Masters Of The Air review: A brutal, beautiful World War II miniseries

Are you the sort of person who saluted the screen when the fleet of little boats arrived at Dunkirk beach in Christopher Nolan’s much-lauded war film? Did you choke back a sob when Sgt. Warren “Skip” Muck and Pfc. Alex Penkala were killed instantly (and together) by an artillery barrage in Band Of Brothers? And do the endings to Saving Private Ryan and Blackadder Goes Forth live rent-free in your head forever more? Then you need to watch Masters Of The Air, which premieres January 26 on Apple TV+. Need to. Because this brutal and beautiful show was absolutely made for you.

With an eye-watering production budget of $200 million to $250 million, and with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg (the creators of Band Of Brothers) as EPs, this World War II miniseries ticks a lot of boxes—particularly in terms of production value and special effects. It feels, at times, like an immersive experience. The cast, too, is quite frankly ridiculous: Academy Award darlings Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan lead the charge, flanked by the likes of Callum Turner, Ncuti “The Doctor” Gatwa, Raff Law, Sawyer Spielberg, Ben Radcliffe, Nate Mann, and others. And the fact it’s based on the real first-hand accounts of the real soldiers involved in the 100th Bomb Group? That just adds an extra layer of realism and gravitas to events that viewers will appreciate and eventually curse as they wipe the tears away from their sodden cheeks. (Top Gun this ain’t.)

But, of course, we’re getting ahead of ourselves: Let’s talk plot. The 10-part series opens with all of the high romance, adventure, and dashing men in uniform that many fictional accounts sell us of war. Music plays lazily in the background as a group of pilots-in-training down shots and enviously eyeball Major John “Bucky” Egan, the guy who seemingly has all the luck. Not only is he dancing with some pretty young thing, but he’s being shipped off the very next morning.

“He’ll be a stone’s throw away from the Krauts while the rest of us will still be flying practice missions over Nebraska,” they lament bitterly. Still, as Bucky’s BFF—one Major Gale “Buck” Cleven—points out during a hushed conversation of his own, their time will come quickly enough. Hell, he’s being shipped out himself in two or three weeks. He’s even pre-written his first letter to the girl he’s promised to write, just so he’s not caught short (or presumably without a pen and paper). War, for these young men, is the next chapter in their great adventure—or it is, at least, when the lights are glowing warmly, the drink is flowing, and songs are being chosen for slow goodbye dances. For just a moment, the spell is almost broken when Bucky suggests to his pal that he might be killed before they’re reunited, but Buck laughs off the comment.

And then, just like that, everything changes. The cosseting coziness of the bar is replaced with the cold white light of a sky in wartime. The dreamy music, too, gives way to the frenzied sound of bullets tearing through metal planes and all-too-fragile human bodies. Bucky, flying on the observation mission he was so excited to volunteer for, holds a mortally injured man in his arms in that claustrophobic space—and, when he lands, he’s advised not to tell his friends about the reality of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air. “They’ll figure it out,” he’s told by a pale-faced pilot. “We all do.”

It’s just eight minutes of a single episode, sure, but this powerful narrative arc sets the tone for this tale of brotherhood, courage, loss, and shattered hopes. Each episode is framed perfectly; just as the first opens with the men’s naive dreams of war, so the second opens with them coming to terms with the cold hard truth. Friendships are formed, while others crumble. Still-walking men are offered coffee and alcohol by medical staff; the wounded are … well, they are offered the best of intentions. And all of this serves as an all too timely reminder that war is brutal, frightening, and deadly. That people don’t go down in blazes of glory—that they are killed in terrifying, often inhumane conditions.

Of course, there’s no denying that Masters Of The Air does offer up some visually stunning depictions of airborne battle. That it, too, leans heavily into the schmaltzy side of war in its opening credits (quite easily the more unpalatable thing about the series). Still, though, it does incredible work in offering the real-life bomber boys a voice at last. In allowing itself to get personal, to delve deep into their lives away from their aircraft, to explore their individual traumas, and to explore who they really were and where they came from, the series ensures that they don’t become collateral damage in yet another expensive screen project that glorifies military action.

Many will praise the series for offering up an ambitious spectacle, but we honestly believe that its success lies in its refusal to shy away from the humanity of war. Which is all to say: Watch this show.

Masters Of The Air premieres January 26 on Apple TV+