Apple TV’s Masters of the Air is a visually stunning adaptation with an excellent cast at its cockpit. Based on Donald L. Miller’s 2007 novel, Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, the series works well as a limited series, which is in large part due to John Orloff’s (Band of Brothers) developmental skills and craftsmanship.
In this day and age, where much of the real world closely echoes the past with terrors of ongoing wars and genocides, films and series taking into account such stories tend to carry out similar themes. In the end, it’s about the people caught on the crossfires, the innocent lives who tragically lose battles, and those who live to tell the story. Like many stories that have come before, this series boils down to writing, performances, production design, and heart. Executively produced by Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg, the show holds a quality of greatness within every beat of its production, making it one worth watching for anyone who can stomach the premise.
Taking on their roles as known historical figures, Apple TV’s Masters of the Air stars Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Barry Keoghan, Rafferty Law, Ncuti Gatwa, Elliot Warren, Edward Ashley, David Shields, Darragh Cowley, Nate Mann, Ben Radcliffe, and more in a stacked, very easy on the eyes cast. Between the quiet moments we get and the action-packed sequences, the cast makes the series zip through even when the content matter is gruesome.
A large part of what makes Apple TV’s Masters of the Air work is the heartbreaking isolation that creeps through the shadows. Any film or series dealing with the brutalities of war is going to involve unbearable pain and heartaches, but there’s something to be said about how the narrative highlights how lonely fighting a battle becomes. This theme becomes a looming shadow throughout the series before soldiers are even taken captive, slowly unraveling the painful notion that a life away from home could never truly be anything but melancholy.
At times, however, it feels like the series could’ve been shorter—a solid six episodes, maybe even five, to recount the events many people are familiar with while still maintaining an action-packed account with solid, thoroughly impressive special effects. It could’ve also been a film because despite how detailed it is to keep viewers locked in, we get far too little development that merits the runtime. A series like this could’ve benefited from the longer episodes if we were indeed getting far more character work, which would rely on more historical reports.
Beating through with a stunning original score from Blake Neely (Pan Am, The Pacific) and gorgeous visuals from cinematographers and editors, the limited series excels mostly through its production design and casting choices. The screenplay is great, but it could’ve used a little more to build on some of the quieter moments it cuts through. Nevertheless, as a series that focuses on the Bloody Hundredth, it recounts horrors and pains with acute care, empathy, and heart, diving into the motives of fighters and the perilous outcomes of war. Sometimes, less is more, and credit where it’s due; the subtly haunting calamities are apparent in every frame, making the real and metaphoric internal crashes evocative and nuanced.
Apple TV’s Masters of the Air begins streaming on January 26.
Official Poster Credit: ©Apple TV+