Apex (2021)
Directed by Edward Drake
No — Apex is not woke, scoring 8 out of 100 on our wokeness meter.
Apex is a 2021 science fiction action picture in which Bruce Willis, in one of the many late-career appearances that have since been catalogued with a certain melancholy, plays an ex-cop offered his freedom in exchange for surviving a hunt on a private island.
Consciousness Markers
The premise directly involves a pharmaceutical trillionaire and wealthy hunters paying for a deadly game, providing a clear, albeit violent, critique of extreme wealth.
The film relies heavily on a traditional, predominantly white action cast, offering little in the way of meaningful diverse representation.
Female characters are present but function primarily within the framework of a male-centric action/survival plot, lacking any significant feminist agenda.
The dialogue is primarily focused on action and villainous taunting, lacking the didactic, high-minded social commentary often associated with 'lecture energy'.
There is no discernible presence or thematic exploration of LGBTQ+ issues within the narrative or character development.
The film operates within standard genre tropes and does not engage with racial dynamics or social commentary regarding race.
The setting is a private island, but the narrative focus remains entirely on the death game, not environmental concerns or climate change.
There is no focus on diverse body types or challenging conventional beauty standards in the film's presentation.
No characters exhibit or are discussed in relation to neurodivergent traits.
As a fictional death game thriller, the film does not attempt to challenge or rewrite established historical narratives.
Why it received this score
Apex is a 2021 science fiction action picture in which Bruce Willis, in one of the many late-career appearances that have since been catalogued with a certain melancholy, plays an ex-cop offered his freedom in exchange for surviving a hunt on a private island. The premise is familiar, borrowed loosely from a short story that the character surnames quietly acknowledge. Six wealthy hunters pay for the pleasure of the chase. There follows a sequence of explosions, land mines, and decapitations, delivered with the grim efficiency of a production that knew exactly what it was.
The film's only discernible social instinct points at money. Samuel, a pharmaceutical trillionaire, purchases human beings for sport and keeps their heads as trophies, which amounts to a critique of extreme wealth so blunt that it stops functioning as a critique. It is a genre convention wearing a linen suit. Elsewhere the picture is content to be a genre exercise and nothing more. The cast is drawn from the traditional action pool, and while women appear among the hunters, they exist chiefly to be outmaneuvered. No engagement with race, no climate anxiety, no interest in bodies beyond their capacity to absorb punishment. The island is a setting, not an argument.
The dialogue consists of taunts and threats. Samuel invites his quarry to beg for his life. The quarry declines. No sermon is smuggled into the third act, and for that small mercy we may be grateful. An eleven percent approval rating suggests the audience was less so. This is not a preachy film, not a righteous one, and barely an awake one. Its politics amount to a shrug directed at a yacht, which is at least honest about the company it keeps.
Analysis generated by our Consciousness Algorithm
Synopsis
Ex-cop Thomas Malone is serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. He is offered a chance at freedom if he can survive a deadly game of Apex, in which six hunters pay for the pleasure of hunting another human on a remote island. He accepts, and once he arrives, all hell breaks loose.
Questions about Apex
Is Apex woke?
No — Apex is not woke, scoring 8 out of 100 on our wokeness meter. That earns it a verdict of Ultra Based.
Does Apex have any woke elements?
1 of the 10 markers register at 30 or above, led by Eat the Rich (40). On Eat the Rich: The premise directly involves a pharmaceutical trillionaire and wealthy hunters paying for a deadly game, providing a clear, albeit violent, critique of extreme wealth.
How does Apex compare to other 2021 movies?
It ranks #190 of the 242 films from 2021 we've scored; their average is 23. The wokest is The Forever Purge (83).
How is the Woke Score calculated?
An AI-assisted process researches the film and its reception, scores it 0–100 on ten markers, then combines those into one 0–100 Woke Score. It measures a specific set of 2020s cultural themes, not film quality.