The Second World War is usually the ideal setting to talk about the pain, rigors and terrors of war conflicts. Become a recurring topic on the big and small screen, one of the great tragedies of the 20th century, it also allows the exploration of the time. At the same time, of the rigors to which it subjected an entire generation for just over five years of battles and struggles. The result is a premise that may be familiar, but that at each opportunity, analyzes a new angle of what happened.
This is what happens with The masters of the air from AppleTV+. Based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller, the nine-episode series narrates the war again, but this time from the air. Specifically, what the members of the so-called 100th Bomb Group. The so-called Bloody Hundredthwere the advance of pilots willing to die to stop the siege of the Third Reich. But much more than his willingness to attack directly, there was the conviction that the German air forces were the essential point for Adolf Hitler’s attacks. Therefore, destroying them or at least decimating them allowed a considerable advance in the Allies’ strategy.
The Masters of the Air
The Apple TV+ series returns to the war genre with a careful recreation of the aerial battles of the so-called Bloody Hundredth. The group destroyed more than a hundred German planes and the production reconstructs the feat with a visual marvel that turns the battles into an immersive experience. But its strongest point is the script, which dedicates time, interest and depth to its characters.
The series draws most of its plot from the book on which it is based. Which allows for the same air of gritty realism that, at the time, was celebrated in Blood brother. The HBO series marked history in how to narrate the rigors of war and also the vulnerability of those who participated in it. Screenwriter John Orloff achieves that balance, spending a good amount of time exploring his characters. In fact, the first two chapters are dedicated to making two things clear. On the one hand, this is a team of men united by one goal. On the other hand, the drama on screen is much more than its technical aspect. In the combination of both things, the success of your story is found.
Through the air in search of triumph
The cinematography by Adam Arkapaw, Jac Fitzgerald, David Franco and Richard Rutkowski manages to recreate the sense of urgency of a high-altitude battle. Of course, two decades ago, practical effects would have been responsible for imitating the pressure, low temperatures and violence of the wind. In The masters of the air, the decision is to use a digital and almost immersive experience to show what it is like to pilot at 25,000 feet high. An element that from its first sequences will become essential to understand the behavior of the team of men who were part of the British air vanguard.
The leading voice of this group of self-proclaimed fearless men is Major Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle). Through it, the evolution from being crew members with specific missions to a group of friends willing to give their lives for each other is told. The plot is very careful not to fall into sentimentality or sugar-coated motifs. The bond between the characters is achieved when they understand that the other’s ability is the guarantee of staying alive. It is through this point of view that the story avoids creating artificial heroes or for the story to advance in a specific direction.
Instead, he carefully explores everyone’s context and gives each figure a moment of focus, allowing one to empathize with each of them. From pilot Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven (Austin Butler) and Major John Egan (Callum Tornero). The Masters of the Air focuses on the emotional and intellectual growth of its characters. In particular, it gives the opportunity to actors, To show nuances beyond their ability to appear, they handle heavy weaponry convincingly.
Starting from these two figures, the series deepens its story about what it is like to fly without knowing if you will survive or even be convinced of death. One of the strongest points of the production is to ensure that this ambiguity does not seem reckless or an act of artificial daring. The pilots are afraid and they show it. But fear is not enough to curtail their way of understanding their responsibility to the country and the world. Little by little, the series makes it clear that the main conflict is not about how much realism it can show, but how credible the recurring risk that its characters run is. An essential nuance to understand how to develop your scenario.
A series that celebrates the war genre
To describe plots like that of The masters of the air, we usually talk about arguments with heart. A misty term that implies that it is not just a story, but one meant to move. That could also be said about the production of AppleTV+, but it would be downplaying the effort of his script to construct an emotional and truthful document.
The story spends a good part of its time exploring the motives. But regardless of what this group of young officers can or cannot decide, the issue is that they have few options. One is to let Nazi Germany turn them into another conquered territory. The other, resist as long as you can. The script then finds its best parts, when it insists that the only objective – and purpose – is to fight, before being defeated or crushed by enemy machinery.
Produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, there is clearly a lot of blood brothers on this premise of the same magnitude and solidity. But with everything, The Masters of the Air retains its identity and makes its way to have much more sense of the fight in unusual places. Whether in a plane destined to be shot down, or in personal decisions in the barracks. The most interesting point of this magnificent work that becomes better chapter by chapter.