Mestres do Ar

This show was beautiful and heartbreaking.

The costumes were prefect.

All the actors were so professional and believeable, it was easy to forget I was watching a show.

I got sucked in and didn't come back out until it was over and then I watched it two more times.

The depiction of what the men went through was astounding.

The action scenes were so intense I could feel it in my chest.

They were gut wrenching and horrific.

I could never have imagine how terrifying it must have been for the men who really went through this.

It was a beautiful honor and tribute to the Airforce Men, who fought and died, in World War II.

This series takes the viewer from the B-17's flying from the US to Greenland and then on to England. BoB started with the training of Easy Co in GA. Pacific was similar to BoB. I felt like we missed out on knowing the characters here because they were just dumped on us and two of them were majors. I felt like I missed a couple of episodes and couldn't get caught up. I never got past the knowledge of the three or four main characters. The others all seemed alike and I couldn't differentiate them. The Tuskegee Airman seemed like an afterthought, but I'm glad they included them even though they weren't in the Eighth AF. Some people complain about CGI. I thought it was remarkable and I can't think of any other way it could have been done. Some reviewers have a problem with how the Brits were portrayed. I thought they were shown to be brave and resilient. Still, movies like this are a national treasure. The Eighth AF represents all our heroes who fought in the skies over Germany and Japan. The movie made sure the viewers knew Germany was pure evil in its intentions to conquer and subjugate the world. I would give BoB a 10, Pacific a 9, and this a solid 8.

He didn't think too much of the Hollywood "Memphis Belle". The B-17 movies he regarded the best are:

Memphis Belle (1944) 12 O'Clock High The War Lover

It's pretty sad that living memories of B-17 crews are gone now.

Some comments I can make based on long conversations with my dad about his combat experience:

1. The strain on the crews was terrible. They knew the odds against living through their tour were heavily against them. The airmen dealt with their fear in different ways, and it broke some of them. My dad just expected to die. The actors in MotA looked like they were having fun.

2. The odds of surviving the first 5 missions were about the same as surviving the rest of the tour, i.e. The crews learned. The series presented it as simply randomness in a shooting gallery. I'd like to have seen some bits about how the crews handled it and learned.

3. The show didn't really show much of any airmanship. Nor any of the variety of techniques the Luftwaffe used to penetrate their defenses. Such as the Luftwaffe pilots would aim for the B-17 cockpit. Nor anything about the aircrews fighting to bring home their damaged airplane and wounded crew.

4. Nothing much was said about how the crew coped with 60 degrees below zero and the lack of oxygen.

Some things are just lost knowledge. My dad would bring along two flak jackets. He didn't wear them, he put them on the floor and squatted on them. This is because the flak was designed to explode below the aircraft and shred it from below. I expect other crews did that, too, they weren't stupid.

He summed it up saying he wouldn't trade that experience for anything, and would not do it again for anything.

But still, the detail of the aircraft and beautiful photography made this a worthwhile series. Well recommended.

Masters of the Air is every bit as good as I hoped it would be. There are a ton of war movies and series to choose from so if you're going to take the time to watch one it would have to be pretty special and stick out from the rest. Well, Masters of the Air definitely does that. Watching this is worth every second. This is a star studded cast both in front and behind the camera. It's produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the same two who made the perfect Band of Brothers. The cast is also amazing. It stars a pair of Oscar nominees from last year in Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, it also stars a handful of up and coming stars in Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, etc. The story takes place during World War II. It's about the airmen who risk their lives and the brotherhood of the 100th Bomb Group. This has the feel and look of a big blockbuster summer movie. You can tell Apple put in a lot of money into this and it's beautiful. Just make sure you put enough time aside before you start because you're going to want to binge it as fast as you can.

Masters of the Air is a brilliant and astonishing miniseries centering around the U. S. Air Force during World War 2.

Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the same creators of Band of Brothers & The Pacific. This epic miniseries chronicles the lives of the brave men who fought in the air against the German air force during World War 2 and up until the end. Flying B17 bombers also known as "Flying Fortresses".

Aside of the stunning visuals of the air combats, the real element that makes this show special and heartful is the brotherhood and companionship between the pilots, the bond they share on and off the air.

As a big fan of the previous shows mentioned, I knew I would enjoy Masters of the Air at the same scale. The show follows the same format of having a main character recall his tales and narrate the story, same way Ricard Winters (Damian Lewis) did in Band of Brothers. In that case we have Lt. Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle) who narrates his exploits and experience in the war, the friends he lost and the missions he's been to.

The cast is impressive and very talented. All actors are emotionally intact with their characters, in particular Anthony Boyle and Nate Mann who both do a great job of evoking emotion and empathy.

The score of the series is beautiful and well made. Composed by Blake Neely who also composed the score for The Pacific.

In conclusion, I'm happy to watch another series centering around one of the most important wars and turning points in human history. After watching the two other shows mentioned earlier, I was happy to encounter another tale of brotherhood and courage and experience a brave story of good vs evil.