Taron Egerton is only a little over a year removed from earning acclaim for a hero turn in a Netflix movie. In 2024's Carry-On, the Welsh actor starred as a TSA agent trapped under the thumb of a mercenary – the character working to stay alive while simultaneously undermining a terrorist plot –and he once again demonstrated his skills as a leading man. As cool as it was to see him in that role, however, I have to say that I am way more excited to see him go totally unhinged while starring alongside Charlize Theron in the action thriller Apex.
The upcoming Netflix feature will be streaming in less than a month, and the new trailer above previews what is hopefully an intense ride. Theron plays a thrill-seeking rock climber who travels to Australia to grieve after a painful loss. She travels into the wilderness with expectations of isolation, but she instead ends up in a battle for her life. A man whom she casually asks for directions at a gas station (Egerton) turns out to be a psychopath who enjoys hunting people for sport, and after he tracks her down, he gives her a brief head start before taking off after her while armed with a deadly crossbow.
Apex is directed by Baltasar Kormákur, best known for moves like 2015's Everest and 2022's Beast, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the filmmaker let Egerton go completely off the leash with this movie and what we see in this footage is merely a taste of his insanity (you can see a whole lot of crazy in his eyes in close-up shots). It can be a whole lot of fun when actors are allowed to be as wild as their sensibilities will let them – two great recent examples that comes to mind being Jake Gyllenhaal in Ambulance and Jason Momoa in Fast X – and I hope that Egerton chews through each and every one of his scenes.
Of course, I can't ignore that we're also seeing Charlize Theron back and showing off her special action skills – Apex being her second feature in a row for Netflix subscribers following last summer's The Old Guard 2. One gets the sense that this adventure will principally have her demonstrating her awesome athleticism running, climbing, and battling rapids in a kayak, but it looks like she'll also be showing off some of her combat talents as well.
Apex, with Theron coming aboard in December 2024,was shot a little over a year ago on location in Australia, and it's now just weeks from its premiere. Also featuring Eric Bana (curious who he's playing, as he doesn't appear in the trailer), the movie will be available to stream starting April 24.
