Club Benefits
- Rating: 3/5 stars
- Verdict: "'Apex' is a mostly forgettable blend of the thriller genre's greatest hits. It's sorely lacking in original ideas of its own, but Charlize Theron and a devilishly unhinged Taron Egerton keep you invested until the conclusion. Just don't expect to remember much. 'Apex' fades from memory mere hours after watching."
- Where to watch: "Apex" is on Netflix now
Before watching Netflix’s new survival thriller, “Apex,” I was fairly confident it wouldn’t be outright awful. Director Baltasar Kormákur is experienced in the genre, having helmed the likes of “Everest” and “Beast,” and Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton are both capable of elevating whatever material they’re given. I thought, surely, “Apex” wouldn’t be a total flop.
I’m pleased to report that my hunch was correct: “Apex” isn’t an outright disaster. I further suspect Netflix subscribers will receive it more warmly than the platform’s other tentpole original thriller released in April 2026, “Thrash” (which holds a miserable 24% score on Rotten Tomatoes). But there’s a reason I’m setting the bar pretty low here. While “Apex” is generally competent, it simultaneously struggles to do anything to differentiate itself from the chasing pack.
It’s a 95-minute rollercoaster ride that is generally enjoyable in the moment, but fades from the memory so fast that just a few days later, you might have to second-guess whether you actually even watched it. Theron and Egerton do their best, and Kormákur keeps the movie chugging along, but “Apex” plays out like a forgettable blend of the genre’s greatest hits.
What is ‘Apex’ about?
Charlize Theron plays Sasha, a thrill-seeker, expert rock climber, and woman lost in grief. After a tragic accident during a mountaineering expedition, she heads to the Australian outback for a spot of risk-taking. Looking to feel alive during a period of intense sadness.
While rafting white water rapids and scaling stunning cliffs, she encounters a strange man (Taron Egerton), who gives off seriously bad vibes. Sasha’s wary instincts are soon proved correct when the man reveals himself to be a hunter, but he’s not looking to track animals across the wilderness. He wants to hunt more capable prey: Sasha.
Forced into a life-or-death situation, Sasha must employ all her survival skills and cunning to evade a hunter who’s more animalistic and savage than she could have ever imagined.
‘Apex’ is a thriller movie you’ve (probably) seen before
From the above plot summary, you might be getting a sense of déjà vu from “Apex.” A grieving protagonist, with a seeming death wish, finding a reason to live via an extreme situation, is about as cookie-cutter a setup for a survival thriller as it gets. Originality isn’t “Apex’s” strong suit; it cribs from so many of its genre rivals that it borders on shameless.
The final result is what you’d probably get if you threw “Fall,” “Alone” and Netflix’s own “Don’t Move” into a blender. A sludgy mixture that is largely flavorless, but isn’t entirely unpleasant. And at the very least, even when the narrative settles into a predictable groove, the outback setting always looks picturesque. Australia sure is a particularly pretty country!
“Apex” is rather fortunate that it can call on the talents of Theron and Egerton. Sasha’s paint-by-numbers arc doesn’t challenge Theron, but she sells the emotional catharsis of finding a reason to fight on even in the face of tragedy with aplomb. Meanwhile, Egerton goes full-on psychopathic. His hunter character is totally feral, gashing his teeth, howling at the sky, and gyrating to The Chemical Brothers’ tune “Go.”
As fun as it is to see Egerton play an unhinged stalker, who might just be more animal than man at this point (a scene of him frolicking in a river naked makes this point crystal clear), “Apex” is unwilling to dig deeper into its antagonist.
There are vague allusions to a more complicated backstory, including an obsession with his mother (maybe add a pinch of “Psycho” to the blender), but Egerton’s villainous character is ultimately a caricature.
I’ve criticized “Apex” a lot for its predictability, so it’s only fair that I give some credit for a third act that flips the script and takes a nominally more interesting route. Sadly, even this lackluster compliment comes backhandedly. There is potential in this finale switch-up from the established predator/prey dynamic, but “Apex” refuses to commit and falls back into old habits to speed into an ending that anybody who has seen even just a few thriller movies already will see coming a mile off.
Should you stream ‘Apex’ on Netflix?
It’s important to distinguish between a forgettable movie and a bad movie. “Apex” is most certainly the former, but I wouldn’t go as far as to label it the latter. Its trim 95-minute runtime helps. This means its strict adherence to genre conventions never grates enough to become truly fatal, and Egerton’s wild performance adds much-needed intensity.
“Apex” is very much the archetypal Netflix movie; it’ll almost certainly amass millions of viewers in a short span of time (I have no doubt it’ll be the next Netflix No. 1), but leaves a near non-existent impression. In just a few weeks, once it’s fallen out of the streamer’s top 10 charts for good, it’ll disappear into Netflix’s vast content library, never to be heard from again. It’s certainly not the apex predator of the survival thriller genre.
Looking for slightly more memorable Netflix watches? Here’s a guide to five fantastic movies that are set to be removed from the streaming service in just a matter of days. Watch them while you still can. Or check out our full rundown of everything new on Netflix in April 2026.
Watch "Apex" on Netflix now
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