On March 15, the Apple TV+ service ended the airing of the military drama “Lords of the Air”, consisting of 9 episodes, which cost the creators at least 250 million dollars. The plot of the series is based on the documentary book of the same name by Donald L. Miller (2007), which contains interviews of pilots and various archival records. This is an interesting report about the fate of American pilots and one of the most important components of the Second World War, namely airspace in the theater of war. In the review below, we tell how this report looks like on a movie screen.

Pros:

good cast; beautifully executed aerial scenes that take your breath away; masterful execution of all elements without exception – from clothes to scenery and live shooting; in general, an expensive, large-scale and high-quality project from well-known producers

Cons:

somewhat uneven pace of the story with minimal subsidence; sometimes the picture is too glossy for the realities of dirty concentration camps; the schematicity of many characters and some storylines

8.5/10

Estimated by ITC.ua

“Masters of the Air” / Masters of the Air

Genre military drama
Creators John Shiban, John Orloff
In roles Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Bel Powley
Premiere Apple TV+
Graduation year 2024
Site IMDb

At the height of World War II, in the spring of 1943, American military pilots and best friends, Majors Gail Cliven and John Egan, as part of the 100th Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force of the United States Air Force, go to England. There they have to carry out lethally dangerous sorties and bombard strategically important objects directly on the enemy’s territory.

Pilots will carry out the task on heavy B-17 bombers, and in the air they will have to not only pass through walls of dense anti-aircraft fire, but also fight off a large number of deadly Luftwaffe birds.“Lords of the Sky” is the third joint production project of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Getzman, after “Brothers in Arms” (2001) and “The Pacific” (2010). Previous series told about paratroopers and marines, respectively, and now military battles are transferred to airspace. In this way, “Lords of the Air” closes a large-scale trilogy dedicated to the bloody battles of the Second World War.

This is a classic example of an epic television blockbuster with an equally classic approach to its realization. Everything here is based on the patterns of high-budget military dramas such as “Saving Private Ryan” by the same Spielberg, but this does not mean that such a concept has lost its relevance or is irrevocably outdated. On the contrary, today such a commitment to proven creative methods inspires respect and confidence in the result, and a loud reminder of the catastrophic consequences of wars is once again of great importance. The first three episodes out of nine form a single structure, when the pilots attend a mandatory briefing with instructions for the upcoming departure, after which they are greeted with a warm reception in enemy territory. This rather monotonous, but no less interesting process is diluted by beer breaks that save the boys or by the voiceover of one of the characters performed by Anthony Boyle, who guides the viewer in the situation.

For example, in the second episode, it is explained that the British and Americans had fundamentally different approaches to achieving goals. If the former preferred to use night carpet bombings, the latter resorted to point bombings and carried them out during the day. These sorties were much more risky, and it was because of the huge losses that the 100th Bombardment Squadron received the name “Bloody Hundred”.

However, the creators clearly did not plan to carry out the entire series according to a single scheme, and the fourth series (the last under the direction of Cary Fukunagi, responsible for the first season of “True Detective”) breaks the established structure and offers an appropriate development of the story.

From this moment on, the story will go far beyond the RAF Thorpe Abbotts air base, located in the east of England. Someone will have to escape from the occupied territories, someone will be captured, for someone the Raid on Schweinfurt and Regensburg, which took place in August 43, will be the last.

If until now you have not been able to distinguish many characters (and this can happen), then this problem should disappear automatically. The characters of two friends, Majors Gale Cliven (Austin Butler) and John Egan (Callum Turner), are especially contrasting. The first is reserved, responsible and cold-blooded. The second is an ardent lover of alcohol and women’s company. Speaking of contrasts, the scene in which Egan and a Polish widow make love against the background of bombings outside the window is indicative. “Make love, not war”, right? Only as of now, this slogan no longer works.

Moreover, Jude Law’s son Ruff, a young copy of his father and the stars of other military dramas, can be spotted in the local cast. In particular, the performer of one of the main roles in the film adaptation of “All the Light We Can’t See” by the German actor Louis Hoffman, as well as Bel Pauli, who played Meep Guise in the National Geographic biopic “Little Light”. Here, the heroine Pauli is the only female character who can be considered more or less full-fledged, and not episodic.In general, the plot, as befits a great military drama, found a place for both desperate heroism and a certain amount of pathos (especially felt during the opening credits), and a sublime orchestral soundtrack designed to set an obvious tone for the relevant scenes. But first of all, it is still worth noting the fierce and incredibly exciting scenes of combat sorties and aerial duels.

The flights, both technically and dramaturgically, are performed at the highest level, and when the characters soar high into the sky on their “flying fortresses”, the viewer has no choice but to literally stick to the screen and watch what is happening there.

The series will definitely not reveal new truths about war and the ruthless nature of absolute evil, but it is not required of it. Ukrainians know more than anyone else about the horror of war and are forced to face new challenges and tragedies every day. However, albeit sporadically, the creators pay some attention to the tragedy of the Holocaust, which is not surprising, considering how important this topic is to Spielberg himself, the director of the outstanding “Schindler’s List”.

In “Lords of the Air”, the influence of the propaganda machine on ordinary German civilians, who are constantly flashing in the frame, is also clearly visible. And nothing good can be said about any of them.

Ordinary farmers frantically run to look for an American pilot who was forced to eject in enemy territory, while their children shout at the top of their voices “Americana, Americana!”. The townspeople, who suffered from the bombings, are ready to tear the captured pilots to pieces, not realizing that it was the Führer who condemned them to such a fate. Stupid teenagers in military uniforms without hesitation set about stabbing concentration camp escapees with bayonets. Boy, your Hitler has almost lost, and you have to live with this burden.

If we rely on the thesis about the cyclical nature of history, then we should hardly be surprised by the current war. But if we really follow this theory, it makes sense to remember that last time evil suffered a crushing defeat. And the series is good. DO NOT miss out.

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Conclusion:

“Lords of the Air” is definitely a high-quality product with a purely classical approach to implementation, which does not spoil the overall picture in the least.