Idris Elba Thriller Hijack Struggles to Stay Airborne: TV Review

July 2024 · 5 minute read

It’s been more than 20 years since “24” first aired on Fox; its real-time conceit, with a relentless ticking clock moving characters toward collision, made it the kind of hit that’s difficult to duplicate. “Hijack,” a new drama on Apple TV+, doesn’t precisely aim for the sort of thrills and chills “24” generated, but it is indeed another real-time drama about a terrorist plot. Unfortunately, the central device doesn’t quite work, and “Hijack” ends up feeling like a flight to nowhere in particular.

Here, Idris Elba plays Sam Nelson, a corporate type who finds himself at the center of international drama when his return flight from Dubai to London on the fictional Kingdom Air gets taken over by a group of armed criminals. They eventually gain control of the cockpit through blackmailing the pilot, proving their craftiness and the extent of their preparation; it falls to Sam to play quick-thinking action hero.

Related Stories

The Emmys award holding an eyeball VIP+

Emmys Rebound Bolsters 2024 Awards Show Ratings

Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. (L to R) Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez in episode 202 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Miles Crist/Netflix © 2024

Netflix's Menendez Brothers Series 'Monsters' Has Powerful Performances That Can’t Stop the Story From Falling Off a Cliff: TV Review

The show isn’t much to look at, and few characters other than Sam really pop, a missed opportunity to draw out the various types who might intersect on a plane. (One family in particular is broadly drawn as a sort of loony comic relief, rubbing awkwardly against the kind of tension “Hijack” is meant to generate. The presence of children on this flight could gin up real drama, and fewer jokes about their overprotective mom.) On the ground, Archie Panjabi does her best as counterterrorism officer Zahra Gahfoor, but the specific way this show uses its real-time format works against her, as her presence studs the story at somewhat awkward intervals, when there’s a lull in the action in the sky.

Popular on Variety

It’s never really clear why the show needed to be told in purported real time, and it both makes it stretch on at least an episode too long (to simulate the length of a flight, it seems) and kneecaps the ability to cut between scenes and build tension. Elba is a credible lead, but we already knew that; nothing “Hijack” asks him 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.

“Hijack” launches with two episodes on Wednesday, June 28, on Apple TV+, with new episodes to follow weekly.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

Idris Elba Thriller ‘Hijack’ Struggles to Stay Airborne: TV Review

Apple TV+. Seven episodes (all screened for review).

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN%2Fjq2taKqVq7amw9Jon6KikZi4br7Er6Cer12WvbG4xGarr2WgocK0eZBram5uZWmCdX%2BO