The only thing worse than being stuck on a long-haul flight is being stuck on a long-haul flight where your fellow passengers are dropping like flies; if that’s the kind of nightmare you’d like to see play out on the small screen, then ITV and Hulu’s new thriller Red Eye is the show for you.

Starring Richard Armitage and Jing Lusi, Peter A. Dowling’s Red Eye (not to be confused with 2005’s Red Eye) is a fast-paced geopolitical thriller and a whodunit on steroids all rolled into one. After suffering through a particularly terrible and violent evening in Beijing, Dr. Matthew Nolan (Armitage) is detained at Heathrow Airport on a manslaughter charge and sent back to China for questioning.

Nolan, of course, is wholly convinced of his innocence, and so, for that matter, are we. The series begins with a look at that fateful, neon-soaked night, and it’s immediately obvious that Nolan didn’t accidentally kill someone with his car. So, who’s trying to frame him?

A trick was missed there, I fear; I would have been much more interested in Nolan’s character and the unraveling conspiracy had we not known of his innocence from the very first minute. Instead, we’re left to wonder just how long it will take Jing Lusi’s Detective Constable Hana Li to believe his cries for help.

She alone has been tasked with escorting him back to China, forced to sit next to him for the duration of an 11-hour “red eye” flight in a cushy, first-class seat. Unfortunately for both her and Nolan, they’re not given much time to enjoy that rarest of luxuries, as the first passenger keels over in the aisle just a few hours later.

Red Eye Is An Overstuffed Agatha Christie Story Set In The Sky

Once the airplane door closes, the action truly kicks off. The first death is an accident, but one that sets the tone for the rest of the flight. While Nolan heroically tries to save his fellow passenger’s life, he’s unsuccessful, and it takes them a frankly embarrassingly long time to realize that this poor man didn’t just die of a random heart attack.

The bodies pile up from there, turning the scenes on the suspiciously spacious plane into a modern-day Agatha Christie knockoff. There’s an extramarital affair, a cat fight in the aisle, death by turbulence, and a mysterious, undercover officer. Unfortunately, though, Red Eye isn’t as compelling as an actual Agatha Christie story.

Whereas Christie’s novels are tantalizing explorations of humanity, Red Eye‘s characters feel frustratingly one-dimensional. The only person on board whom we learn anything remotely interesting about is Hana, as her impromptu trip to China stirs up old feelings of grief and resentment. Lusi’s performance is one of the few genuine highlights of the series; she infuses the character with bull-headed determination.

Unfortunately, as the list of victims grows, the setting starts to feel restrictive rather than innovative. After all, there are only so many places one can hide on a plane. How many galley kitchen phone calls can we be subjected to before the dim cabin lighting gets old, and we start to question the incredible Wi-Fi connection offered on board this endless flight?

Red Eye’s Breathtaking Speed Saves The Story

On land, it soon becomes clear there’s much more at stake than one man’s innocence. There’s an entire, sprawling, transnational conspiracy waiting to be unearthed, and all the usual suspects are in attendance: MI5, MI6, the CIA, and the Chinese government.

Distantly, in the background, it’s revealed that the Chinese are building a nuclear power plant on British soil (really?), and the relationship between the two nations is, therefore, as strong and as precarious as it’s ever been. Essentially, there are three investigations: Nolan and Li’s murder palooza, a British government manhunt, and a journalistic investigation headed up by DC Li’s sister, Jess (Jemma Moore).

Of course, in the end, they all come to the same conclusion, and to the show’s credit, the investigations never feel slow or even boring. None of Red Eye‘s story threads ever let up; there’s no time for bathroom breaks or snack runs here.

This works in the show’s favor. The action moves so swiftly that it never allows you to groan at the clichés or question your sanity. It’s hard to look away. Despite some of Red Eye’s painfully obvious twists, it does suck you in. You’ll want to know how it ends, and you’ll want to know if Li and Nolan survive until the end.

This is the kind of show you need to binge-watch in a day. If you let too much time pass between viewing sessions, the story will have lost all its momentum. Red Eye is the ultimate junk-food entertainment, and I don’t even mean that in a bad way; sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.

All six episodes of Red Eye season 1 will be available to stream on Hulu from July 22.

Red Eye

5/10

Release Date

2024 – 2023

Network

ITV1

Directors

Kieron Hawkes

• 

  Richard Armitage

  Dr. Matthew Nolan

• 

Pros & Cons

• Jing Lusi’s performance is a highlight
• The series’ action moves swiftly

• There’s only so much tension on the plane before it starts to peter off
• You can’t think about the plot too much or the series will start to be questionable