Hijack

8/10

In this new British limited series on Apple+, a flight from Dubai to London is hijacked. The show focuses on passenger Sam Nelson (played by Idris Elba), who has to use his wits and skills to keep himself and the others safe. 

Movies about hijacked planes have been done before, but they've never done a show about one to the best of my knowledge. Making this turned out to be a good idea. A longer running length allows more time for details, plotting, and getting to know the characters. But, the showrunners were enough to keep itself to only seven episodes so the whole affair doesn't feel too drawn out. (The Brits are usually good about not overextending.) Though the show doesn't advertise, this is kind of a 24 in that each episode covers one hour of the flight.

What ensues is a truly suspenseful work. The writers do a grand job of surprising the audience. The motivation of the hijackers is actually a mystery, and Hijacked keeps you invested in what exactly is going on.

The show manages to balance a large cast pretty effortlessly as it covers events in the plane and on the ground (everything unfurls and people are introduced at such a natural pace). Idris Elba gives peak Elba. He doesn't really do anything outside his box, but you get what you pay for. To be clear, this mostly isn't an action show. This isn't a situation where Elba's Sam has to rely on muscle. He has to out think the situation, and you want to see what he tries next. They provide a solid background for why he's so good at this.

Elba's the only household name in this, but Hijacked has a fine cast all around including a few faces you might've seen before. Max Beesley is very watchable as Daniel O'Farrell, a cop and the main guy seen dealing with the situation on the ground, who though he doesn't have as much screen time as Sam also has a pretty eventful seven hours. Neil Maskell gives a rather human performance as the hijackers' leader who's trying to maintain his control on the plane.

Show also has an excellent song selection for each of the ending credits. Opening credits are well done.

Probably the show's biggest weak point is that some of the things that happen feel arbitrary and more for the sake of the story and drama than happening realistically. Sam definitely has plot armor on. It gets harder and harder to argue why the hijackers just don't kill him. I also wouldn't have minded a little more to the epilogue.

Highly recommended. If you like thrillers where people are trapped in an area, this is definitely for you.