APEX

US/Iceland/Australia, 2026, 95 minutes, Colour.

Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana, Matt Whelan, Aaron Pedersen, Rob Carlton.

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur.

Extreme sports, survival movies…

The prologue to this film, highly exciting to watch, is also misleading. The setting is Norway, mountains with sheer faces, climbers and their daring, achievements as well as disasters. With a title like apex, and the mountain climbing opening, we might settle in for high peaks and dangers.

But, no. There is a tragedy for the central character, Sasha, tough and played by Charlize Theron, travels to Australia, where her partner in Norway mountaineering came from.

And, as noted that the beginning of this review, extreme sports and survival. Sasha goes out into the Australian bush, actually filmed near enough to Sydney in the Megalong Valley, ready for any challenging activity. But, anyone who has seen films like Wolf Creek, knows that there are always threats, madness and dangerous characters out there in the bush.

And the screenplay cleverly misleads us (now something of a spoiler alert). Sasha encounters an ugly macho lot in the local pub and we expect them to be menacing to the lone female when she travels out alone. Fortunately, perhaps, she is helped out by a nice young man, Ben, played by Taryn Egerton (who, after all, had played Elton John but was also in The King’s Men). He suggests a more interesting location where Sasha can camp and experience Australia.

Bad move. Actually, the men are there, but what follows is a cat and mouse pursuit and escape. Probably best to say immediately that Ben, despite the naivete and sometimes charm, is bonkers. Mad religious ideas, pathological, weird sense of some kind of destiny. And he is persistent in pursuit, knows the bush, can anticipate Sasha’s moves, continually threatening, umpteen crises.

But, with memories of Deliverance and films like The River Wild, Sasha has the opportunity to use her ingenuity as well as her survival skills, hiding in the bush, climbing, in the water, canoeing, rapids and waterfall…

Of course, it is no spoiler, to know that Sasha will win out at the end. The point of the entertainment is to watch the pursuit, the tactics, Ben and his eerie presence and menace, Sasha and her survival abilities. (And, for international good measure, the director is Balthasar Kormakur from Iceland.)

1. The title, a survival thriller?
2. The opening, the Norwegian mountains, dangers, darkness, the climbers, the accident, death, survival? Setting the tone?
3. Sasha, in herself, age, physical abilities, climbing, daring, the dangers, relationship with Tommy, the discussions, the accident, his death, the repercussions? His being Australian?
4. Her travel to Australia, memories of Tommy? Adventure? The travel, the encounters with Australians along the way, the pub, the group of men, drinking, taunts, her response?
5. Her meeting Ben, his quiet manner, his suggestions, where to travel?
6. The Australian scenery, the Megalong Valley, the bush, rivers, mountains? The musical score?
7. Sasha, confident, driving, going to the rendezvous, the encounter with the men, apprehensive, their behaviour, her manner?
8. The encounter with Ben, his recommendations? Her exploring, the invasion of the tent, the thing is disappearing, her blaming the men?
9. The change in the theme, Ben, emerging as sinister, former charm, his ideas, mania, religious, pathologies?
10. The film as the pursuit, Sasha and her energy, fleeing, hiding, injuries, the river, can do, the waterfall, climbing?
11. Then, his persistence, mania, ingenuity, resources, deceiving Sasha, the pursuit, entrapment?
12. The buildup to the final confrontation, Sasha and her resources and wits, men, presumption, injury, death?
13. Audiences and their response to the characters, the action – and, maybe, wariness of the Australian bush!