Apex Parent Guide

Sasha (Charlize Theron) spends most of her time in situations so dangerous that you’d prefer not to imagine them. She’s an adrenaline junkie, and her habit has seen her go up and down mountains, through rapids, and down trails riddled with hazards. She and her husband, Tommy (Eric Bana) experienced it all together - until a climbing accident on their last trip cost Tommy his life.

After the tragedy, Sasha swore off mountains and crawled off into the Australian outback to reassess her life. The local park ranger warned her not to go alone, indicating an alarming quantity of missing persons posters, but Sasha was never much deterred by good advice. She’ll soon learn, though, that there are hazards in these woods that have nothing to do with nature. 

Apex is relentless, pitching Sasha from one catastrophe to another for the entirety of the film. It sounds exhausting but it’s also exciting. The plot doesn’t need much scrutiny, and while the dialogue is wooden in spots, it can’t hold back the breakneck speed of the story. The only reprieve you get are some beautiful shots of the “Wandarra National Park” – really, the Blue Mountains National Park in New South Wales. 

In order to critique the film’s antagonist, I must give you a minor spoiler warning. (Feel free to skip this paragraph if you eschew spoilers.) For the rest of you, I can say that Taron Egerton’s  increasingly unhinged performance as the villain of the piece is incredibly entertaining. It’s almost literally scene-chewing, as he wobbles between being pretty scary and downright goofy. Mostly, it’s just fun. 

As far as negative content goes, Apex is a tough sell. Most of the film’s violence comes in the form of climbing or boating accidents, but there’s plenty of intentional harm, blood, corpses (including children), and cannibalism. There’s less profanity than you might expect considering the violence, but most of the dialogue for the latter half of the movie consists of exhausted panting and agonized groans. There’s also a brief nude bathing scene which will show you a good deal more of Taron Egerton than you may have expected.

The film has some rough patches but it moves so fast you’ll barely notice them, at the risk of inuring you to the constant adrenaline. As the R-rating suggests, this is a poor choice for families and younger viewers – as well as those who are squeamish and prone to motion sickness. Cannibalism and high-speed rapids seem like a guaranteed trigger for queasiness in those so inclined. 

About author

Keith Hawkes

Keith Hawkes graduated from Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada with a degree in English and History. His interests are movies, American literature, science fiction, almost every kind of music, and museums. He enjoys criticizing films for fun - although he's okay with being paid for it.