Title – Apex (2026)

Director – Baltasar Kormákur (2 Guns)

Cast – Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana

Plot – Mountain climber and outdoor adventurer Sasha (Theron) heads to Australia following the loss of her beloved partner Tommy (Bana). Deep in the Australian wilderness, Sasha comes across Ben (Egerton), setting in motion a deadly game of cat and mouse.  

“We make a good team, don’t we?”

Review by Eddie on 11/05/2026

Cinema really doesn’t want Australia to be a successful tourism drawcard, with Netflix’s latest hit streaming original Apex joining forces alongside the likes of Japanese Story, Wolf Creek and Dying Breed to showcase a brutal landscape filled with dangers, this time in the form of Taron Egerton’s over the top serial killer Ben.

Baltasar Kormákur’s latest gun for hire effort as director, with the filmmaker continuing on his solid if unremarkable form making forgettably watchable films like this and previous efforts such as Everest and Adrift, Apex is the exact type of film that has become Netflix’s bread and butter, offering viewers a sometimes-thrilling adrenaline rush that happens to star two very capable Hollywood actors.

Set in the picturesque Blue Mountains region of the Australian wilderness, Apex follows the life and death battle Charlize Theron’s adventurer Sasha finds herself in following a personal tragedy that has led her to run into Egerton’s wide-eyed serial killer bushman, who loves nothing more than hunting down unsuspecting explorers while the local law enforcement seem unconcerned about the mounting missing persons posters that littler the local information centre.

A film that would feel perfectly at home in the heyday of 80’s and 90’s home video markets, Apex can’t be accused of trying to be anything it’s not and if you’ve seen the films trailers or been privy to any of its pre-release marketing you should be fairly certain of the type of experience you’re about to get here, with Kormákur and his talented duo up for the task of providing us with a solid distraction full of plot holes and over the top occurrences.

Fully embracing her “Netflix’ phase that is allowing the one-time Oscar winning star to get her tough girl on and have a blast in the elements, all the while earning exorbitant amounts of money, Theron is more than capable of making us believe that Sasha can survive it with the best of them but Apex’s main point of difference and reason to invest your time is Egerton’s Nicolas Cage like performance as Ben.

Having the time of his life with a role that’s almost comic book like in its scenery chewing villainy, Egerton is a riot here and whether it’s him making an array of what I think are bird calls, swinging nude for a mid-hunt dip or showing off an impressive set of custom chompers, Egerton’s energy and enthusiasm here can’t be denied and he goes a long way to making you forgive a lot of Apex’s fairly obvious flaws and all round genericness.

Already drawing in hugely notable streaming figures, Netflix would undoubtedly be content with Apex’s performance and for most viewers this hunter vs prey game of cat and mouse will be a perfectly adequate viewing option that is enhanced by two impressively in-tune performances.

Final Say –

We’ve all seen this film before in various forms, but I bet you’ve never seen it done quite this way thanks to Egerton’s deliriously demented turn, making Apex a fun and throwaway 90-minute film you’ll soon forget but not regret.

3 pieces of jerky out of 5