Hijack

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.