Apex Movie Review: Charlize Theron is Rock Solid in this Extreme-Adventure thriller

Story: A woman on a solo adventure trip in Australia soon finds herself trying to escape the pursuit of a manic serial killer within the vast expanses of a thickly forested national park. Review: Sasha (Charlize Theron) and her husband, Tommy (Eric Bana) are extreme-thrill seekers, evident from the first sequence of the film. While we innocuously watch the couple greet a crisp morning, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, a jaw-dropping moment reveals that their tent is actually pitched 90 degrees to a steep rock wall that the two are climbing. And through the course of the next 90 minutes director Baltasar Kormakur (Everest, 2015) ensures many more such stupefying (and some vertigo-inducing) moments. While Sasha wants to continue her pursuit to the apex of the Troll Wall, despite a sudden change in mountain weather, Tommy takes the more responsible decision of stopping for the day. But that doesn't seem enough to avoid a tragic end to this summit. Five months later Sasha decides to take a solo trip to a national park in Australia to honour her husband's death. Although her trail starts off with a strong warning from a ranger at the gate that off-late many tourists have lost their way inside the park and still not been found. Add to that, a stand off with a couple of slimy hunters. She also meets Ben (Taron Egerton) here, who seems to be well versed with the landscape and friendly enough to offer some advice on which routes to take inside - the scenic, tougher one as opposed to the easier, shorter route. Being an avid thrill seeker, Sasha seems to be at home in the wilderness and with her solitude barring another uncomfortable meet-up with the hunters. But things drastically change after the first two nights, when Sasha wakes up one morning to find her knapsack missing. Her search for her bag leads her to Ben, who it turns out is not as harmless as he seems. And a full-throttle pursuit ensues, as Ben tries to trap Sasha in a game of survival. He now becomes the hunter and she, the hunted. 'Apex' moves fast - there is the relentless chase through rivers, crevices and deep forests; intense action and non-stop grit. Even though Sasha seems to thrive on adrenaline, the unravelling of Ben's intentions pushes her to arduous limits. The film definitely has its 'Cliffhanger' and 'River Wild' moments; and while the narrative charts on familiar terrain, the tension and action keep it gripping till the end. But given most of the screen-time is a toss between just Sasha and Ben and that there is not much more added to their character arcs, the cat and mouse chase begins to feel repetitive even at 90 minutes. There is some measure of gory visuals and a sizable chunk of nerve-wracking, edge of the seat action which are enough to knot up your stomach. Charlize Theron is literally rock-solid as she maneuvers through the rugged landscape, moving from one challenging situation to another. Climbing rock cliffs with gravity-defying finesse, tossing over and under waterfalls and boulders, running through jagged gorges, she is simply unstoppable. Taron Ederton channels a devious, evil side that is unhinged and chilling to the core. 'Apex' is formulaic and mostly predictable but it also delves into the unforeseeable limits that survival instincts can push one to, including a reveal by Sasha in the second half. And if you're an action and adventure junkie it will keep you hooked.