Netflix | Released 24 April 2026 | Directed by Baltasar Kormákur | Starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana
Apex has a genuinely good version. It is in partsthe dizzying opening sequence in the Troll Wall in Norway, the glances of the vast Australian outback from well-composed shots, or by the second where only its pluck can cover the screen when Charlize Theron is physically committed to her role. The issue is the version of Apex that was released on Netflix on 24 April 2026 is rich in these, but is by including a survival thriller plot line so threadbare that it is difficult to adequately use the large skill base surrounding it.
A Strong Opening That Sets a Standard the Film Cannot Sustain
Director Baltasar Kormkur who showed true skill for shooting human drama at altitude with 2015’s Everest begins Apex with a sequence that ranks among the most technically confident cinematic achievement of the year. Theron and Eric Bana portray a couple as invested in each other as they are in adrenaline-fueled sports in the outdoors and handily and subtly depicts the active thinking body of a climber the exact estimation of every foothold and hold before an out of control boulder caused everything to shift.
In those first few moments, Bana’s character is already dead. And what happens next takes Theron’s heartbroken Sasha far from the Australian bush, where she encounters a sinister stranger, Ben (a disturbing Taron Egerton), who makes her isolated holiday more perilous than the wilderness.
Theron and Egerton Are the Film’s Best Arguments for Itself
Theron’s physicality as well as the vertiginous cinematography of the film ultimately make Apex a demonic adventure holiday worth taking (Collider). That’s a fair evaluation. Theron does not deliver the usual survivor cinema (which is why I love her so much); she embodies it and the film can only achieve its greatest moments through her physical and emotional investment.
Egerton also is one of the truly unsettling villains. His Ben is not a standard movie psycho but a character with a unique logic, which makes him more terrifying and the film’s conclusion relies heavily for its momentum on the growing battle of wits between them.
Where It Falls Short
The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes- 109 critics, 68% positive – sums it up: ‘Apex is saved by incredible Australian settings and Theron’s gritty athleticism while sacrificing the finer points, and is not the best survival thriller, but is a good one’.
The stripped down method of storytelling and characterisation make Apex feel like a half-hearted effort considering its lineage. A great deal of the film is not convincing looking, and the over-reliance on CGI hampers parts that should register much more viscerally. By the half-way mark, the mechanics of survival become tiring, and the film’s insistence on physical spectacle at the expense of emotional investment restricts how much suspense it can generate.
Verdict
Apex is the sort of film that Netflix will make with steady competency and the occasional flash of brilliance; A ninety-five minute tight package that has enough to keep you watching without having much of worth left behind. Theron is great, Egerton is authentically unsettling and the Australian backdrop is shot so beautifully it warrants a bigger screen than most will give it.
The screenplay but is working well below the standard of its cast and the unwillingness for the film to explore its characters means that what could have been a call to the survival thriller archetype ends up being just a good one on a night when you’re not asking too many questions.
Rating: 6.5/10
