Get the latest gossip
Masters of the Air Skims the Surface
Apple TV+’s WWII miniseries soars when it’s in flight but gets weighed down attempting to cover too much narrative ground.
Based on Donald Miller’s 2006 book of the same name, Masters of the Air rounds out a triptych of TV megaprojects about American soldiers during World War II from executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. While Masters of the Air follows multiple characters throughout the show, its arguable leads are Majors Gale “Buck” Cleven (Austin Butler, pleasantly terrible doing an accent that sounds like Steve McQueen by way of Elvis) and John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner), with an ensemble that includes Nate Mann as dashing jazz enthusiast Major Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal; a reliably excellent Barry Keoghan as punch-happy Lieutenant Curtis Biddick; and Anthony Boyle as underdog navigator Harry Crosby, who serves as narrator throughout the series. With directorial duties split between Cary Joji Fukunaga (whose on-set behavior was the subject of troubling allegations), Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Dee Rees, and Tim Van Patten, the show is genuinely excellent when it’s evoking the intensity and claustrophobia that comes with being shoved into a metal pill and tasked with flying into enemy territory.
Or read this on VULTURE