Apex

• Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
• April 24, 2026
• Netflix

A rock climber in the wild finds herself hunted by a crazed killer.

Advertisements or clips for the Netflix original Apex kept popping up so I took the hint. It stars Charlize Theron (who is also one of the producers) as a rock climber named Sasha and Taron Egerton as the killer Ben. And that is pretty much it for the main cast. I would call Sasha’s husband Tommy (Eric Bana) a supporting character, but he would be the only one.

It opens with a scene to not only establish Sasha’s skillset for the meat of the movie but to saddle the character immediately with trauma. There are numerous shots later on of Sasha clearly implied to be thinking of that last trip with her husband where the footage could have been inserted rather than to give the viewer yet another look at the very attractive Theron-as-Sasha. It takes away from the time to work on the main story.

My other issue with the opening is that so much is, well, fake. I get not filming in a tent dangling from a mountainside in a storm but you cannot shoot them in a tent in the general wilderness? No place near Sydney where this was filmed that could be convincing? The lighting and angles are off. The opening is not the only use of visual effects for the outdoors. Several shots meant to demonstrate the vastness of the wilderness and connected isolation are also fake.

Tommy’s death is implied to be due to his heart not being in rock climbing/survival excursions anymore which is obviously aimed at how Sasha will find the strength to survive. Never used is Sasha clearly pressuring Tommy to do it when he did not want to. No moment where it becomes clear she forced him to do something that he did not want making her partially responsible for his death. She feels bad he died but not because it was her fault to any extent.

How did Sasha not get the hee bee gee bees the first time she met Ben. A total stranger immediately takes a very strong interest in her yet the hunters at the gas station near Wandarra National Park, Australia get her agitated? She is not initially suspicious when she finds Ben at the isolated spot he suggested.

Apex has about 90 minutes or so to play with, but there needs to be a little concern on her part from the moment he shows up. I also question why she would go to the isolated spot recommended by a complete stranger immediately after he recommends it, but we wouldn’t have a movie if she didn’t 

Taron Egerton was excellent as the crazy killer Ben. He made the character wild eyed even if the script left him hanging as an individual. Despite having an upper hand in several aspects, Ben never felt like he could win. I was never left in doubt on Sasha’s survival. He put up a good fight, but it was clear she could win. By the film’s beginning Ben has been tracking and killing people for quite some time. The authorities are completely clueless that he’s doing and chalking up the disappearances to the wilderness and what comes with it overwhelming the missing campers and hikers and survivalists. The disposition of Ben I found a little anti-climactic because he never got to that epic monster that he should be. So much more focused on Sasha and her pain exclusively.

Producer Charlize Theron was fine as the outdoorsy Sasha who decided to do land over mountain climbing because boyfriend fell to his death in the opening of the movie. I think the problems with Ben could’ve been solved with more times where Sasha survived by the skin of her teeth.

As the star and a producer Theron could’ve made this a pure power fantasy, but she avoids that though using her power she keeps the camera largely on her. Sasha is a capable outdoor enthusiast that survives based on her intelligence and believable capabilities. She’s also not completely level headed the whole time. The character panics and is nervous and uncertain.

The isolation of the environment was well communicated, which certainly helped. It may not have assisted with putting Sasha’s survival in doubt, but it did explain nicely how Ben was not caught until he picked somebody he couldn’t handle. Maybe you could look at her ability to survive as built a bit around that. He says he’s been looking for somebody worthy to kill and based on her fighting spirit, she appears worthy.

Apex wasn’t great but I wasn’t completely disappointed either. Taron Egerton is an excellent crazed killer and Charlize Theron does no harm as the woman who’s takes him on.