Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton’s Netflix outback thriller can’t quite escape its own cliches

April 24, 2026 — 9:01 am

Top ★★★

Rock climbing and other adventure sports movies have been gaining a lot of attention lately, which should be a boon for adrenaline fans as well as drone videographers. Once the preserve of niche documentaries, extreme sports stories have since proliferated Free SoloThe film that won the Oscar for the best documentary of 2019.

Netflix’s new movie Top It combines high-stakes action with an Australian “outback” thriller as Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton face off in a classic cat-and-mouse game.

Theron is Sasha, an experienced climber. We first encounter her climbing Europe’s highest rock face, Norway’s Troll Wall, with her equally experienced partner Tommy (Eric Bana). They are so experienced that they can stop for a kiss halfway across the famous “big wall.” But their ascent doesn’t go as planned, and five months later Sasha travels to Australia and seeks some solace in nature. (I don’t think it would be a spoiler to reveal that Sasha is grieving, considering she wasn’t even featured in the movie’s trailer).

Dusty roads, small roadhouse and lack of mobile phone coverage suggest Sasha is truly outback, but Australians will recognize the Blue Mountains as the fictional Wandarra National Park, home to popular climbing spots and fast-filling waterways.

After dealing with some roadside snail hunting stereotypes, a kinder local tells Sasha about a remote campsite that can only be found using a paper map… so you might have an idea of where this is headed.

Sasha spends an awkward evening hiding in her van from dangerous roadside hunters who come to her beautiful campsite, and spends the next day canoeing on the whitewater. However, when he woke up the next morning, all his belongings, including his food and mobile phone, were missing.

Taron Egerton stars as Ben, who turns into a hunter, and Charlize Theron stars as his prey, Sasha.Kane Skennar/NETFLIX

Back on the water, she runs into good guy Ben (Egerton), who tells her about this place. But after serving her breakfast, Ben quickly transforms into something completely different, revealing that he’s restocked Sasha’s bag and poses a challenge: She has until the end of a discordant Chemical Brothers song to get as far away as possible, then comes after her with his crossbow. Sasha heads barefoot into the bush and the rest of the film is a classic predator-prey chase through an Australian tourism brochure.

Egerton is suitably spooky as a skilled bushman (and doesn’t do a bad Australian accent), emitting unnerving shrieks and high-pitched noises as he pursues Sasha over land, over rapids and into caves. Theron is useful as an extremely fit catch who gives as much as he gets.

It is directed by Baltasar Kormakur, who specializes in nature/survival films. everest And vagabond, Top It looks great (some obvious CGI aside) and Ben and Sasha has a frenetic pace in action.

But there are too many clichés and too few surprises. Both Sasha (tough determination, tougher than one might think) and Ben (mummy issues, loneliness) feel flatter than the face of the Troll Wall. However, if you are happy with the tension associated with footholding and Lonely Manstyle kayak action, put on your sea socks and buckle up.

Top It’s streaming on Netflix starting April 24.

Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton’s Netflix outback thriller can’t quite escape its own cliches

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