Idris Elba in ‘Hijack,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
Preview:
Idris Elba will return for a second season of ‘Hijack’.
Apple TV+ confirmed the show will return.
There’s no date for the new season.
Though we’ve all gotten more used to seeing him as gruff detective John Luther on TV screens, actor Idris Elba scored a big new small screen hit with last year’s ‘Hijack’.
And while it took things to a pulpy level at times, the pulse-pounding drama thriller certainly drew a solid audience. Enough that Apple TV+ has now announced a second season for the series.
Idris Elba in ‘Hijack,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
Told in real time, “Hijack” is a tense thriller that follows the journey of a hijacked Kingdom Airways plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight, and authorities on the ground scramble for answers.
Elba stars as Sam Nelson, an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but his high-risk strategy could be his undoing.
And when he starts to dig in what is happening with the situation, he learns that all is far from what it initially seems. Plus, if the passengers decide to stage their own intervention, things could go south –– never a good thing for a plane while it’s in the air –– very quickly.
On the ground, meanwhile, we have Archie Panjabi as Zahra Gahfoor, a counter terrorism officer who is on the ground when the plane is hijacked and becomes part of the investigation.
Who else is in ‘Hijack?’
(L to R Max Beesley and Christine Adams in ‘Hijack,’ premiering June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
All those people (besides Elba) are only possible returnees –– as seen below, there are no details on what Sam Nelson might be landed into this time. Will he be on a hijacked train? A runaway bus? A rickshaw with a particularly fleet-footed driver?
Okay, probably not the last one. But it’ll be fun finding out.
What are Elba and others saying about the news?
Idris Elba in ‘Hijack,’ premiering June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Idris Elba is, somewhat naturally, happy to see the show coming back:
“I was floored by the overwhelming audience response after season one. It’s top secret what new situation unfolds for Sam Nelson but I can assure you we will bring the high octane back!”
And Jay Hunt, Apple TV+ creative director for Europe also commented:
“Global audiences were on tenterhooks watching Idris’s riveting performance in ‘Hijack,’ and we’re thrilled to be working again with 60Forty and Idiotlamp on an equally compelling season two.”
When will ‘Hijack’ Season 2 be on Apple TV+?
Apple TV+ has yet to confirm a release date for the next season, though we would estimate it’ll either be much later this year or in 2025.
(L to R) Harry Michell and Idris Elba in ‘Hijack,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Napoleon,’ premiering in theaters around the world on November 22, 2023.
With most of his last decade’s worth of films – including ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings,’ ‘The Last Duel,’ ‘House of Gucci,’ and the upcoming ‘Gladiator 2‘ – director Ridley Scott seems intent on creating a series of historical epics both contemporary and classic. His new film, however, ‘Napoleon,’ may have exceeded Scott’s always admirable ambitions. The two-and-a-half-hour drama, does have a sense of grandeur and sweep, in addition to some intense battle scenes. But it suffers from an unwieldy script and a turgid central performance from Joaquin Phoenix as the French military leader and ruler, two elements which make this as dull as your junior year history class.
(L to R) Director Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix behind-the-scenes of ‘Napoleon,’ premiering in theaters around the world on November 22, 2023.
‘Napoleon’ opens with the French Revolution and the beheading of Marie Antoinette, as David Scarpa’s script throws us right into the chaos that was France at the time (the late 1780s). Napoleon is first seen supporting the Revolution, then earning his initial success as a military strategist in the Siege of Toulon, in which he recaptured a small French town and port from the British.
We learn almost nothing about his early life, and right from the start, Joaquin Phoenix gives a reductive, stiff performance that borders on lethargy. He only comes faintly to life when he meets Josephine (Vanessa Kirby), a captain’s widow with children whom Napoleon courts and marries. Their relationship is meant to be the spine of the film, as Napoleon first professes his insatiable love for Josephine, only for her to cheat on him while he’s away on his military adventures and writing her letters every day. Although Kirby generates some heat, the chemistry between her Josephine and Phoenix’s Napoleon is nearly non-existent.
When the two leads are not sitting and staring at each other, ‘Napoleon’ wanders at an extremely leisurely pace through a checklist of the French ruler’s life: his continued success on the battlefield during the Revolutionary Wars, the end of the Reign of Terror and the overthrow of the French government, Napoleon’s rise to power and eventual crowning as Emperor, and his ongoing battles with England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia that eventually took a heavy toll on the French people and armies and led to his humiliating defeat against the English at Waterloo.
Many of these events come and go in assembly line fashion, and it’s not always easy to grasp their context or the dizzying array of wars, advisers, generals, and rivals that clock in and out of the story. While Napoleon’s machinations to make himself Emperor and the other political upheavals of the time could make for an interesting comment on our own turmoil today – Scott uses handheld cameras to capture several political riots, almost certainly an allusion to the attempted coup on our own government on Jan. 6, 2021 – that avenue is left largely unexplored as Scott meanders to the next thing.
