What is it about?
The story of the US 8th Air Force responsible for bombing Nazi weapons during World War II.
Who is he with?
Created by John Orloff, Masters of the Air is set during World War II and follows Band of Brothers and the Pacific created by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. The trio is once again behind this ambitious project, finally airing on Apple TV+, the platform and via myCANAL.
Apple TV+
For this flagship series, an exceptional cast has been brought together with young talents who have nothing left to prove. So we have Austin Balter (Elvis), Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts), Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inishrin, Saltburn), Nakuti Gatwa (Sex Education, Doctor Who), Anthony Boyle (The Plot Again America), Nate Mann (Licorice). looking for Pizza), Raf Law (Oliver Twist), Freddie Carter (Shadow and Bone), Nikolai Kinski (Yves Saint Laurent), Bel Powley (A Glimmer of Hope) and Joanna Kulig (Cold War).
Is it worth checking out?
This is a new spectacular war series not to be missed at the beginning of the year. A long-awaited project announced in 2019, this new television juggernaut for which the Apple TV+ platform paid between 250 and 300 million dollars is quite simply an impressive experience, full of great emotion and stunning realism.
After examining the men taking part in World War II on land and sea, the trio of producers Spielberg – Hanks – Goetzman, along with John Orloff, take to the air with the most beautiful tribute to the “Bloody Hundredth”. 100th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Force.
Apple TV+
With attention to detail and a deep respect for the courage of these men, pilots, soldiers, navigators and mechanics, among others, Air Masters describes their ups and downs and their difficult daily lives, focusing on various inspired profiles of people who actually existed. by doing And performed these feats in their perilous mission to bomb Nazi Germany, its weapons and its strategic locations.
Donald L. Based on Miller’s eponymous book but also based on dozens of historical resources, the series also has the intelligence to focus on other key figures in history who participated directly or indirectly in the victory over the Third Reich among the “Tusky Airmen.” , a group of influential African-American aviators, French and Belgian resistance fighters, political refugees from Eastern Europe, and even British intelligence services.
At the center of the faces, unknown or unknown to history, who took part in the war effort, there is an unbreakable friendship between the two main, natural and charismatic leaders, embodied by the impeccable pair of Austin Butler and Callum Turner, who will carry. The strength and hopes of his men at arm’s length, in the air and on the ground.
Apple TV+
Because Masters of the Air stands out for its humanity and brilliant writing of characters and their interactions. We feel with great feeling the psychological impact that war and mission leave on the bodies of these men who are linked from life to death in an almost brotherly relationship and are so to their last.
It is especially through the voice of Anthony Boyle, who plays Harry Crosby, the navigator and narrator of the series, that reality always hits us when we remove ourselves from the scale of the action. His character, a true ordinary hero whose memories fuel the story, is the heart of Masters of the Air, as he allows the audience to identify and see the war through his eyes.
The impressive number of characters in the first two episodes may be terrifying, but the links and connections are made quickly enough for us to follow their paradoxically very mechanical and repetitive missions with heart and dread (a construct that supports the heaviness of their terrifying daily grind. ), despite their exploits and unfortunately their failures, is felt with equal emotional force in Bands of Brothers and The Pacific.
If emotion shines in Masters of the Air, action is not left out. You will be amazed by the air attack scenes, filmed as close to the pilot as possible, breathtaking sequences in the air and dozens of platforms built inside the plane and recreated for the occasion in a life-than-large setting.
Apple TV+
Visual effects in most shots are also of high quality (because there are still some failures in wide shots and some horizons) especially thanks to the use of “volume”, a circle of large LEDs of the screen in shape. A ring that allows settings to be projected, calculated and modified in real time, allowing for a realistic effect during filming and on screen.
Amazingly, this technological modernity, without which Masters of the Air would certainly not have been possible, does not taint the old-school spirit that pervades this timeless story that needs to be remembered and taught over and over again.
Note that big names like Anna Boden (Billions, Captain Marvel), Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel), Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, No Time to Die), Dee Rees owe the production of nine episodes of the series. (Mudbound, Empire) and Tim Van Patten (Rome, The Pacific, Game of Thrones); A balanced and motivated team composition in its spectacular staging.
With a substantial budget, masters in the field of production and direction, a dream cast, a powerful and devastating plot and a lively original soundtrack (including an unstoppable XXL theme song), Masters of the Air is an absolute success that will blow your mind. And takes hold of you with conviction in the lineage of his predecessors.
The first two episodes of Masters of the Air are available on Apple TV+, through the platform and via myCANAL. The rest of the season will be available one episode per week.