NetflixHanging from the ominously named Troll Wall rockface in Norway, Sasha (Charlize Theron) struggles to hold up the weight of her unconscious husband (Eric Bana), dodging chunks of ice as they hurtle down from the precipice above. “Tommy, wake up!” she yells. “You’re dragging us off the mountain!” Right off the bat, this prologue sets the tone for a thriller where the action is convincingly perilous, but the dialogue leaves much to be desired.Director Baltasar Kormákur is a seasoned expert in the realm of survival thrillers, having previously made The Deep (about a guy whose boat capsizes off the coast of Iceland), Adrift (where a couple get lost at sea during a hurricane), and Everest (which dramatizes a 1996 climbing catastrophe) — not to mention the less plausible Beast, where Idris Elba battles a homicidal lion in a South African game reserve. None of these films bill themselves as high art, but Kormákur knows his way around an outdoor action setpiece, grounding his new Netflix film Apex in the gritty technicalities of extreme rock climbing and kayaking.Written by Jeremy Robbins (TV’s The Purge), Apex follows mountain climber Sasha on a trip through the Australian wilderness, a few months after her near-fatal experience in Norway. Setting off into a picturesque but notoriously deadly national park, she ignores the wall of missing persons posters on her way in. Maybe she’s just confident in her abilities — or possibly she’s flirting with the Reaper. Either way, she’s not prepared for what actually awaits. Instead of merely navigating through white water rivers and hauling herself up crevasses, she finds herself being stalked by a serial murderer (Taron Egerton), who targets campers as his prey.Usually known for more lighthearted and heroic roles (Kingsman: The Secret Service; Robin Hood; Rocketman), this marks a refreshing turn for Egerton, playing a sadist who baits his trap around Sasha’s vulnerability as a woman traveling solo. Some of the film’s most effective moments stem from this power dynamic, beginning with a scene where Sasha gets harassed by some hunters at a roadside convenience store. She has every reason to be standoffish when these macho creeps offer to “help” her navigate the park; a tense encounter that layers patronizing mansplaining with a more predatory subtext.When these men refuse to back down, Taron Egerton’s Ben makes his first appearance, introducing himself as a cheerful hiker bro who respectfully takes Sasha’s side in the confrontation. Soon enough, however, we’ll discover that he respects her in a very different way: as a worthy quarry for his ritualistic habit of hunting human game.This set-up brings to mind the viral “man or bear” thought experiment, which asks women whether they’d prefer to be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear. According to the admittedly unscientific source of TikTok commenters, most women choose the bear, sparking extensive discourse about gendered expectations of male brutality. In Apex — a film whose title refers both to the summit of a mountain, and to Ben’s self-identification as an apex predator — the greatest danger is clearly the man.Sasha is right to rebuff the sleazy hunters who approach her during the story’s opening act, and she’s wrong to trust Ben’s friendly demeanor. None of these men have her best interests in mind, and elsewhere, we see how sexism endangers her in more subtle ways. She’s evidently used to hearing men cast doubt on her abilities, so when a local ranger advises her to avoid a location where dozens of people have gone missing, she’s already primed to ignore his advice.Charlize Theron and a particularly freaky Taron Egerton elevate a mostly middling Netflix action flick. | NetflixPlaying to her strengths as a champion of tough, physically demanding roles, Theron spends half the film clambering across rock faces and paddling for her life, while Egerton capers around like a bulked-up version of Jack O’Connell in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Unlike some Netflix action movies, where the stars are visibly just collecting a paycheck, these two are both fully committed to the bit. That’s a saving grace for Apex, because the script really can’t hold its own when the pace slows down. For instance, there’s a moment where Ben tells Sasha that she’s “special, just like my mum.” Okay, sure. Love the suggestion of a Freudian motive for why this dude chases people through the forest with a crossbow.Apex doesn’t measure up to the heights of Charlize Theron’s action career, but it’s a solid effort for a straight-to-streaming release, outstripping last year’s disappointing sequel to The Old Guard. Everyone onboard seems to know the score, prioritizing realistic stunts in a story that essentially parodies a worst case scenario for lone female hikers.Between the more ridiculous elements of Ben’s mountaineering Saw trap, there’s a thoughtful thematic link between the two leads. Both are obsessed with danger, and both seek to challenge themselves, ignoring conventional expectations of self-preservation. Separated from the comforts of civilization, they’ve finally met their match, using all their enviable strength and outdoor acumen to prove themselves worthy of survival.Apex premieres on Netflix April 24.