GoKawiilApex, a new survival thriller from director Baltasar Kormákur, debuts on Netflix Friday. The film stars Charlize Theron as Sasha, a grief-stricken woman who, after a rather predictable accident on a mountain, travels to Australia to find closure. Once there, she finds herself involved in a grueling cat-and-mouse game as she's hunted by a ruthless local named Ben (played by Taron Egerton).
There's a lot the movie could've explored during its roughly 90-minute running time, particularly around loss and letting go. Alas, it's all surface, no depth. It's a bummer -- but at least that surface looks cool.
Let's back up a minute and discuss the movie's opening moments. We're quickly introduced to Sasha, who wakes up in a tent tied to the side of a mountain. This is normal life for her and her husband, Tommy (played by Eric Bana), and it's understood that the couple does a lot of rock climbing. But Sasha comes to a rock side she just can't climb over, and, in frustration, they stay on the side of the mountain a bit too long.
All the while, a snowstorm closes in.
Perhaps I watch too many disaster movies, but the story panned out in a predictable manner from there. Due to a rockslide and bad weather conditions, Tommy gets knocked unconscious (or killed immediately) and Sasha must either let go of his rope or die with him.
And that's a wrap for Eric Bana.
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Eric Bana stars in Apex. Kane Skennar/Netflix
This opening sequence took place over mere minutes, which, in my opinion, was nowhere near enough time to establish the emotional connection between the two characters that would then inspire her to take a trip alone to the wild backlands of Australia. But we all process grief differently, I guess.
Needless to say, once there, Sasha finds herself in a situation that she wasn't prepared for. Red flags abound in the form of the cluttered wall of missing persons posters in the local police station and a group of questionable men she soon meets while on her journey to go camping in the unfamiliar terrain.
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