I think for this movie I had the perfect expectations, I can tell how some people might be over hype because it is an AppleTv+ tittle although the truth remain that most movies that go direct streaming might be best at just that, streaming services and not the big screen. The Gorge (2025) if it had a theatrical release it would be a very average movie, been on just streaming services probably works on its favor reason why I was surprise by how much I enjoy it. The movie by Scott Derrickson does a great job at mixing multiple genres, probably trying to grasp too much but this time it work fine, even on its short play time of 127 minutes.
The plot is not complicated at all but there are a few hidden twist that work fine and still probably because of its short runtime the movie decides to expose them just too quick and some felt like underdeveloped. Two Elite snipers stationed on opposite sides of a mysterious gorge that hides something terrifying, cover by a very thick mist that never goes away, from there is a mix of romance, action, horror, and sci fi, that turns a but too rush towards the end but I think Apple TV+ has been stepping up its game lately with original content, and The Gorge is another solid addition to their growing library that shows they're becoming a serious contender in the streaming wars, I mean a real contender to take the crown from Netflix. I'd give it a solid 7.5/10, which might surprise some who were expecting more from it or a direct action movie.
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The movie introduces us to Levi; played by Miles Teller, who is a former U.S. Marine sniper recently turned mercenary for the most part taking contracts from private sector but whose grip on life has become weak a man who lacks purpose and sees life from a very different angle. On the other side there is Drasa; portrayed by Anya Taylor Joy, a Lithuanian sniper who's dealing with her terminally ill father. Both are recruited for a highly classified mission by a shadowy organization called Dark Lake, represented by Bartholomew; role played by Sigourney Weaver, a cold and mysterious high rank director. Levi and Drasa drop in blind to the mission, not knowing much about their assignment when they arrive at their respective towers on opposite sides of The Gorge, which has been kept secret since at least the 1940s when representatives from both sides of the Cold War agreed to collaborate on keeping it hidden from the world. Their job is simple, spend a solitary year watching over this big hole and making sure that whatever lurks and try to go up the gorge doesn't escape. When Levi arrives at his post, he gets a brief speech by the man going out of shift, J.D. ; played by Sope Dirisu, who fills him in on some details about the assignment and warns him that contact between the East and West towers is strictly forbidden.
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The first rule of no contact between towers gets broken real quick, mainly because of Drasa who is very sentimental woman, its here when their relationship develops through written messages on large drawing pads/board which they read through binoculars, and soon they are communicating daily, sharing personal stories and even playing chess across the gorge, a scene that makes some reference to Taylor Joy's role in The Queen's Gambit. The romance aspect of the movie kicks in and eventually Levi gives up and decides to break protocol by rappelling across the gorge with flowers in and to meet Drasa who quickly breaks the ice with "...you thinking who to get in my pats" that was fast. Its also how their connection feels rushed, with their line of business there is no time for romance most of the time so it would not be strange why they both act like that, yet somehow it feels believable given their isolation, and they spend time drinking wine, dancing, and comparing notes on their various kills, been part of the romance type of things to share that two snipers would be interested in.
As I'm writing this article I kinda feeling not into going more details of the movie as how events happen, the article would become a full blown spoiler, although its well known by now how much I enjoy it and got to say the ending ties up the story in a way that is satisfying and somewhat expected, although I always though one of them was not going to make it out of the gorge. After discovering the truth about Dark Lake's operations and the origins of the Hollow Men, Levi and Drasa decide they can't leave without destroying the gorge to prevent future operators like them, other snipers who have been in and out of their shift for decades, from being manipulated as they were. They activate the "Stray Dog" protocol, a self destruct mechanism involving a nuclear weapon that was designed as a last resort if the contents of the gorge could no longer be kept in check, their mission was never to destroy what ever was inside of the gorge but just to keep it inside. The blast radius is 4.2 kilometers, meaning they need to detonate it from a distance and then run to safety.
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The entire action sequence scenes after Levi falls into the gorge and Drasa jumps in after him was great, it really felt like one single mission going one after another danger scene, but within this scenes there were certain characters and locations that needed more context like "The Hollow Men" that they confront at a certain point, this creator kept Drasa hostage but there was not reason given why and we only get to assume that his transformation is the result of him been down there for so long, the movie does give some background about how everything started so don't be discourage by this comments, it's just me enjoying the movie and wanting more out of it. Romance keeps going and it seems like a conventional happy ending that feels a bit too neat given the horrors and what they have gone through almost without any consequences but it works and pays off for their relationship, which is ultimately the heart of the movie. The poem Levi wrote for Drasa, titled "She Collapsed the Night," is revealed in full, expressing how she brought hope back into his life.
Its clear by now that this movie is not going to break any records or win any Oscars but it feels like a great action movie that is far from been a horror movie although does include mutants and a lot of explosions, some of the shooting scenes were just great because them been pro snipers they get to manage other type of weapons, high caliber that makes it even more exciting. The balance between romance, action and sci fi is just on point, cant say one is more incline than the other or over the top at any time. I wish the script had been more willing to embrace mystery and that it had spent more time developing Levi's character and exploring the origins of the gorge, I can't deny that I was entertained throughout the entire movie, it also felt too short. The movie is the perfect example of Apple TV+'s growing library of original content and a reminder that there's still room for mid-budget genre films in the streaming era. If you are in the mood for a high caliber romance / action movie that will probably be more than a great one time watch the I totally recommend The Gorge (2025), a movie that is a solid 7.5/10 and I would probably watch a second time.
