Apple TV+’s latest offering is Idris Elba on a Plane. He plays ordinary guy Sam Nelson – known for his business negotiating skills back on Earth – who finds himself trapped on a hijacked flight and forced into the role of reluctant hero. So it’s Idris Elba in Die Hard, too. And the seven-hour journey plays out in almost real time, so he is also Kiefer Sutherland in 24. Or rather it’s Idris Elba in 7, but the actual title of this brilliantly executed, suspenseful, daft and wholly convincing ride is Hijack. It doesn’t even have an exclamation mark.
I don’t know what the marketing people were thinking, but the casting folk played a blinder. Only Elba could carry this perfect piece of summer insanity off. Even then, it requires every ounce of his physically and metaphorically massive presence to do so.