Ridley Scott is an old-school director in ways that can be mostly positive when he’s on his game, in that he has a natural eye for the cinematic and always has a grasp on the geography of both his story and his set pieces. Indeed, the battle scenes in ‘Napoleon’ are massive, visceral, and dramatic, but the script is murky about the meaning and placement of each one.
By the time we get to the closing scenes, in which Napoleon tries to return to power in France after being forced to abdicate the throne – only to lose crushingly at Waterloo – even that legendary battle lacks resonance despite being the movie’s most gripping such sequence.
Napoleon and Josephine
(L to R) Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Napoleon,’ premiering in theaters around the world on November 22, 2023.
“I am not built like other men,” Napoleon tells Josephine at one point in the film. “I am not subject to petty insecurities.” That line got a few chuckles at our screening because Napoleon is packed with such insecurities about his height, his sexual ability, his ability to keep his wife happy (although in the end he divorces her for not being able to produce an heir to the French Empire), and his leadership of France. The only place he seems to feel the most calm and confident is on the battlefield, where history tells us that the real man was one of the greatest military strategists of all time.
We do get to see a bit of that during the battle scenes in ‘Napoleon,’ but even that part of Bonaparte’s personality is subsumed behind Joaquin Phoenix’s thousand-yard stare of doom. Phoenix seems to be in a trap of his own making: it’s almost as if he’s continuing his performances as Arthur Fleck from ‘Joker’ and the title character from ‘Beau is Afraid,’ making Napoleon as repressed and withdrawn as those damaged men.
In other words, it’s another tepid performance from the actor who has been so great in films past, but who seems to be bringing his talent down to a low flame. He’s all over the place tonally as well, shouting random lines about a lamb chop or somebody’s boats as if he just woke up mad about the topic, and getting laugh lines in the oddest spots.
It’s almost a wonder that Vanessa Kirby can bring some much-needed vitality to the proceedings, but she does just that as Josephine. Initially flirtatious and seductive, yet always with an eye on the pragmatic (her marriage to Napoleon seems to be at least partially one of convenience), she creates real pathos during the divorce sequence, clearly hurt by her husband’s actions. She’s always understated, but never flat.
Editing, Production Design and Music
‘Napoleon’ premiering in theaters around the world on November 22, 2023.
‘Napoleon’ is edited by Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo, who don’t necessarily subscribe to the rapid-fire, slam-bang style of many modern editors and give scenes room to build and breathe. Yet as hard as they try (and sometimes succeed, as in some of the battle passages), they have a tough time mustering up energy out of the footage in ‘Napoleon.’
The production design by Arthur Max is simply superb, down to small details on Napoleon’s complex uniforms. But cinematographer Dariusz Wolski – who has been working with Scott since 2012’s ‘Prometheus’ – and his director have chosen to drape most of ‘Napoleon’ in dreary grays, blues, and browns, making much of it seem unnaturally dark. Martin Phipps’ music is fine and often striking, finding a balance between period music of the time, large orchestral pieces and eerie choral moments.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Napoleon,’ premiering in theaters around the world on November 22, 2023.
It’s difficult to say whether audiences will respond to a movie like ‘Napoleon’; Ridley Scott’s previous, far superior historical drama, ‘The Last Duel,’ was quickly and ruthlessly cut down in theaters. But anyone willing to give ‘Napoleon’ a try is going to certainly find the film a challenge. It’s long, slow, fairly tedious for great stretches, and while its subject is one of the most compelling and controversial in European history, Joaquin Phoenix does little to help us understand him. The battle scenes and Vanessa Kirby’s work are often exciting, but not enough to make us think that ‘Napoleon’ – a film that even Stanley Kubrick could never get off the ground – will wear the box office crown.
‘Napoleon’ receives 4 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Napoleon’?
As the French Revolution comes to a close but France itself finds itself besieged by endless wars with its European neighbors and political turmoil within, a master military strategist named Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) ascends to the highest echelons of power and makes himself Emperor – driven by his love for France and for his Empress, the enigmatic Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).
The traditional phase in action thrillers is, “we don’t negotiate with terrorists!” But what if you’re stuck on a plane that has been taken hostage, and your main skills is negotiation, forcing you to engage with them? That’s the situation that Idris Elba faces in new Apple TV+ thriller series ‘Hijack’.
Idris Elba in ‘Hijack,’ premiering June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
What’s the story of ‘Hijack’?
Told in real time, “Hijack” is a tense thriller that follows the journey of a hijacked Kingdom Airways plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight, and authorities on the ground scramble for answers.
Elba stars as Sam Nelson, an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but his high-risk strategy could be his undoing.
