‘Apex’ Guarantees Sweaty Palms, but Falls Short of Anything Deeper
Apex is a film about adrenaline junkies. Many have seen videos of these fearless people online: tightrope walkers, skydivers, and race car drivers might all come to mind. But mountain climbers might be the craziest of them all. Arguably the world’s greatest free solo climber, Alex Honnold, famously had his brain scanned and it showed that his amygdala had minimal response to fear stimuli, suggesting an unusually muted response to danger. Apex is a story that follows a rock climber and explorer as she finds herself fighting for her life in the Australian wilderness. The film has moments of tense survival-action, but suffers from undeveloped characters and a shallow plot.
It opens with Sasha (Charlize Theron) and her Australian boyfriend Tommy (Eric Bana) climbing the Troll Wall in Norway. As Sasha struggles to get over a ledge and rough weather begins to roll in, Tommy persuades her that they should descend. She begrudgingly agrees, but as they rappel down the cliff, the weather turns and a rockfall rains down around them. In the chaos, Tommy falls off the wall and into the abyss below.
The story resumes several months later, as Sasha is in Australia to spread her boyfriend’s ashes in his homeland. Sasha runs into some sketchy strangers who repeatedly warn her of the danger ahead as she journeys into Wandarra National Park. A hospitable man gives her directions for an adventurous kayaking trip. However, after her first night in her tent, she wakes to find her bag and phone are gone. She wanders along the river searching for clues about what animal could have taken her possessions, when she comes across a lean-to and an active campfire. Emerging from the campsite is the same man who gave her directions. He introduces himself as Ben (Taron Egerton), and his demeanor quickly turns from affable to eerie. Suddenly, he retrieves three items from his lean-to: Sasha’s bag, a speaker, and a crossbow. He puts on upbeat music and tells Sasha that she has until the end of the song to run for her life. The hunt begins.
