Following a catastrophic loss in the mountains of Norway, extreme sports fanatic Sasha (Charlize Theron) heads to Australia to taste the white water rapids there and complete a personal task to lay the memories of Norway to rest. However, one local has other ideas in mind as he decides that Sasha is a perfect target for his ritualistic hunt of the most dangerous game. 

Let’s clear this up right from the start. Apex is a Netflix action movie, which right now means that you should never get your hopes up too high. Apex is one of the better ones on the service if only because it has two good leads and one killer scene that has gone viral online to the point that anyone using social media probably knows what I am talking about without having seen the film. 

The plot, as seemingly is so often the case with these films, is an amalgam of many others. Cliffhanger lends its opening emotional gut punch to set up Sasha’s pain. The white water rapids in the middle of nowhere are reminiscent of The River Wild, someone travelling around doing extreme sports is Point Break. Whilst the idea of the Australian outback as one of the film’s greatest dangers, as a serial killer hunts you down feels more than a little Wolf Creek to me. Of course, borrowing from other ideas is not an issue as long as something new and interesting can be taken from those ideas. And that is something I would struggle to argue is the case here. Which is why this is a good ride, rather than a future classic to return to. 

What makes it a good ride the most are its stars. Charlize Theron, who has almost entirely shifted into action movies in the last few years (The Old Guard / Fast & Furious), gives a committed and believable performance as an adrenaline junkie who is also partially broken from prior events. Taron Egerton is also such good fun as the villain of the piece that I wonder if perhaps he should shift from playing the good guy to the villain a bit more often. There is also a short-lived but effective cameo from the ever-reliable Eric Bana. 

In terms of action, it does reasonably well. But there is nothing that stands out quite as much as the superb and scary landscape that informs the horror aspect of the film or the one particular standout scene I mentioned earlier. All I can say is that The Chemical Brothers’ royalties must be getting a bit of a boost for their song “Go”, which is the soundtrack to one of the most fun and bonkers scenes in a Netflix action flick yet. 

Apex is not doing anything original, nor will it be an action movie classic people are talking about in years to come. But it does entertain and it is likely worth watching just to see Egerton having this much fun as a lunatic.