The Gorge (Apple TV+)

Generally, even if I don’t review them here as religiously as I should, I like a lot of Apple TV's tv shows (Slow Horses, Silo and Severance in particular, but others too) but I’ve been less impressed by their film output.

The Gorge changes that for me. Let me be clear, this is not a great piece of art. It’s unlikely to change your life on a deep, emotional level. I’ve seen a review that says “there are so many plot holes in The Gorge that…” and this might be true, but it’s missing the point. This is monster-slaying fun, very much in the mould of The Mummy, the one with Rachel Weisz in it. Both of them have plot, but that’s not really important, there’s just enough that as things bounce along the switches and changes have something to hang on, if you care. I paid enough attention to notice them, but I’d have been happy enough if they weren’t there.

I need to say, before going on, this film is very dark. Maybe not Daredevil dark, but approaching it. Often it feels appropriate to the scene. For example, at one point Drasa is celebrating her birthday in an otherwise dark room, lit by a candle. There’s clearly a lot more actual lighting in the room, but it looks suitably dark. This runs throughout the film and might annoy you. There are definitely times when it annoyed me but most of the time I felt it worked so I was ok with it. But it was striking enough that I felt I should mention it.

I thought the casting worked, which rather surprised me. If you told me I’d believe Anya Taylor-Joy as an assassin I would have laughed at you before watching this. But she’s done some weight training, she’s got Slavic looks (she’s meant to be Lithuanian), and while I’m sure she’s not a sniper, she looks comfortable behind a rifle taking a shot. She also looks comfortable and competent in the other ‘kill the monsters’ situations she’s put in where it’s clearly her and not a stunt double. I appreciate that’s her job and, at least in part down to the director and the stunt team, but far too often we’ve seen actors, male and female, not sell a role and the film suffer for it. Happily that’s not the case here.

Much like The Mummy I suspect The Gorge is going to become a lazy pleasure of mine. Even as I was watching I was aware it was scratching a very similar itch. I’m more invested in the romance between Evie and Rick than Darsa and Levi, but the action scenes in The Gorge have 26 years of development on them and it shows in places. It doesn’t require a lot of me, but it’s lots of fun.

Bechdel Test: Fail. There are two named female characters but they don’t talk to each other. Given there are only five named characters, and this is very much an action film, two being named female characters is pretty good, even if they don’t talk to each other.

Ko Test: Fail. There are a couple of POC, but they’re both male.

Russo Test: Fail. We only learn about the sexuality of two characters but they’re presented as straight.