APEX

Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton

Sometimes you can’t trust a film by its trailer. The new Netflix film, Apex, is far more pulsating and heart pounding than you may expect. Charlize Theron knows her way through an action film, as she’s always reliable in this genre thanks to Mad Max Fury Road, The Old Guard, Aeon Flux, and more. That buy in allows the audience to trust her character, Sasha, as she’s no damsel in distress. It opens with Sasha as the lone survivor of a deadly mounting climbing expedition. That doesn’t stop her natural thrill-seeking ways. She’s back on the road in her van at Wandarra National Park. She stops by the local gas station where she’s warned that people get lost in these woods all the time. Don’t worry, this is a fictional place. She’s antagonized by the local bros who balk at her going at this alone. She’s essentially saved by Ben, Taron Egerton’s character. He recommends a local camping area, but they split off and go their own ways. The first night is a bit rough as her belongings go missing and those dumb bros find her. She ends up reuniting with Ben near his campground only to realize he’s not the sweet guy she originally met. He’s turned on her and is the one guilty of stealing her equipment. For him, it’s a game, and now Sasha finds herself in a cat and mouse chase running through the woods in a game of survival. Now streaming

Here’s my review