Whether going for a walk along a trail in a nearby park or an excursion deep in the Australian bush, the number one rule of doing outdoor activities is to be prepared.

But nothing could have prepared me for the ridiculous performance that actor Taron Egerton was going to bring to his villainous role in the new thriller “Apex,” streaming exclusively on Netflix. He plays Ben, an outdoors enthusiast who is a little too enthusiastic to be out in the wilderness, many miles from civilization.

Egerton is no stranger to roles that require a bit of extra something in them and really pop off the screen. Getting his big break in the spy action-comedy “Kingsman” series, Egerton’s best performance to date is as Elton John in the musical biopic “Rocketman,” and if you can convincingly portray someone as enigmatic and flamboyant as that, you can do anything.

In “Apex,” he channels a similar though far more terrifying energy as a predator on the hunt. His prey is Sasha, played by Charlize Theron, a grieving adrenaline junkie who is on a solo trip in Australia five months after losing her partner in a tragic climbing accident in Norway.

Although there are a few minor characters early on — Eric Bana plays Sasha’s late partner in the prologue — this is primarily a two-hander between Theron and Egerton. And each of them proves they can do just as impressive a physical performance with rock climbing, kayaking and running through the jungle as they can with heavy, dramatic character work.

Unfortunately, once the initial spectacle of seeing these actors out in the jungle putting their bodies to the test wears off, there’s little about “Apex” that stands out as unique or memorable. There’s a little bit of classic thriller “The Most Dangerous Game” in here, as well as some of the 2005 Australian horror film “Wolf Creek” and a dash of “Deliverance” for good measure.

The film’s production was mostly done on location in Sydney and around New South Wales, and the cinematography of Australia is gorgeous. Whenever it’s actually Theron or Egerton in the water or the jungle or wide shots of the landscape are on screen, it’s a visual feast. On the other hand, there are enough moments where that’s only half of what you see, with either CGI backgrounds behind the actors or CGI characters flopping around in real environments, making up the other half of the experience.

Of course, this is nothing new for director Baltasar Kormákur, who has done his fair share of survivalist dramas over the years, including 2015’s “Everest,” 2018’s “Adrift” and 2022’s “Beast” — you’ll notice they’re all short, punchy titles that tell you what the movie is about instantly. And as with those three examples, taking a portion of a true story and turning it into a CGI-laden thriller that more often than not misses the point of the human drama is where “Apex” falls hardest.

I’m not usually one for most horror movies because I often have a hard time with over-the-top violence and gore (war movies and medical shows I’m fine with, but I digress). But as the twists and turns happen as the story goes on and certain things are revealed, the use of some graphic imagery is both needed and pretty effective. While it could probably be alluded to, with everything Egerton’s character does to Theron’s up to that point, the visual punch to the gut really makes everything land.

But if you’re looking for a breezy 90-minute movie to play in the background with some entertaining action and a goofy performance from Egerton — trying his best at an Aussie accent but sounding like a bad Crocodile Hunter impression — then you could do far worse than what’s being offered here.