By Dustin Rowles | TV | July 27, 2023
Six episodes into the seven-episode limited series of Apple TV+’s Hijack, it’s hard not to wonder, ‘What are we actually doing here?’ The series from George Kay (Lupin) is designed to track the hijacking of a plane from Dubai to London in “real time,” much like Kiefer Sutherland’s 24. In practice, what this means for Hijack is a lot of killing time.
Idris Elba plays Sam Nelson, a man who boards a plane to London in hopes of winning back his ex, Marsha (Christine Adams), who conveniently happens to be involved with a British detective, Daniel (Mac Beesley). The plane is hijacked minutes into the flight, which means Nelson has about seven hours to keep the passengers calm, prevent the hijackers from killing anyone, and defuse the situation before the plane lands in London.
The first couple of episodes are reasonably intense and thrilling, as Nelson tries to take control of the situation, find ways to subtly alert authorities on the ground in London to their predicament, and even communicate with the pilot through an in-flight video game. Nelson, who works as some sort of corporate closer type, attempts to manage the situation by acquiescing to the hijackers’ demands and biding his time. The hijackers’ motives aren’t entirely clear, but as the season progresses, it becomes vaguely evident that the hijackers themselves are not particularly enthusiastic about their roles. They are being bossed around from the ground by an organized crime duo who are released from prison as part of the hijackers’ demands.
The thing is, however, that after five or six episodes, the situation hasn’t changed much from the first two episodes: There’s been a casualty or two, but the status quo largely remains. I won’t spoil anything, except to say that going into the seventh and final episode, there is finally a bizarre left-field twist that breaks up the monotony, but also leaves us scratching our heads.
Elba’s character is cool and composed, and honestly, that may be part of the problem with Hijack. It might be more interesting — and definitely more entertaining — if Nelson were more unpredictable and emotionally charged. Elba brings restraint to what feels like a Gerard Butler role, but restraint is not exactly what is needed over the course of seven episodes. The show needs a shot of adrenaline. It needs Gerard Butler standing on a first-class seat and delivering a rousing speech to the rest of the passengers, not Elba quietly passing around a canister that reads, “Let’s shake things up.”
It’s a very British series, and everyone from Eve Myles (Torchwood) to Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) maintains a stiff upper lip as they calmly go about their jobs trying to investigate the hijackers and their motives from the ground. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the subdued competence of Elba’s character and the rest of the cast, it’s more that this plane needs Sam Jackson and some motherf**king snakes to enliven the proceedings. This should not be a seven-hour series that Elba keeps at a low boil; it should be a two-hour movie where someone gets shoved out the exit door and Elba has to knock four hijackers unconscious and break into the cockpit before an unmanned plane crashes into Big Ben.
The finale to the limited series airs next week, and maybe it will pull out something to make the rest of the series worth the wait, but so far, Hijack doesn’t have much going for it beyond the gimmick and the magnificent good looks of Idris Elba. Then again, there are worse things.
