It’s hard not to be swept away by the epicness of Masters of the Air. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, with the first four episodes directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (No Time to Die, True Detective), it’s made sure to flex its massive $250-million budget. Everything is accounted for here, from the sweeping and historically accurate production design to the stacked cast of rising male stars (Oscar nominees Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan easily steal the show). Even the rousing score and sound design, while bordering on melodrama at times, build up tension and add a premium air to it. It’s a visual and sonic feast bolstered by upstanding performances and an endearing show of brotherhood. Whenever it risks being propagandistic or misguidedly patriotic, it’s the believable relationship between the boys and their grave understanding of war that ground it and give it heart. And of course, the air combats are edge-of-your-seat thrilling. Like Band of Brothers and The Pacific before it, it’s a visceral entry in the genre of World War II must-sees.
"The series is massive, beautifully rendered and a reminder that war is murderous, gruesome and horrifically human."
— Aramide Tinubu
During World War II, airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.
Follows the US Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group, nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth, during their deadly combat missions against Nazi Germany.
This should hardly be the takeaway, but it’s incredible how a series about American soldiers is played mostly by British and Irish actors. I honestly believe they do regional accents better than American actors themselves! Meanwhile, Butler’s voice is still fully in Elvis mode, which is convenient in this case, but Keoghan’s New York drawl and Boyle’s chippy New England cadence are in a class of their own.
Each episode costs about $27 million to make and it shows.
