Apex: Netflix’s dominant predator

Apex, titled in Spain Depredador dominante for some reason, is one of those Netflix films where you know pretty well what it is going to give you before you even press play.

The good thing, and the bad thing, is that in this case it does.

It is not original.

It is not especially coherent.

And it does not try too hard to hide its plot holes. 

But it is short, gets to the point and has two actors who elevate —and not by a little— the material they have in their hands.

And sometimes that, with some popcorn on a Saturday afternoon, is enough.

A quick opinion on the film

The three adjectives that perhaps define it best are entertaining, short and predictable.

I do not think it needs much more dressing up.

Because it is one of those chase thrillers where everything is pretty clear from the start: who the good guy is, who the bad guy is, who is going to die and what kind of more or less obvious twists will appear along the way.

The difference is that Apex does not become a slog.

And today, that almost counts as a virtue.

Because we have all suffered through more than one recent film with enough material for 80 minutes that insists on lasting two hours and fifteen minutes.

Apex does not make that mistake. 

What Depredador dominante, Apex’s title in Spain, is about

The premise is simple: a woman ventures into the Australian wilderness and ends up trapped in a kind of deadly game with a killer who turns her into his prey.

You do not need to know much more.

The interest is not in the plot, but in seeing how that chase unfolds and how the two main characters keep clashing.

Apex plays with a fairly familiar idea: hunter against prey. The psychopath and the victim.

New? Nope.

Does it work? Enough.

Here is the trailer so you can judge it yourself:

The best part: Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton raise the level

The best thing about Depredador dominante is, without a shadow of a doubt, its actors.

Charlize Theron has enough presence to carry characters like this almost without breaking a sweat. Even when the script does not give her a great character, she manages to make the film seem a little more solid than it really is.

And Taron Egerton is very good too. He gives a strong performance that has even gone viral, thanks to a pretty cheeky and uninhibited scene in the movie.

He is not an especially deep villain, but he does have that slightly over-the-top energy that fits the proposal. In another film he might look ridiculous, but here, since everything is pretty openly played, it works.

And about Eric Bana I am not going to talk. You will understand when you see it.

The worst part: the script has holes

Apex is not a film you should ask too much coherence from.

If you start pulling at the thread, things come out. Quite a few.

There are character decisions that seem to be made because the film needs to get to the next point. 

There are situations that do not work even if you do not think about them too much. 

And there are moments when the story asks you to accept certain things just because, without thinking too hard about it.

Accept it, plain and simple, and grab another handful of popcorn.

Apex never seems to take itself for some terribly important work. It is not going to win any Oscars and it knows it. That is why it does not pretend to be prestigious, or deep, or the new Seven. 

It is about a chase, an unleashed villain, a protagonist with trauma and an hour and a half of more or less functional tension.

That is all.

As predictable as it looks

The main problem with Apex is not that it is badly made, but that you can see it coming too clearly.

Very early on you know where things are headed. The film tries to keep a card up its sleeve, but it does not have much ability to surprise either. If you have seen a few thrillers of this kind, you will probably be several steps ahead.

And that takes away tension and impact.

It is like watching a formula you already know again, with better actors than usual and a pretty welcome running time.

I mean that as something positive: Apex feels like an old-school film.

A simple idea, a clear conflict and a tight running time. It does not try to set up a franchise, it does not need to explain half a universe to you and it does not insist on turning a basic premise into a gigantic story.

None of that is bad, but there are days when you are not looking for a masterpiece that changes your life. Sometimes you just want a Netflix film that does not force you to check your phone every ten minutes.

Apex, with all its problems, manages that fairly well.

So, is Apex worth watching on Netflix?

Only if you know what you are getting into.

It is worth it if you are looking for a pure fun film, with a good cast and easy to watch. It earns extra points if you like chase thrillers, exaggerated villains and survival stories.

However, it is not worth it if you have little time and would rather spend it on deeper or more ambitious works.

And that is exactly what happened to me with my partner: she found it fairly entertaining. I limited myself to eating popcorn and, when it ran out, to checking my phone frequently.

A matter of taste and, above all, expectations.

Technical details

Field	Detail
Title in Spain	Depredador dominante
Original title	Apex
Year	2026
Runtime	93 min. on Filmaffinity / 1 h 38 min on Netflix Tudum
Director	Baltasar Kormákur
Screenplay	Jeremy Robbins
Main cast	Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana
Music	Högni Egilsson
Cinematography	Lawrence Sher
Genre	Thriller, action, adventure, survival
Country	United States, according to Filmaffinity
Companies	Chernin Entertainment, Netflix, Ian Bryce Productions, RVK Productions
Distributor	Netflix
Available on	Netflix
Age rating	16+
Brief synopsis	A grieving woman ventures into the Australian wilderness to test herself and ends up trapped in a deadly game with a killer who sees her as his prey.
Main characters	Sasha, Ben, Tommy