Hijack

There’s nothing new in this seven-episode summer thriller about a commercial jet being hijacked en route to London from Dubai, but Idris Elba as a passenger out to bring everything home in one piece—as if—is a bonafide star who keeps the action humming.

When we’re in the enclosed, claustrophobic space of the plane, the tension builds as the passengers find ways to communicate, begin to hatch plots and try to discover whether the hijackers’ guns are loaded with blanks. However, when we go to the storylines on the ground, pfffft – all that tension dissipates, like a balloon deflating.

Never truly takes flight. Still, led by its commanding leading man, it remains an intermittently watchable exercise in pulpy tension that at least has the good sense to keep things fast, taut and concise.

Once more, Elba is at the forefront of an action-filled tale with glaring performance similarities to Luther. Even so, Hijack is a ride worth taking if you're a fan of out-of-the-blue twists – even if they do feel exaggerated.

If you’re into Idris playing a character who’s a talker not a fighter, he doesn’t disappoint. The series? It leaves us short of our destination.

The story loses tension and momentum as it flies into the last few episodes, stalling in much the same way the British politicians and security experts on the ground are stalling in the hopes that the plane will land before they have to comply with the hijackers’ demands. The ending includes one last surprise problem for Sam to contend with, but the final moments just don’t land.

Idris Elba is a monumentally arresting presence and he makes sure the proceedings are never dull — but I’m not sure any actor could rescue this meandering, convoluted storyline.

It lays out multiple subplots that make the story convoluted, and the episodes start to feel repetitive after a while. Elba does his best to carry the story, once again delivering some solid work, but it's not enough to save this new miniseries from being seized by mediocrity.

At least Apple TV+ got Idris Elba to play the charming protagonist. However, he can only do so much to save the show because Hijack is a ridiculous (if amusing) mess.