‘Apex’ review: This is why women choose the bear

Would you rather be stuck in the woods with a man or a bear? Posed to women on TikTok in 2024, this seemingly simple hypothetical question ignited a firestorm across social media. Video after video showed women choosing the bear, speaking up against rape culture and speculating how a man alone in the woods could be up to no good, while a bear in the woods is less suspicious. Others were outraged by the idea that a random man might seem more a threat to a woman than a wild animal. And now, the new Netflix movie Apex seems certain to reignite this debate.

To be clear, there is no bear in Apex. (Sorry for the spoiler?) Charlize Theron stars as Sasha, a physically strong and resilient rock climber, who takes her thrill-seeking to the Australian wilderness, where she aims to kayak down white rapids alone. However, her plan for reflective solitude is interrupted when she crosses paths with Ben (Taron Egerton), who seems friendly at first, but soon proves to be the deadliest threat in this treacherous terrain.

Pitting an iconic action heroine against an animal-call-shrieking madman in a ruthless wilderness, Apex is a wild ride, fueled by violence, action, gore, and many women’s worst fear.

Apex will have you rattled from its very first scene.

Charlize Theron in “Apex.”
Credit: Kane Skennar / Netflix

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, Apex begins with a peaceful scene. Sasha and her partner Tommy (a rugged Eric Bana) awake in a tent, the sound of the wind bellowing very loudly outside. This rush of air is a clue to their location. And while they’re both super chill about it, the reveal that they are pinned on the side of a massive cliff had me literally gagging. I don’t have a fear of heights. But as cinematographer Lawrence Sher follows Theron’s head out of the tent entrance to peek outside, I was genuinely thrown by the sheer drop lying below their fragile tent.

The opening act follows this adventurous couple as they rock climb up the cliffside, chatting along the way. But when disaster strikes, Apex stuns not with their daring or natural wonders, but with violence that’s brutal and traumatizing. Sasha’s next adventure will be haunted by this one. Moreover, we, the audience, understand how hard-hitting Kormákur will go when it comes to onscreen violence and its life-or-death stakes.

Sure, when Sasha first meets Ben, he’s chipper, even helpful. He puts himself between her and some gruff bogans, and he offers her directions to a prime camping spot. But much like Kevin Bacon in The River Wild, there’s a flicker in his eye that suggests Ben cannot be trusted when it comes to this striking blonde woman. Sure enough, he pivots from helper to hunter, telling Sasha she better run, because he’s got a crossbow and she’s in his sights.

To paraphrase the Doofenshmirtz meme: If I had a nickel for every time an Academy Award–winning leading lady starred as a rafter, fighting for her survival against a deranged killer, who is played by a traditionally charming leading man, I’d have two nickels. Which is not a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

Apex is stuffed with eye-popping, stomach-churning action.

Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton in “Apex.”
Credit: Kane Skennar / Netflix

So much so that I lament you won’t see it in a theater, as critics did. Streaming on Netflix, the endless woods and waters, cliffs and caves that Sasha scrambles across in this twisted game of cat-and-mouse are absolutely stunning on a movie theater screen. The woods around her offer their own obstacles, but Sasha had prepared for that. Now, chased by this psychotic hunter, the sprawl of wilderness is a cage she can’t easily escape.

Sasha will race through forests, fall down gullies, thrash through a raging river, climb cliff faces, and squeeze through uncharted caves as she’s pursued by this cackling villain. Like The River Wild, there’s an undercurrent of psychological torture between the charismatic criminal and his hostage heroine. But Theron’s character takes a much more brutal battering at the hands of man and nature — though never bear.

The star of Atomic Blonde and The Old Guard rushes into action with a snarl, yet is cool under pressure. And this makes what she faces all the scarier. This is not the teen babysitter stalked by a suburban slasher. This is not a doting mother, forced to defend her family against a gun-twirling bank robber. Sasha is presented as tough and fearless out the gate. And yet, she was caught off guard by a “nice guy” with a hidden agenda of misogynistic malice. That Egerton is smaller than Theron, that Ben is a bit gawky and earnestly friendly only makes this switch all the more harrowing. Because while not every women will see herself in a character like Sasha, who can scale a hundred-foot-high cliff for fun (certainly not me!), many will see themselves in the woman who realizes too late she’s mistaken a predator for a good guy.

Taron Egerton delivers a career-defining performance in Apex.

Taron Egerton in “Apex.”
Credit: Kane Skennar / Netflix

This English actor is building an unpredictable and thereby absolutely thrilling career. Breaking out with the Kingsman film series, Egerton swiftly established himself as a leading man with swagger and comedy chops. Then in 2019, he threw himself into the challenging role of a warts-and-all Elton John in the musical biopic Rocketman. There, he not only had to recapture the magic of one of the best rock stars to take to an arena stage, but also find the quiet moments of desperation and isolation that drove John’s addictions.

With Sing, he brought verve to a pop-loving gorilla. Then in Tetris, he played an ambitious American entrepreneur who gets entangled in Cold War paranoia and espionage. More recently, in Netflix’s Carry-On, he played an everyman challenged to become an action hero. But with Apex, he goes full-on baddie.

As Ben, he manages a switch on the level of Ed Norton in Primal Fear. You know the one. What’s phenomenal is that Egerton is totally believable as the mirthful stranger, happy to help out a lost tourist. But when his eyes go cold, revealing Ben’s hunting plans, there’s a shimmer in the darkness that’s absolutely riveting. It’s not just that Ben is going to stalk Sasha like a deer in the wood. He’s going to enjoy every moment of torture — be it physical or psychological — he can subject her to.

Egerton throws himself into the action with the same energy he did Rocketman’s musical numbers. He chews on the threats in Jeremy Robbins’ screenplay as if they are the jerky that Ben sells at the local convenience store. And he’ll howl and caw like a wild thing, not afraid to indicate to Sasha where he is, because she’s come onto his turf, where he feels invincible. Even a cheeky reprieve, like when Ben skinny-dips — and Kormákur offers a peek at Egerton’s much thirsted-after bottom — is threaded with horror. Ben is treating this like a holiday, whooping it up naked and free, while Sasha is desperately seeking escape.

Apex is a relentless, exciting, and nerve-rattlingly scary thriller, wherein Theron and Egerton bring their very best to a brutal face-off. It’ll be a fun watch at home, hooking audiences on its gnarly twists and gore. But I pity those who won’t get to see the vistas and violence Kormákur has captured on a big screen, where their wonders and horrors can truly overwhelm you.

Apex premieres on Netflix on April 24.