And when he starts to dig in what is happening with the situation, he learns that all is far from what it initially seems. Plus, if the passengers decide to stage their own intervention, things could go south –– never a good thing for a plane while it’s in the air –– very quickly.
On the ground, meanwhile, we have Archie Panjabi as Zahra Gahfoor, a counter terrorism officer who is on the ground when the plane is hijacked and becomes part of the investigation.
Archie Panjabi in ‘Hijack,’ premiering June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
(L to R) Max Beesley and Christine Adams in ‘Hijack,’ premiering June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Why Idris Elba got involved in ‘Hijack’
Elba has gone on the record with Entertainment Weekly about what interested him in not only starring but also producing the series.
Here’s what he had to say,
“I wanted to make something that has impact as an actor obviously, but also as a producer in terms of what my taste is. This really ticked so many boxes. It takes a fresh approach to a thriller and hostage situation. There’s an amplified nature of having a ticking time bomb in a plane and what that does to human nature.”
And it expands beyond the confines of the plane to look at the response of others.
Elba talks about the authorities in the show,
“It is an examination of the procedures and attitudes within the government and law enforcement, and that becomes a focal point of the storytelling.”
‘Hijack’ hails from George Kay, who is one of the creators of Netflix series ‘Lupin’, which stars Omar Sy as the famous French gentleman thief character in an update of the story.
And this is just the latest move for Elba to get involved behind the scenes on his projects. He’s also found a new directing gig with action thriller ‘Infernus’, and you can read more about that here.
When will ‘Hijack’ be on Apple TV+?
‘Hijack’ takes off on Apple TV+ with its first two episodes on Wednesday, June 28th. An episode will arrive weekly through August 2nd.
Eve Myles in ‘Hijack,’ premiering June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning March 31st is the new movie ‘Tetris,’ which was directed by Jon S. Baird (‘Stan & Ollie’).
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What is the plot of ‘Tetris?’
‘Tetris’ tells the unbelievable true story of how one of the world’s most popular video games found its way to avid players around the globe. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) discovers Tetris in 1988, and then risks everything by traveling to the Soviet Union, where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) to bring the game to the masses.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Taron Egerton at the SXSW Film Festival about his work on ‘Tetris,’ the wild true story it is based on, working with director Jon S. Baird, and playing yet another real life person on screen.
Taron Egerton stars in ‘Tetris,’ premiering March 31, 2023 on Apple TV+.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Egerton, Henk Rogers, Alexey Pajitnov and director Jon S. Baird.
Moviefone: To begin with, the film is based on an unbelievable true story. What was your first reaction when you read the screenplay?
Taron Egerton: So my first reaction was to call (Producer) Matthew Vaughn, who was offering me the role and has been behind lots of the roles I’ve played, and try and get a sense of what percentage of this is fabricated with me thinking it might be 80 or 90%. It’s a much more modest figure than that. There is some Hollywood embellishment, but not as much as you might think. There’s something very exciting about that. There’s always a level of weight that’s added to something knowing that it really happened and it is a fairly unbelievable, crazy story.
(L to R) Togo Igawa, Nino Furuhata and Taron Egerton in ‘Tetris,’ premiering March 31, 2023 on Apple TV+.
MF: What was it like collaborating on this project with director Jon S. Baird?
TE: I am a producer on the film, but the work in terms of developing the script, that was done by Jon and Noah (Pink), the writer, and Matthew. I wasn’t actively involved until the point that we were in pre-production. But Jon and I had a good rapport. We were shooting up in Scotland just at the end of the first year of COVID. We were all just super excited to get back into creative mode, and so we felt very lucky to be there and we had a really good time. Jon’s a great guy.
(L to R) Taron Egerton and Nikita Efremov in ‘Tetris,’ premiering March 31, 2023 on Apple TV+.
MF: Finally, when you made ‘Rocketman,’ you spent a lot of time with Elton John to prepare for the role. Did you have an opportunity to spend any time with Henk Rogers and what did you learn that helped you with your performance?
TE: It’s an interesting question. I mean, I think with Elton, the reason I spent so much time with him was because it’s Elton John and that’s quite exciting, and he was up for it. But also because Elton’s so internationally recognizable that it felt like so many people were coming with such a weight of expectation to that movie that I had a responsibility to try and imbibe as much of who he was as possible. Whereas this is a bit different. I think audiences are coming with little to no expectation, largely, so it gives you a little bit more license to make the character your own, I think. But I did speak to Henk a little bit, and in terms of what I tried to do, I just wanted to create my version of him that tried to capture the spirit of who he was really. I wanted to capture his passion, enthusiasm and determination because those are his key qualities, certainly in the story of the film.
(L to R) Nikita Efremov and Taron Egerton in ‘Tetris,’ premiering March 31, 2023 on Apple TV+.
