Apex | |
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Directed by | Edward John Drake |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Wai Sun Cheng |
Edited by | Justin William |
Music by | Hugh Wielenga |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | RLJE Films [1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes [2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $11,984 [3] |
Apex, titled Apex Predator in the UK, [2] is a 2021 American science fiction action film directed by Edward John Drake and written by John Drake and Corey William Large. It stars Neal McDonough and Bruce Willis and was released on November 12, 2021.
The film opens with Samuel, a self-proclaimed Apex Warrior and pharmaceutical trillionaire, shooting and killing a man. Samuel complains to a computer interface that he is becoming bored with the 'game' and asks the computer to find him a real challenge.
Thomas Malone has spent years of his life in prison, serving a life without parole sentence for multiple crimes he had committed in the past. He longs to be reunited with his family, with whom he has no contact. Thomas is approached by the game-master and offered the opportunity for his freedom. To win, Thomas must survive on a private island while being hunted by five wealthy participants, known as Hunters. Thomas accepts the offer, knowing it is his only chance to be reunited with his family and to gain his freedom.
As the hunt progresses, the hunters start to doubt each other and their own abilities, and begin to turn against one another. Samuel outwits all the other hunters in the game and claims their heads as trophies. He becomes frustrated that Thomas has escaped him so he hires additional hunters called 'Mongrels' to take part in the hunt and help him kill Thomas. Thomas eventually beats the Mongrels and faces-off with Samuel. Samuel taunts Thomas about his experience in prison, informs him that his head will look good in his trophy case, and tells Thomas to beg for his life. Thomas refuses. The confrontation ends in a fast-draw with Thomas firing a larger gun and ultimately killing Samuel. Thomas leaves the game and the island with his freedom.
The film was shot in Victoria, British Columbia. [6] Filming wrapped in November 2020. [6] [7]
Apex was released by RLJE Films on November 12, 2021. [8] The film was released in some regions as Apex Predator. [9]
As of November 11, 2022, Apex grossed $11,984 in the United Arab Emirates. [3]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 11% based on 9 reviews. [10]
Leslie Felperin of The Guardian gave it 1 out of 5 and called it "a tedious genre exercise". [11] Sara Michelle Fetters of MovieFreak.com gave it 1 out of 4 and wrote: "Its bad. Lets just leave it at that and call it a day." [12]
A positive review came from Alan Ng of Film Threat who gave it 7 out of 10, saying it "has the right level of seriousness that keeps it from becoming camp and crazy enough to keep it from becoming too serious for its own good." [13]
Bruce Willis was nominated for his performance in this movie, as he was for all movies he appeared in, in 2021, in the category Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie at the Golden Raspberry Awards. The category was later rescinded after he announced his retirement due to aphasia. [14] [15]
Walter Bruce Willis is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989) and has appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero for his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988–2013).
Neal McDonough is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on Boomtown (2002–2003), Tin Man in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man, and as Dave Williams in Season 5 of Desperate Housewives (2008–2009), and President Dwight D. Eisenhower in American Horror Story: Double Feature (2021) for which he was critically acclaimed. He has also appeared in films such as Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report, Walking Tall, and as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan in various Marvel Cinematic Universe films and TV series. In the DC Arrowverse, he has appeared as Damien Darhk in the TV series Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash. He had a major role in Suits for several seasons (2014–2019) and played Malcolm Beck on Yellowstone (2019).
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Predator is an American science fiction action horror anthology media franchise centered on the film series depicting humankind's encounters with an intelligent race of extraterrestrial trophy-seeking hunters known as the "Yautja". Produced and distributed by 20th Century Studios, the series began with Predator (1987), directed by John McTiernan, and was followed by three sequels, Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018), and one prequel, Prey (2022). The series has led to numerous novels, comics, and video game spin-offs such as Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005) and Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020). The Alien vs. Predator franchise combines the continuities and universe of the Alien franchise with the Predator franchise and consists of two films as well as varying series of comics, books, and video games. Unlike the Alien franchise, which features a continuous story arc, the Predator films are more non-linear, instead focusing on individual encounters with the Predators spread across multiple timeframes.
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Edward John Drake is an Australian screenwriter and film director based in Los Angeles, California.
RLJ Entertainment is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450 programs internationally via sublicense agreements. For many of its titles, Image has exclusive audio and broadcast rights as well as digital download rights to approximately 2,100 video programs and over 400 audio programs containing more than 6,000 tracks. The company is headquartered in Chatsworth, California.
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"The Most Dangerous Game" is an influential 1924 short story by Richard Connell. It tells the story of big-game hunter Sanger Rainsford becoming the hunted when trapped on a jungle island owned by General Zaroff, a Russian aristocrat who has turned to hunting man after growing bored of hunting animals.
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