The Gorge (2025) Review: A Tale of Two Movies

The Gorge is a romantic sci-fi thriller that pits two isolated military operatives on opposite ends of a secret massive gorge, housing more than just international secrets. Starring Anya Taylor Joy, Miles Teller, and Sigourney Weaver, The Gorge feels like two movies wrapped in one, and in doing so, I felt like both elements of what director Scott Derrickson wanted to create felt hollow. 

The first half of this movie is what drew me in the most. It establishes that both Teller as Levi and Taylor-Joy as Drasa are incredibly gifted marksmen, but for reasons in their past, have minimal relationships with others. Both are assigned as part of an annual tradition by both their nations in a new world alignment to guard over this ginormous, mysterious gorge. They have no contact with the outside world and are not allowed to have contact with each other. As their assignments progress, they inevitably see each other and begin communicating and flirting with each other. I found this extremely cute thanks in large part to Taylor-Joy’s charm and charisma and Teller’s hard exterior crumbling once he realized he found someone to connect with. I also appreciated the little nods to both actors’ previous work as they grew closer, like them playing chess or drumming along to some Christmas music. 

Up until this point, they showed that there were creatures in the gorge that were trying to escape, so we understand that even as their relationship develops, there is a lot at stake with the gorge itself. We also have learned that the organization that sent Levi to his station is hiding something, as they kill his predecessor moments after picking him up. 

It is quite literally around the halfway mark once Levi falls into the gorge and Drasa jumps in after him that all that is abandoned. The movie becomes a monster-hunting shooter film with some alright-looking monster effects. The action is good, don’t get me wrong. Gunfights have never been my thing outside of the John Wick franchise but Teller and Taylor-Joy both move like professionals so it never feels overly choreographed. My problem with this half is the movie plays way too safe with how the gorge is presented.

*** THIS SECTION CONTAINS DIRECT SPOILERS***

The movie is not all that subtle in the lead-up to the reveal of what created the creatures from the gorge. As you can come to expect from movies that have shady military/government organizations calling the shots, they are to blame. They experimented on soldiers in an attempt to create a new super soldier. An earthquake exposed their entire base to the chemicals, which morphed them with their surrounding environments. Maybe I’m just watching too many movies, but I feel like the government was experimenting and it went awry trope is becoming overdone and honestly uninteresting. I feel like there’s room here for creatives to really stretch their legs and come up with something really off the wall, but this was just by the numbers. It really doesn’t help that it was officially revealed in a painful exposition dump that decimated the momentum the action had just built up. 

I hate to be the person to say movies should be shows and vice versa, but I truly believe this could have been an amazing limited series. If they slow play the reveal of the creatures, allow for the characters to explore more of the gorge, and kept establishing the romance between Levi and Darsa, this could’ve been more than streaming fodder. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Even though The Gorge didn’t balance its themes and tones as well as it could have, I still enjoyed my time with it. Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy fit both sides of this movie well, with good chemistry and very good action choreography. This might not be for everyone but I’d recommend it and I know I’ll look back at it fondly when I think about the other slop that comes out early each year.

3/5

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Connor Jameson

Co-Founder, Head of Content | Letterboxd

I've always been a movie fan, but I first got big into cinema watching Whiplash when I was younger. That movie led to a greater appreciation of films and got me to dive into the medium. My favorite genre is horror movies, but I’ll always have a secret soft spot for rom coms and musicals. When I'm not podcasting or watching movies, I love working out and going hiking, and I currently work in business analytics with the degree I got from Western New England University.

MY FAVORITE MOVIES: Good Will Hunting, Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse, Whiplash, Moneyball, Top Gun: Maverick