Taylor-Joy and Teller star as Drasa and Levi, respectively, two sharpshooters recruited by mysterious entities for an even more mysterious mission. They each take their posts: Drasa on the east side of a fog-covered chasm, and Levi on the west, with little indication of what lies between them underneath the mist. In its early scenes, The Gorge<\/em> works hard to establish that these two are accustomed to loneliness and isolation, and they\u2019re both forbidden by \u2026 whoever from communicating with the opposite side as they are charged with keeping whatever inhabits the gorge from getting out. Yet, they soon make contact with one another, forging a bond over shared experiences and falling in love across hundreds of meters using binoculars and notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know you need conflict to make a story compelling, but The Gorge<\/em> is at its best when the challenge is simply how can these two people connect when they\u2019re not in the same physical space. It gets a lot less interesting at the moment when the action picks up, which is when it should theoretically get good. Once Drasa and Levi take a physical dive into the canyon of the title, the movie takes a metaphorical nosedive as well. What makes The Gorge<\/em> work in its first third is the strength of these two actors, and it loses that when they\u2019re just running around CG backgrounds shooting shit. These are two capable action stars who\u2019ve anchored bigger movies like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga<\/em> and Top Gun: Maverick<\/em>, so they\u2019re not the problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, blame should be shouldered by the silly, often stupid script from The Tomorrow War<\/em>\u2019s Zach Dean. These characters are ostensibly smart people who are good at what they do, but they make idiotic choices required by the plot. And that plot feels like it\u2019s rehashing other, even worse movies, with each new obstacle merely feeling like a new stage in a video game. This may be an original script, but it feels like an adaptation of substandard IP as it progresses toward its predictable conclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With his genre-spanning resume, Derrickson should be a good fit for this material that is an amalgamation of sci-fi and horror. Without giving specifics on what is in the gorge, there are some creepy visuals and unnerving design, but too-fast editing makes it tough to really get a good look at the work. Amongst some real clunkers, Derrickson has made some solid horror movies in the past (especially the utterly terrifying Sinister<\/em>), but other than a jump scare or two, this isn\u2019t too scary. It also doesn\u2019t dwell too deeply on the science fiction elements, leaving The Gorge<\/em> in genre purgatory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While this is a decent enough romance, that\u2019s all on the backs of the performances of its two stars; the script does little to build up their characters\u2019 bond beyond shared trauma. We get it: these two snipers have killed a lot of people over their careers, and it has affected who they are today, making them a perfect fit for both this mission and each other. What I would pay to never have to write the word \u201ctrauma\u201d again in a review. It\u2019s sometimes used effectively, but it\u2019s too often used as a shortcut for motivation when screenwriters don\u2019t do the work to develop their creations more fully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With that lack of effort (or ability) behind the scenes, The Gorge <\/em>squanders its talented cast and intriguing premise. There\u2019s the potential for something good here, but it ends up lost amidst uninspired action sequences and tired ideas. Even the two big names in the credits can\u2019t dig it out of its hole, but since it\u2019s on Apple TV+, it\u2019ll likely remain buried and unseen anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Gorge” streams Friday on AppleTV+<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gorge2-1024x577.jpg\")
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