Reviews Drop for Apple’s $300 Million WWII Epic ‘Masters of The Air’

In November, a trailer for “Masters of Air” was released. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ much-delayed Apple TV+ series will debut its the first two episodes on January 26th, followed by weekly installments until March 15.

I’ve only seen the first two episodes, but, hot dang, when this thing soars, it SOARS. What a wonderful, vast and ambitious palette Spielberg/Hanks have given us. You sometimes feel depressed watching this one on the small screen. It’s incredibly cinematic and beautiful to look at. There are a few clunky subplots, but I’m ready to give it the benefit of the doubt just for sheer ambition.

The upcoming limited series, is a loose sequel to Spielberg’s “Band of Brothers,” and based on the actions of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In fact, “Masters of the Air” was originally supposed to be an HBO project, in development since 2013, but Apple acquired the series in 2019.

It is currently listed as having nine episodes — Cary Fukunaga directed four, Dee Rees two, Biden/Fleck two and Tim Van Patten one. The cast for this one includes Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann and Raff Law.

In February 2021, it was reported that production had begun in the UK. Filming paused briefly in July due to positive COVID-19 tests. It all wrapped in the fall of that year. The budget was said to be a whopping $300 million.

So, it’s been almost three years since production ended, and there have clearly been delays. Maybe some of them had to do with all of the allegations that came out against Fukunaga, starting in October of 2021. Regardless, it looks like the wait has paid off.

The reviews are also very positive, with the exception of a few mixed takes. I’ll update this post whenever the Tomatometer and Metascore are up, but here are some of the headlines from major publications …