Written by George Kay and directed by Jim Field Smith, Hijack is a seven-part British thriller mini-series starring Idris Elba as Sam Nelson.
The first episode does a good job of introducing the cast’s characters on the plane as passengers, pilots, and flight attendants ready for a seven-hour flight from Dubai to London. We begin to get to know everyone a little bit as the plane takes off. The flight appears to be normal but one of the passengers notices something suspicious in one of the plane’s toilet. Before she can alert a flight attendant, the plane is hijacked by a small group of hijackers.
The second episode focuses a lot more on passenger and business negotiator, Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) who becomes the reluctant hero as he tries to make his fellow passengers calm but also tries to cooperate with the hijackers to make sure they don’t hurt anyone and keep the plane in the air.
I was lucky enough to attend a screening for the first two episodes of this series and to say that it left me wanting more is an understatement. I would have been happy to watch the entire series in one sitting, but I will have to wait just like everyone else to watch the remaining episodes to see how the rest of the series plays out.
This series is everything you want in a thriller. It keeps you engaged by remaining tense as the stakes get higher as the series progresses. I love the dynamic of the Sam Nelson character and how he is trying to keep everyone safe but also trying to appear that he is working with the hijackers by keeping them happy. It comes as no surprise that Idris Elba delivers a strong performance. His character is always cool, calm and collected as he usually is and is enjoyable to watch as he attempts to save the day.
Hijack is presented in real time so the entire story takes place across the entire seven-hour flight, an interesting way to deliver a series. The series reminds me a little bit of the first Die Hard film but on a plane, this is because there are plenty of edge of your seat moments and you are constantly following the hero, even though they are in a predicament that they didn’t intend on finding themselves in.
What also makes the series fun is that because they are on a plane, there aren’t a lot of places for the characters to hide. So, they must deal with the situation out in the open which helps keep you invested in the story. There is still a lot more of the story to be explored as well as we hardly gotten to know the hijackers at this stage, so I look forward to seeing what their motivations are and also look forward to getting to know some of the other character in the series.
There is still a lot to be revealed and unpacked with five episodes remaining in the series, which both a blessing and a curse because it means I have another five episodes to watch but the selfish part of me wants to watch them now.
If the remaining five episodes are as entertaining as the first two, then Hijack could be one of the best shows of the year. I for one can’t wait to watch the entire series to see where else Hijack can go from here.
The first two episodes of Hijack premiered on Apple TV+ on the 28th of June 2023 with the remaining episodes released every following Wednesday. The final episode in the seven-part series will be released August 2.