‘Apex’ (2026) Netflix Movie Review - A Survival Thriller That Doubles as a Gym Ad

Going through Baltasar Kormákur's filmography, I learned that he made his directorial debut with Go LazyTown! in 1996. That musical comedy is about an athletic elf who inspires indolent kids to adopt healthier lifestyles and compete in a sports competition (I read the IMDb synopsis). While watching Kormákur's survival thriller Apex, I realized that this new movie, in a way, also revolves around being healthy and fit. If the lead character Sasha, played by Charlize Theron, manages to crush Taron Egerton's psychopathic Ben, it's because this adrenaline junkie has the physical conditioning to endure the rough terrains of the wild. She can scale rocky mountains, hold her own in raging waters, and withstand nature's sudden surprises thanks to her athletic toughness.

The primary pleasure of Apex lies in watching Theron exert herself physically in the wilderness. As she pulls her body up with her arms, you wonder whether your upper body is capable of performing such a feat and whether you should put in more work during your gym sessions. Apex might even function as a subtle advertisement urging you to get a gym membership if you want to be a bold explorer. If Theron, as Sasha, brings athletic stamina to the table, then Egerton's Ben unleashes a beastly menace on her. He makes animal-like sounds and hunts Sasha like a crazed predator. Why? Does it really matter? A movie like Apex depends on the prey-predator dynamic for thrills and entertainment. Motives are typically murky or irrational, as the focus remains on crafting tense, suspenseful set pieces.

Apex, in that department, is a flop. It never makes you uneasy, never leaves you on the edge of your seat. The natural environment merely serves as a backdrop for the action. The story opens with Sasha and her husband, Tommy (Eric Bana), attempting to scale the Troll Wall in Norway, and what Kormákur and his writer, Jeremy Robbins, leave out of this opening is any interest in the practicalities of surviving in such harsh, cold conditions. How do the husband and wife take care of their, um, morning business? The filmmakers remove practical details in favor of genre conventions, which means they also squander the potential of a morally heavy decision: Sasha letting go of Tommy during an avalanche caused by bad weather. He hangs on the rope unconscious, and his weight pulls her down, which means she could either hold on to him and die together or untether herself to survive. Sasha chooses the second option, but all it does is give her a morose, leave-me-alone expression.

Apex is about a guilt-ridden woman trying to move on, trying to forgive herself, but the emotional beats don't register. They are flattened under the weight of survival thriller tropes—it's the actors who lend some credibility to the film's emotional angle. Both Theron and Egerton are capable of delivering excellent performances, but their talents are stifled. They operate within a narrow range in a movie with limited ambitions. Apex is definitely not bad, but it's also nothing to get excited about. At best, Kormákur has made something serviceable. At worst, what he has made is pretty forgettable.

Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times