Apple TV+'s 'The Gorge' Is a Chemistry-Free Unbearable Genre ...

In my earlier days writing about movies, I wrote a blog post for Valentine’s Day where I rounded up the best movies with no romantic subplots. The idea was to push the want for romance aside in favor of something devoid of it, something difficult to do in a time when it felt like all movies and shows had some sort of romance whether it called for it or not. A prominent entry was a science fiction action film, one that limited the “love” plots to surrogate parents. A film that wouldn’t make that list is this year’s Valentine’s Day subversion film, The Gorge, a science fiction action flick built around a forbidden romance.

Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy star as Levi and Drasa, two burnt-out contract killers who are recruited for a mysterious gig. Each recruited individually — Levi by a private organization based on his military record, and Drasa by her KGB-adjacent father — to guard the west and east sides of “the gorge,” a massive breach in the earth cloaked from the world and its leaders. The gorge is mysterious, and all Levi has to understand it is a quick exposition dump from his predecessor (a criminally underused Sope Dirisu) based on a decades-long game of broken telephone. Their mission, which they’ve chosen to accept, is to live for one year in solo solace in their respective towers, standing in constant guard to make sure none of the “hollow men” escape the breach.

Naturally, the whippersnapper Drasa breaches the no-communication rules to write large notes from her east tower for Levi to view with his binoculars from the west tower. This sets off a long-distance courtship that gives the pair motivation to work together when necessary to rescue each other and uncover the secrets of their mysterious mission. Their cringey courtship is the beating heart of this genre mashup.

I want to admire this movie’s uniqueness, but it often feels like a drawn-out homage to the rooftop friendship from Dawn of the Dead, down to the two of them playing long-distance chess via whiteboard and cardstock notes. Rarely will I fault a movie for too much homage or nods, but having Teller’s character set up a DIY drum set and naming his predecessor “Bradley Shaw” almost made me gouge my own eyes out. And that’s not necessarily because it’s a bad thing, but because it is so cheesy. Paired with the saccharine romantic one-liners from a couple that has little to no physical chemistry, I found myself gagging aloud, wishing I was watching something off of my romance-free-film list. Teller, who has often topped lists of “most punchable faces” positions himself here as a beefcake-y but sensitive military man with a soft spot for dogs, poetry, and the only woman he seems to have ever seen, but my gosh I don’t know how no one made fast script edits after he delivered his romantic dialogue.

Most of the first act, even first half, of The Gorge is without dialogue, which is where the filmmaking mostly shines. Visual storytelling — a sneer, a grin, an exuberant dance, a wistful smile — makes for something to cuddle up to in the early romantic development. By the time the pair has coupled up and plunged into the depths of an H. R. Giger nightmare populated with a Groot army, you’ll almost forget how they ended up there. The monster design is pretty cool and will harken back to The Shimmer, but the effects, like most of the action scenes leading up to them, feel completely beyond the film’s resources. Watching Levi so quickly traverse the landscape en route to his post at the beginning of the movie makes the film feel undercooked, for which I defer to blaming resources, knowing what Teller, Taylor-Joy, and director Scott Derrickson are capable of.

The ending is so senseless and inconsequential that I would almost feel safe spoiling it here (but don’t worry, I won’t!). Not every movie needs a twist, and The Gorge’s shoehorned-in one raises more questions than it answers in favor of a flimsy attempt at adding new stakes to its drama or perhaps to add extra mystery to a premise that doesn’t allow for much. They say a good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied. Well, if you and your partner each love one of romance and science-fiction action, then The Gorge might be your perfect Valentine’s Day compromise.

The Gorge is on Apple TV+ February 14th, 2025