Yes, the opening scenes remind you of Cliffhanger. However, as you move ahead, APEX transforms into something entirely different. For one, it is Charlize Theron and not Stallone - while I realize this is a poor attempt at being humorous, you get the feeling that just like Stallone, Charlize Theron trained really hard for the role. You can easily spot the mean muscle mass that must have been earned over a few months. One look at her and you know that she did the groundwork and perhaps, much more than that, to look part of the role. The script just demands it! APEX is not the usual adventure story themed around urban folks who take up something in the mountains they cannot handle. The entire layout for APEX is highly focused on survival. The landscapes keep changing, but the intensity of Theron and the taut storytelling is unforgiving.
Just like the opening sequence in Cliffhanger that renders Stallone guilty, Sasha [Charlize Theron] is overwhelmed by the sadness of letting go of her partner off a massive, steep, and snowy peak. She just looks like a mountaineer with all the gear attached to her. Just like Stallone, Sasha does not speak much. She clearly did not like human company much before the ill-fated climb, and with her grief, she becomes even more solo, taking off to trails that are not meant even for the seasoned adventurers.
However, where the story totally breaks away from its Cliffhanger influences, and this happens within the first 30 minutes, is an ultra-psychotic Aussie who seems like an outdoor survival artist who has been preying on unknowing families who, unfortunately, traveled to his part of the Aussie terrain. I hadn't seen this guy before. He performed admirably. Until the credits rolled, I had no idea who I was watching playing the role of an outdoorsman turned hunter turned serial killer. He really takes to the role and performs with gusto, almost as good as Theron does. You have to realize and acknowledge that this is a very young performer going head-on with a seasoned international performer like Charlize. Nearly 90% of the movie has these two, indulging in relentless chase & scare sequences. No jump-thrills in the APEX, but the I-will-hunt-you chases were done beautifully. There is a scene that suggests chopping up people, turning them into human meat, salting the meat, and turning human remains into beef jerky type of chewies.
For me, the biggest differentiator for APEX is the outdoor landscape photography and showing us Australian locations most of us don't even know about. You have waterfalls, mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, ponds, caves, and forests shifting quickly, from one survival background to another. The pace of storytelling is just amazing! You can literally feel the soil, the mud, grime, and dirt, and there is a lot of it. The supposed prey and her predator roll in it, fight in it, and challenge each other in absolutely awesomely shot survival scenes. Every small stone that Theron grabs while ascending the mountains looks so real. Every time her hunter yanks one of the climbing gear ropes, the visual effect makes you feel that this is an expert - no questions about it. In fact, the pivotal turnaround points in the movie feature the climbing and survival gear in some way. The only smartphone to feature in the movie is smashed to pieces, and it deserves to lie dead in the Aussie outdoors because this movie has no room for anything overly polished or urbane.
THE BIG REASON TO WATCH?
Unbelievable rendering of the Aussie outdoors. Surreal, survival-themed attack-and-defend sequences.
Ultra-realistic survival-hunting genre content.
Every mountain-climbing and jumping scene is surreal.
No delays or slowdowns. This is one quick show.
Some bias that makes you watch Charlize Theron!
WORTH BEING IN THE WATCH LATER LIST?
Yes! The Apex should be in your OTT movies marked for 2026.
IS THERE ANY NUDITY IN APEX - THE MOVIE?
Just a couple of scenes! The serial killer in Apex tends to hang his victims using mountaineering rope, and to preserve the bodies, he uses a brine solution to coat the bodies. A family of four is shown strung up on the hooks, fully nude, but the scenes pass you by within a few seconds.