Hijack

The performances are pitch perfect and the script is sparing while never being so enigmatic you can’t keep up with the fast-moving story. Hijack is a class act, guaranteed to keep you guessing but never at the expense of the world it creates.

Hijack makes sure the tension stays high while not taking leaps in logic. Combine the tight writing with the compelling lead performance from Idris Elba and you have a show that gets us leaning forward in our chairs, and that says a lot.

So many series on TV right now are overlong, overserious, overcomplicated and overly dull. “Hijack” is no more or less than it needs to be. It jolts you awake and takes the passivity out of TV-watching. It captures your attention. No − it hijacks it.

There’s only so much the headliner can do to enliven a story that builds on its predecessor in predictable ways, and whose thrills, as before, are mitigated by an eight-episode, six-and-a-half-hour length that routinely dampens the action’s power.

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.

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.

Nothing “Hijack” asks him [Elba] to do feels especially novel. By series’ end, you may be tempted to clap, as nervous fliers do once their plane lands — not because the piloting was notably skillful, but because now you get to disembark.

A flight from Dubai to London is the subject of this thriller. After the hijackers take over, it's up to a business negotiator (Idris Elba) to try to avert disaster, while the folks on the ground prepare for the worst. The show stars slowly, but once the plane takes off, so does the tension. Before long there are genuinely gripping encounters that had me screaming at the screen. Elba plays cool with no problem, but it's the series directors who keep the stress coming. The drama is also intensified because of the confined space and the involving characters. Even though some of the plot holes were obvious, this series remains a riveting ride.

A better than average drama with some decent acting, though much of the plot has BIG holes in it! It should have been 3-4 episodes max, although there was some decent tension and cliffhangers at times. Worth a watch, although I wouldn't bother again.

Good but not great. The last episode had me on the edge of my seat, the best episode of the series by large.

Writers seem hostile towards the intellect of the viewer. Decent actors, good production, and just a horrible string of deus ex machina.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]