User reviews

Hijack is an intense thriller that's told in real time over the course of 7 hours, or 7 episodes. It's a hijacking on a plane to London with an extremely successful negotiator (Idris Elba) on board who does his best to step up and save the lives of everyone on the plane including his own. This is unlike any role Elba has played before and he absolutely knocks it out of the park. I'd be surprised if he's not nominated for best actor of a limited series. The show itself may get nominated but Elba definitely deserves it. I was hooked from the very beginning. This is a show that's probably best watched binged because you're not going to want to wait week to week for an episode.

First of all, if you don't mind your conspiracy/hijack/action/ drama plots to have more holes than a kilogram of Swiss cheese, then you won't mind this. Personally, I find what it lacks in credibility is more than compensated by having massive viewer interaction. You could easily create a plot hole bingo with this if were binging over a night or two.

So many inaccuracies and unrealistic scenarios are saved by a stellar Brit cast, with Idris Elba and Archie Panjabi as the cool protagonists, Neil Maskell playing his archetypal cockney bad guy and sneering Simon McBurney as Mr Big and ultrasmart uber-villain - not so smart he was in prison to start with.

Despite all the shortcomings, it's an easy and enjoyable watch. Have a laugh at the caricature Brit politicians and super polite police.

I've been looking forward to seeing Hijack ever since I first heard about it. Then my expectations grew even more after seeing the trailers. I can now say that those expectations were not only met but surpassed on every way. I'm a big Idris Elba fan as he's a terrific actor who good in just about everything he does. This is no different. As good as he's been this is actually one of his best jobs to date. This show is filled with tension and will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout each episode. His acting makes up for some uneven writing, the writing is good just uneven in places. I can't recommend this series enough. Give it a chance and I promise you won't be disappointed.

So let me get the obvious out of the way. This could never happen like this. I'm a pilot and almost everything about the aviation side of this show is about as wrong as you can get.

So if you can suspend your disbelief about the aviation, tech, firearms, policing and politics... you can actually enjoy this.

The suspense and trying to figure out how things are going to pan out makes this a pretty enjoyable watch in my view.

It could be better of course, but there is plenty here to get you engaged and the characters have plenty of depth to make them interesting and three dimensional.

So just put aside your objections to the obvious flaws, and enjoy the ride.

And of course, the legion of armchair airline and counter-terrorism experts are along to tell everyone how a fictional programme isn't at all like the real world. No doubt they also take issue with the latest Star Trek for not having realistic Klingons, and Dr Who because real aliens are not made out of styrofoam. And if you pay attention to the date of those reviews, you will see they were all written after the first episode airs.

I have zero issue with a fictional TV programme's realism, so long as I am entertained. And Hijack is entertaining. It's a bit far-fetched in places. But the acting is good, no surprises there with Idris Elba, the whole cast is strong. There are some tense moments, handled well. In particular, you really feel that they are on a real plane, an incredible set.

If you are able to put your armchair joystick to one side, this is definitely worth a watch.

I wasn't sure if I would like this. 7 episodes seem like a hell of a lot to keep the tension going, but this really works. Idris Elba is fantastic in the lead but an amazing supporting cast keep the tension simmering across the series. It does have a few plot holes may be, but all of it doesn't mater as the series hurtles along at break neck speed.

I really enjoyed breaking away from the plane and Max Beseley and Eve Miles were great additions to the cast and well written sub plots. Occasional humour and quirks make this one of the best Apple TV series I have seen for a while.

Brilliant direction and good cg make this a winner.

Hijack, like Apple's Silo, is one of those series that is more enjoyable binging episodes back to back. Unlike the king of streaming, Netflix, that releases an entire series one shot, Apple's each-week format takes away from most series, especially one that is real-time linear storytelling. This show was enjoyable, and the seven hour flight detailed into seven almost one-hour episodes worked for this show, and probably the reason I enjoyed it more than I would have watching it weekly. Elba was great in his role, but his character was a little underwhelming, as was the season finale. I would've enjoyed this concept more if Elba had less talking and more action in his role. Aside from some plot holes and technical issues in the writing, this show is a decent one-time watch and better binged in half a day.

A sucker for British Crime drama, I was looking forward to this one and Idris Elba in the show was a bonus.

I quite enjoyed the show, something slightly different from everything else I've been recently watching. Idris Elba - you're either going to LOVE his acting or say, bruh he did what he usually does, what's new? The support cast however did a good job. The writing and the music for the show, however, were the highlight for me. Of course, there are cinematic liberties that you'll have to be okay with, the plot is not airtight.

Each episode builds and retains the intensity well; this show had weekly episodes and the plot made me care enough to come back and watch the next ep. Now that all of them are out, you might want to binge it and might end up liking it more than I did. Would recommend!

Massive gaps in plot lines, in a world where everything fits the screenwriters' plans, ridiculous though they are. Six episodes of real-time hijinx hijackery on Kingdom Air 29 from Dubai to London. The wifi is down, the service is terrible, onboard storage is infinitesimally small and I'm 90% sure it's going to be severely delayed (with no compensation offered) or crashed, or - god forbid - turned into a Spirit Airlines regular route.

About the only realistic thing is that the captain is ban*+#g the head flight attendant.

I'm not yet sure what the hijackers want - at least one of them had more than adequate leg room, from what I could see - but somehow, Idris Elba, corporate negotiator par excellence, will save the day.

Just go with it. Don't take this series seriously. Most things about it are in the realms of ridiculousness.

