The Gorge Review: A Repetitive Action Flick That Wastes Anya Taylor-Joy & Miles Teller

Plenty of soldiers will tell you that there often comes a point when they're able to relate much more strongly to their opposite number on the other side than their own leadership. Such is the case in "The Gorge," where two sharpshooters are placed on opposite sides of a great chasm with a mandate to guard the gorge and given little other information about their mission. Unfortunately, there's also a massive chasm between the potential of the film's concept — which was included on the 2020 blacklist of unproduced screenplays — and its execution. Although it has some bright spots, even flickers of chemistry between its stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, it's let down by repetitive action sequences, an uninspiring reveal, and dialogue that feels as though it was written by ChatGPT.

Levi (Teller) and Drasa (Taylor-Joy, complete with a Soviet bob) are both freelance snipers with few ties to the world at large. Levi, an ex-Marine, has isolated himself after a psych evaluation failed to clear him for active duty, while the Lithuanian Drasa's only connection is an ex-KGB father with terminal cancer. So it's hardly a surprise when both are chosen for a mysterious new mission, one that sends them to towers on opposite sides of a giant tear in the Earth to stand guard for a period of one year. Details about what they're actually supposed to be doing while there are fairly thin on the ground, although Levi's predecessor and thankless purveyor of exposition J.D. (Sope Dirisu) tells him cryptically before leaving that their responsibility is not to prevent anyone from getting into the gorge, but to stop whatever's in the gorge from getting out. Some nights, they can hear the piteous moans of what lurks within the gorge, nicknamed by the original guard as "the hollow men," referencing a T.S. Eliot poem. The only other major rule that they're given is that they are to have no contact with the person manning the other tower — a directive that Levi and Drasa both break in fairly short order, communicating via large hand-written signs, "Love Actually" style.

Interestingly enough, the segments of "The Gorge" where its two romantic leads are unable to verbally communicate with one another are the most compelling. There's a charm to their short, direct missives as they get to know each other and have brief moments of camaraderie that make them feel less alone, despite the fact that they're separated by thousands of yards and can only see one another through high-powered binoculars. (Even if it does go full ham by having Drasa play chess with Levi, referencing Anya Taylor-Joy's performance in the Netflix hit "The Queen's Gambit," while Levi constructs a makeshift drum set for a jam session a la "Whiplash." And yes, it's exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.) 

But unfortunately, this surprisingly goofy charm evaporates as soon as circumstances conspire to get them face-to-face and they actually have to talk to each other, exposing one of the film's greatest weaknesses in its truly terrible dialogue. Taylor-Joy does the best she can with it, although her vaguely Eastern European accent comes and goes, but Miles Teller feels out to lunch, injecting nothing into boilerplate, usually cliched lines.

Things don't get much better as the two slowly uncover the mystery of the gorge. This is the case with a lot of science-fiction thrillers, but the reveal is so often a let down in comparison to the endless possibilities that the premise sets up. The creature design of what lives beneath the surface of the gorge has a lot of potential, as they assemble a Cronenbergian society of humans who have merged with plant life, insects, and other animals. But it's here that the limitations of CGI take away from the soul of the film. If "The Gorge" had combined its inventive creature design with old-school practical effects, it might have drawn audiences in, even if only by virtue of feeling like a throwback to good, old-fashioned action-adventure films. But although the poor monsters of the gorge are plenty ooey-gooey, there's a lack of tactility that makes them less compelling than they otherwise could be.

"The Gorge" was never going to be great cinema — that much is obvious. But with a little more effort, it could have been an exercise in campy, action-based fun, where a movie doesn't have to be Oscar material to be worth watching. Unfortunately, it seems unwilling to put in that effort. Watching Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller on-screen together feels a little bit like Anne Hathaway and James Franco as co-hosts of the Academy Awards. One is throwing everything they have into the project, while the other ... well, just seems to have turned up on the day of. That combined with an uninspiring visual design (a mysterious gorge flanked by two ominous towers has never looked less interesting), dull dialogue, and a third-act turn that the film does absolutely nothing with, make "The Gorge" an undeniable disappointment.

"The Gorge" premieres on Apple TV+ on February 14.