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Hijack is centered around a commercial plane with passengers wanting to get from Dubai back to England, which gets… yes, hijacked.
This seven-part drama is told in real time, so the opener does start to feel like just rather a lot of people taking their seats etc. Okay, so they have to introduce the characters, but it’s a bit of a tedious way to start. Still, it’s not for too long. One man nearly doesn’t get on, though, which shows how some staff can be a particular Jobsworth.
Grumpy Sam Nelson (Idris Elba – Luther: The Fallen Sun) has a present for his ex-wife, but given that he’s returning home from a place so far away – approximately 4000 miles, so twice that of a certain Pretenders song – on a long flight to Dubai, and presumably staying at least a few days, how come he has no luggage?
Naturally, the terrorists won’t be the brightest people in the bunch, occasionally making slip-ups, but then again, following a particular moment which happens in the opener, I’d happily punch the crap out of the Captain (Ben Miles – Tetris), or perhaps borrow their guns and beat him about the face. When you see it, you’ll know.
Amongst the cast, some of the baddies are Cockneys talking in hushed tones – and without subtitles on this preview – so it’s not always easy to make out the dialogue. In fact, it’s rather like a daft soap opera, and it’s difficult to take one of them seriously when he looks like Tommy Walsh from Homes Under The Hammer!
As for Luther…sorry, Sam, he negotiates business deals, so can he do the same with the terrorists? Or is he trying to befriend them? Or trying to be like Ellis in Die Hard? If so, it didn’t work out too well for that chap.
Additionally, in the second episode, Alice Sinclair (Eve Myles – Eat Locals) is the first Air Traffic Control operator to be highlighted, so presumably she’s going to be kind of a big deal in this drama. Either way, all of the other members of staff, there, come across as completely thick as pigshit: there’s a potential major issue and you’re just ignoring it?!
Overall so far, who’s dodgy and who’s telling the truth? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out. And I get the idea that it seems like it could be a good idea to make a real-time thriller, but it does rather drag things out.
Hijack starts tomorrow on Apple TV+. Two episodes are available at launch, with new episodes added weekly. The series isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Thanks to our friends at Apple TV+ for the review screener.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 45 mins per episode (7 episodes)
Release date: June 28th 2023
Studio: Apple TV+
Format: 2.00:1
Series Directors: Jim Field Smith, Mo Ali
Producer: Peter Heslop
Creators: Jim Field Smith, George Kay
Writers: George Kay, Fred Armesto, Adam Gyngell, Catherine Moulton, Kam Odedra, Anna-Maria Ssemuyaba
Music: Anne Nikitin
Cast:
Sam Nelson: Idris Elba
Stuart: Neil Maskell
DI Daniel O’Farrel: Max Beesley
Captain Robin Allen: Ben Miles
First Officer Anna Kovacs: Kaisa Hammarlund
Alice Sinclair: Eve Myles
Deevia: Zora Bishop
Arthur: Jeremy Ang Jones
Colette: Kate Phillips
Terry: Jasper Britton
Jamie Constantinou: Aimée Kelly
Jaden: Mohamed Elsandel
Zahra Gahfoor: Archie Panjabi
Amanda: Holly Aird
Alec: Justin Salinger
Susie: Jaimi Barbakoff
Hugo: Harry Michell
Rashida: Fatima Adoum
Yussuf: Nasser Memarzia
Kate Miller: Rochenda Sandall
Eddie: Grant Burgin
Adelaide: Gretchen Egolf
Gary: Paul Hickey
David Miller: Marcus Garvey
Kelly-Ann: Verity Henry
Leesha: Antonia Salib
Jonty: James Burrows
Kacey: Chantelle Alle
Kelvin: Jack Parry-Jones
Lizzy Miller: Lucia Aliu
Naomi: Mei Henri
Mona: Cecilia Appiah
Freddie Miller: Kyan Battick
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.