I don’t mind flying, but sometimes I get a bit restless on longer flights, or when delays add extra hours to my trip. Watching Hijack gave me a similar feeling. It’s four episodes worth of plot, unnecessarily stretched out to take up seven.
Idris Elba leads the series with a calm and collected performance. The ways his character uses intellect instead of brute force against the hijackers make him a formidable opponent. I found myself eager - especially in early episodes - to see how he’d creatively work his way around or out of each new situation. The supporting cast is a big one, with multiple plot threads playing out both in the sky and on the ground. There are a few too many characters though, making it difficult to care about or become invested in some of them.
The first three episodes are actually quite promising, delivering tension and thrills in equal measure. The setup is compelling, and knowing nothing about the hijackers’ motivations had me wondering how their plan would unfold. Not knowing who to trust, or how various passengers would come into play made for an engaging watch that kept me guessing and theorizing about what would happen next.
Unfortunately, the quality hits some turbulence in episode four and takes a bit of a nosedive. The tension is still present, but far more contrived from this point on. Even though the show is telling us the stakes are now higher, they really don’t feel that way at all. The logic also takes a big hit, and my suspension of disbelief for the sake of entertainment could only take me so far. I don’t mind dumb fun, but when I start to get frustrated, I struggle to stay engaged.
Hijack is thriller 101, and if you can ignore some gaps in logic and forced tension, there’s some decent fun to be had here. Idris Elba’s reliable performance and a handful of genuine thrills are just enough to guide this series through turbulent skies, making for a moderately enjoyable, albeit uneven binge.
3/5
Review by: Benjamin Garrett
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