Quickie Review: Masters of the Air

[Kevin M.]

Let’s tell a WWII drama where all the guys dress alike, then give the two lead characters the same names. That won’t be pointlessly confusing at all. 

What is Tom Hanks putting in his coffee? 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Jim Ellwanger]

When I first saw the title, I thought it was going to be about the early days of radio broadcasting, but then realized I was confusing it with a 30-year-old nonfiction book (and Ken Burns documentary) called "Empire of the Air."

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[Adam Bowie]

I guess since it was based on an original book, the characters really did have nearly the same name? It's the sort of thing that a TV drama would never do, but might regularly happen in a random workplace.

In fact, I found it harder to tell anyone apart when they're all wearing face masks over 10,000 ft while flying identical planes and wearing identical uniforms. At least Austin Butler's voice is deep enough that you can't confuse him with anyone else.

I did find the scene in the pub in episode 2 amusing when the Americans and the British are being goaded by the British RAF officers. Except that Butler aside, the two main "Americans" in that scene were the British Callum Turner and the Irish Barry Keoghan. And Keoghan's character later has to briefly "put on" an Irish accent...

Fun fact: I cycled past an external set of this production back in June 2021! All I saw at the time was a roped off crashed and burnt out cockpit in a field, alongside the usual tell-tale signs of a film crew at work. Wiki says that production began in February that year. So this has been a long time coming.

I really liked this and will be sticking with it. Apple TV+ easily has my highest hit-rate for streaming services right now.

Adam

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[Kevin M.]

I am not a WWII buff. I’m grateful to the greatest generation, but I find most movies and TV shows set in that era to be as loud and predictable as a Marvel movie. This might be a good series, but for me it had too much working against it from the get-go. I’ll just rewatch The Great Escape for the 40th time instead. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[PGage]

I know actual WW2 Buffs, and I would not call myself one since I have nowhere near that kind of command over the details of the key battles. But I have read a hell of a lot of WW2 books, and seen a lot of films. I didn’t hate the first two episodes, and I know there is a story to be told here, but I was disappointed, given the pedigree. I read Band of Brothers when it was first published, and have seen the series all the way thru at least 5 times; it is in my top 10 of any film or television project of any kind. 

Given Hanks, Spielberg and Orloff’s involvement here, I had high expectations, that so far are not met. The visuals are striking, but the writing and tone are leaden and heavy handed, and the acting stilted. The source material for BoB is no doubt superior, and the cast for the BoB miniseries was unusually strong. I give Masters a B- for now. Hopefully it gets better, but I’m sure I will watch to the end whether it does or not.

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[Dave Sikula]

I enjoyed it enough to continue, but (as the WaPo review noted) there's a huge problem when half of the shots are white guys wearing masks in identical uniforms flying identical planes: "Which one is that?" "Who just got shot at?" 

In addition, Barry Keoghan (who's a good actor) gives audiences possibly the worst "New York" accent in the history of Brits and the Irish playing Americans. Guess the producers couldn't find enough American actors since there are just so darn few of them. (And, yes, Austin Butler's vocal coach should seek a new line of employment.)

--Dave Sikula

[PGage]

The Elvis voice definitely is a distraction, not as much as his bad acting, but still distracting.

On Sun, 28 Jan 2024 at 1:44 AM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV  wrote:

…In addition, Barry Keoghan (who's a good actor) gives audiences possibly the worst "New York" accent in the history of Brits and the Irish playing Americans. Guess the producers couldn't find enough American actors since there are just so darn few of them. (And, yes, Austin Butler's vocal coach should seek a new line of employment.)

--Dave Sikula

[Kevin M.]

Kevin M. (RPCV)

On Sun, Jan 28, 2024 at 1:44 AM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV <tvor...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I enjoyed it enough to continue, but (as the WaPo review noted) there's a huge problem when half of the shots are white guys wearing masks in identical uniforms flying identical planes: "Which one is that?" "Who just got shot at?" 

I couldn’t help thinking of “Black Sheep Squadron”, and how despite using stock footage of pilots in identical Corsairs, I could always tell who was who. 

I once heard the late Charles Nelson Reilly talk about how today’s generation of actors all sound the same and look the same, and he contended the reason was they didn’t start out in the theater, where they were able to find their own voice. Not sure how true that is, but this series does seem very homogeneous if not bland. 

In addition, Barry Keoghan (who's a good actor) gives audiences possibly the worst "New York" accent in the history of Brits and the Irish playing Americans. Guess the producers couldn't find enough American actors since there are just so darn few of them. (And, yes, Austin Butler's vocal coach should seek a new line of employment.)

--Dave Sikula

On Friday, January 26, 2024 at 9:24:56 PM UTC-8 Kevin M. wrote:

Let’s tell a WWII drama where all the guys dress alike, then give the two lead characters the same names. That won’t be pointlessly confusing at all. 

What is Tom Hanks putting in his coffee? 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[Marti Lawrence]

We enjoyed Band of Brothers and have re-watched it several times, but I am not sure about this one. 

The reviews have not been great, and there are aspects I have seen discussed, that are making me think skipping it might be wise.

~Marti

[Kevin M.]

My wife wanted to give it a try so we watched the entire first episode. She fell asleep before the episode ended. I wished I had. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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