the baffling mistakes its previous “grieving woman alone on a hike is stalked by an unhinged man” offering DON’T MOVE made, this time by putting her solely in charge of her own agency.
When we first meet Sasha (Charlize Theron) in the CLIFFHANGER-esque cold open, she’s climbing the jagged bluffs of Norway’s Troll Wall with her equally experienced adventurer boyfriend Tommy (Eric Bana). A chilly storm rolls in during their attempted final pitch, bringing snow, gusty wind and rocky avalanches. As the pair abandon their efforts, their scale downward turns deadly when a boulder conks Tommy and leaves them both dangling off the cliff, unbalanced and dangerously untethered. Sasha’s forced to cut his body dragging her down in order to survive, sobbing and clinging to the cliffside for rescue.
5 months later, Sasha’s venturing into Australia’s fictional Wandarra National Park (Australia’s Blue Mountains National Park is the real stand-in) on a quest to spread Tommy’s ashes in his homeland and heal from the grief and guilt over his death. Her trek won’t be easy. Upon arrival, she picks up on bad vibes from the intimidating leader of local pack of hunters (Matt Whelan), who circle her in the convenient store at a gas station, hinting at possible ulterior motives. It’s not long after that she meets Ben (Taron Egerton), whose friendly, helpful demeanor temporarily disarms her unwelcoming, tough-as-nails attitude. However, once she begins the challenging path he recommended, she discovers Ben’s a psycho-killer and he’s intent on making her his next victim.
Kormákur and writer Jeremy Robbins continually keep the focus on Sasha’s internal and external stakes, where she’s working through her psychologically redemptive journey (forgiving herself for her role in her soulmate’s death) in addition to physically battling a very real monster threating to end her life. Her character development is perfectly executed, feeling potent and meaningful in its conceits and motivations. Sequences where she’s tasked to problem solve her way out of immediate jeopardy are visceral. This gifts Theron with a meaty role, where she’s not just playing a studio executive’s cliché-riddled, trope-filled iteration of a “strong female character who ends up in a tank top,” she’s actually dynamic, expressing her greatest strengths like her physical acumen and mental aptitude (which come in handy acting in extreme, natural environments), as well as yielding open-hearted vulnerability and compassion as weapons.
As written, Sasha’s savage antagonist tends to be a bit cartoonish. However, Egerton humanizes him, grounding him in reality and manic surrealism (specifically when the character briefly morphs into APOCALYPSE NOW’s Colonel Kurtz). His portrayal of this demented killer walks a fine line, utilizing his innate charm and rugged good looks to disarm like a wolf in sheep’s clothing before going in for the kill. He perfectly channels Billy Zane’s performance in DEAD CALM and Kevin Bacon’s work in THE RIVER WILD. He ingratiates himself to us as the stereotypical capable nice guy before deviously revealing himself as his true feral nature, gifting him with a teensy modicum of sympathy.
With tons of palm sweat-inducing suspense and propulsive, practical action in a brisk runtime, APEX reaches its summit using tight brevity as its compass.
Grade: B+
APEX will be exclusively available on Netflix on April 24.