However, it's binge worthy stuff. Whether it's Idris Elba's coolness under pressure and sheer screen magnetism or the constant surprises and cliff hangers, you just can't enough of this stuff.

This series does what it says on the tin. It's a hijack. But there are different layers of story waiting to unfold.

There are a few irritants such as some of the miscast hijackers and irritating passengers and yes Elba is constantly to cool for school.

But on the most part this feels like a pretty original of stupid idea which draws you in and refuses to let you leave.

Try it and let it hijack you.

I'm reading so many reviews that's say the director lost the plot things that happened weren't plausible....... Come on people so many movies aren't plausible. It's called poetic licence. Why does everything have to be so cut and dry these days.

What happened to just sitting back and being entertained without ripping the thing apart.

Idris was Idris...... great role acting.

Loved how the story wasn't just in the air but there were also story lines to be followed on the ground. If you want to just sit back and be entertained for 7 hours. ( clever how the movie is actually set in real time). Then I definitely suggest you give this a watch.

What I admire about Hijack is it attempts to be different from other mainstream series. Yes, there are multiple cliche/predictable moments but this series does them pretty well that they are unforgiven for. Idris Elba showcases why he is a Leading Actor in Hollywood as he gives a great performance here. Hijack has very tense moments every episode with very limited downtime. Sometimes it is going at lightning speed that it could be difficult for the viewer to understand what is happening. My only major complaint is this series is a little short with only 7 episodes instead of the typical standard 8-10 episodes. If the creators of Hijack can come up with something good for a season 2 I wouldn't be upset about that at all. Hijack gets a solid 7 stars out of 10 from me.

The first episode set up an interesting premise and introduction to the characters on this plane as well as on the ground. Unfortunately the further the series progressed the more implausible it became. Not implausible due to the many factual flaws around aviation in general but air traffic control in particular. These points are passable for e as this is clearly not a documentarybut a drama. So close enough to get a pass. However the show stetched credibilty to breaking point the further into the series it got. To the point where the final two episodes were sufficient to provoke rolled eyes, the final one being so far away from 'reality', that I really wondered if the writer had just lost interest and wanted it over and done with.

I just finished episode 2 and I'm so so hooked. Its like a chess game or checkers if you please. WHAT'S THE NEXT MOVE & COUNTERMOVE. I cant wait for the remainder of the episodes. It is an intense thriller. There were a few stupid & fatal moves by a few of the characters that I can't understand at the moment but that I hope is explained at some later episode. However I don't think so because their actions were illogical. No spoilers so I can't be specific but when you watch you'll understand. It is so good that I just want to binge watch all the episodes if they were available. The acting, directing and cast are great. The show has some of my favorite actors and others who I enjoy watching. I love a show that make you feel for the characters and this does and I can't easily see where the plot is headed which I like also but is pleasantly frustrating. Look forward to the remaining episodes.

The level of intensity even in the slower moments is always there like a slow simmering. Well directed, acted and excellently paced. Ignore the whiners who state nobody would do this or that. Yes I'm sure they would make every move a perfect one ( I'm guessing probably whimpering in their seats the entire time ). Fact is people do and say the most incorrect things in any given situation hundreds of times in their lives. It's called being human. Now back to the show. The cliffhangers are great but this show should have dropped all at once cause it's a long week waiting for the next. Elba as usual gives a commanding though also subdued performance. Add the mystery to what's really going on, the ground personnel trying to unravel if the plane is in trouble or not and some truly suspenseful moments and Apple has a real winner on its hand ( which is usually not the case). Can't wait for the finale.......

I has been ages since i took the effort to leave a review, but this was so shockingly bad it feels like a duty to warn other people.

As a big Elba fan i was looking forward to check this, i mean what could go wrong?

Apparently good writers is what is wrong.

This show is full of stupid twist and story lines, but the absoute worst part is everybody, but absolutely everybody act and behaves like a total stupid moron.

The string of consecutive weird or stupid decisions being taken is beyond unbearable. Absolutely everybody,including the character of Elba. Its actually quite shocking an actor of his status and caliber got involved in this.

I could make an endless list of things that just didn't make any sense at all, or poor drama written with plot all over the place for the sake of plot.

But this show doesn't deserve it.

The only reason why i finished it was because of curiosity how far it will go and where it would land. And yes it was a bad trip and a bad landing from start to finish.

Ever since 9-11 I watch hijack movies/series to see how the hijackers spring into action. The 4 planes in 9-11 must have been terrifying experiences with the last 2 being the worst once word got out about planes hitting the WTC. So I was hooked from the start and liked the gamesmanship, but started noticing some logic flaws and characters who deserved to be jettisoned. Regardless of the dumb downed traffic control and flying sequences, the story held together until Idris went into action. Then it regressed into a 1990s tv drama with a confusing sappy ending (with capital S). I did like the mom-shaped traffic controller; would like to see her in bigger roles. Have to admit, I Spent half the time trying to figure out why Aimee Kelly is so attractive. I thought she was gonna go off, but they unplugged her character at the final sequence. Shame that they missed that opp for a femme fatal and the other for the Amanda character. Worthwhile but still average.

I am crew for an airline. An airline this series used one of our old decommissioned Aircraft's Flight deck in this series.

This was Amasing! I loved every second of it. Unfortunately there was a couple things I thought, as crew... hmm that doesn't actually happen on board....but hay ho. Look over that only people who work in the Aviation industry would really see what I mean. But on a whole. This is the best series I have watched for a VERY long time! And more than likely will be! Love love love! Even for crew, this can open your eyes to how well planned and how long this Hijackers took to be able to pull this off!