Charlize Theron is an Oscar winner, and audiences need to remember that before they watch Apex. It is also worth noting that screenwriter Jeremy Robbins wrote The Purge television show, and Taron Egerton knows exactly what kind of film this is from the off. After all, it would be foolish to think Apex is any kind of intellectual exercise.
At heart this is a psychological survival horror with the focus on Theron, who continues her creative collaboration with Netflix following The Old Guard and its sub-standard sequel. At just over 90 minutes Apex wastes no time on introductions, setting up motivational trauma in the opening minutes before heading to Australia. Inhospitable terrain, unruly river rapids, and jaw-dropping scenery make up for story in this cathartic affair.
Egerton embraces his unhinged role in Apex bulking up to play Ben, who seems to be an adrenaline junkie like Sasha at first glance. As a woman in search of quiet reflection following the loss of someone close, Charlize Theron gives Sasha as many emotional layers as time will allow, before going full Bear Grylls. As Apex ventures into Deliverance territory and the real dynamic between Ben and Sasha is revealed, audiences have every reason to invest.
Image Courtesy of Netflix
Unfortunately, that is where anything encouraging comes to an end, because Apex feels supremely average. Despite the commitment of both actors, with serious kudos going out to everyone involved in that stunt work, Apex lacks an emotional core. Egerton might turn his crazy up to 11, but the fact is that Ben never feels fully formed. As a character he is a slew of mannerisms and behaviour that simply fails to add up, making him feel more manufactured than anything else.
What ends up carrying Apex through to its illogical conclusion is the backbone of Charlize Theron, who puts herself through hell to make Sasha matter. There is a raw intensity to her performance that works in direct opposition to Egerton and his big bag of crazy. In every sense of the word Theron knows the terrain she is choosing to tread with Apex and makes every moment matter.
This is conventional entertainment without the heavy lifting that never attempts to reinvent the wheel, but it does give away something more telling about Netflix titles. On certain occasions storytelling takes a backseat in original titles, acknowledging a lack of attention span when it comes to structuring their films, undermining creative intentions, and diminishing the enjoyment for audiences.
Other Netflix films including Rebel Ridge lean into those obstacles to produce polished character-driven pieces, sidestepping the pitfalls of a low attention span audience. Apex falls foul of it because limited attention span is mistaken for a lack of intellect, and therefore Apex only gives audiences the slimmest of stereotypes to work with. Reducing this down to a mediocre movie experience with
some serious acting talent left to inject meaning into set pieces that fail to add substance.
Apex is available on Netflix April 24th.