Apex is the latest film from Baltasar Kormákur (Beast, Everest), and like many of his previous works, it’s a film that pits human determination and will versus the elements. The variation this time around is that there’s more than just the elements to contend with this time around. Is it worth your time? Let’s find out.
Apex stars Charlize Theron as Sasha, a rock climber who finds herself on a solo expedition deep in the Australian wilderness. Equipped with only her tent, kayak, and other survival equipment, Sasha hopes to give herself the most extreme challenges to prove her skills. Along the way, she crosses paths with Ben (Taron Egerton), a seemingly friendly hermit who lives in the wilderness, off the grid. But there’s something off with Ben, and it’s quickly revealed that he’s a serial killer who lures people into the wild and hunts them down for sport. With nothing but a few minutes’ head start, Sasha flees into the wild to face not only the elements, but the sadistic primal nature of humanity as well.
Apex overall isn’t a bad little film. At around an hour and a half, it’s a focused film that doesn’t waste much time. It’s largely shot on location as well in the jungles around New South Wales, which creates a sense of tangibility that makes the danger feel that much more real and present. Sasha climbs cliffs and kayaks down waterfalls, resulting in some harrowing chase sequences. But it’s a bit barebones and even fairly predictable, whether that be the film’s opening sequence, to a forest ranger in Australia warning Sasha that many people have gone missing on the trail (I wonder if Ben is the reason, hmm?).
Theron turns in a decent performance as Sasha. It’s more of a physical performance, as she doesn’t have too many people to talk to apart from Ben throughout the film, so seeing her do things like scaling cliffs and facing the elements is more of a highlight and reason to watch the film. Ben is a weird element of the film. Not his character, though; I actually found it quite scary to imagine someone like him living, unhinged, in the wild and hunting other people without any remorse. But Egerton does go a little too off the rails with his portrayal, coming off more like someone who has taken far too much cocaine, as opposed to a socially disturbed wildman. I also wish we got a bit more characterization for Sasha. The film gives us a reason for why she’s doing this particular trek, but apart from that, she’s a bit of an enigma. But I did like that, despite her strong outdoorsy skills, she also had to resort to outthinking Ben as well.
If you’re in the mood for a quick ninety-minute thriller set in a lush Australian wildlife park, Apex isn’t too bad. It’s got good, solid stuntwork and a great locale that elevates the material. It’s a little too barebones at times, and Egerton’s performance, for me anyway, was a little too out there in a way that felt over the top. But if you like thrillers about facing the elements and human nature, this is a fine and quick watch.
