APEX
review by Bobby Blakey
I have always been a Bruce Willis fan, but outside of his remake of Death Wish and Glass he has been relegated to the straight to home entertainment faire with not so great results. His latest film APEX has him reteaming with his Cosmic Sin and Breach director Edward drake and co-stars Neal McDonough, Lochlyn Munro, Megan Peta Hill and Trevor Gretzky. Could this be one of the good ones or will it be a hunt not worth going on?
APEX follows ex-cop Thomas Malone, serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit who is offered a chance at freedom if he can survive a deadly game of Apex. Six hunters pay for the pleasure of hunting another human on a remote island, but once Malone arrives all hell breaks loose. Laying traps and playing mind games, Malone tries to turn the tables and fight for his life and his future.
I love films featuring people hunting each other because there is so many options for horror, action and creativity. This is not one of those films sadly despite it having promise. The story is fine and having the hunters turn on each other could have made this a fun flick, but it is so unbalanced and badly executed it just doesn’t work despite the star power of McDonough and Willis.
I will give McDonough credit as he goes all in with every role and is hamming it up to make for a great crazy, but it just isn’t enough to save the film. Willis is prominent in the film and not another glorified cameo, but it is clear that he was rarely on set with any of these actors and did a lot of green screen and double work to be added to the film. HE once again phones it in walking through the motions and delivering bad dialogue.
I have come to the conclusion that Willis just loves working no matter the project which is why he keeps churning so many out and more power to him. I just wish we could get him back in some good stuff as I think there is still some good years left in there, but this isn’t one of them. The film offers up some weird moments of Willis walking around eating berries to an upbeat almost comedy like score, science fiction elements that are unnecessary, a Walking Dead type Governor reference and the only really clever element of referencing so many of Willis’s better films hidden in dialogue and text.
I wanted to love this movie, but alas it was not to be. Decide for yourself and check out APEX available now on Blu-ray and DVD from RLJE Films.