There’s an awful lot of expectation surrounding Masters of the Air. Viewers haven’t just been waiting years for the nine-episode Apple TV+ series, on which production began in February 2021, some have been dreaming about the show for decades.
That’s because Masters of the Air is the companion piece to the critically acclaimed Second World War series Band of Brothers, from 2001, which depicted American soldiers’ invasion of Germany on land. The Pacific, its 2010 follow-up, showed the war at sea, while Masters of the Air takes the drama to the skies.
Based on Donald L Miller’s 2007 book of the same name, Masters of the Air follows a group of American soldiers known as the 100th Bomb Group, who in 1943 flew over to England to fight the Nazis. Over the course of their death-defying missions, the airmen have to quickly build courage and take comfort in their triumphs, as they come face to face with immeasurable loss on a daily basis.
There is plenty of creative pedigree behind Masters of the Air. Oscar-winners Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are executive producers, No Time to Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga oversees the opening four episodes, with Captain Marvel filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Mudbound’s Dee Rees, and Game of Thrones’s Tim Van Patten overseeing the remaining instalments.
The cast of actors is hugely impressive, too. Oscar-nominee Austin Butler and Bafta nominee Callum Turner play the leading pair, Maj Gale Cleven and Maj John Egan, respectively, best friends who have two very different outlooks on the war. Barry Keoghan, one of film's most in-demand young actors, plays a supporting role, with Nikolas Kinski and Anthony Boyle rounding off the ensemble.
Which makes it all the more disappointing then that Masters of the Air fails to take off in any meaningful manner. Thankfully for a show that reportedly cost more than $250 million to produce, there are enough moments of high-octane action, loss and sacrifice to make the show enjoyable, but it never makes you fully invest emotionally or feel gripped by what’s unfolding.
Masters of the Air’s main issue is that we’ve seen much of what it depicts before, especially when it comes to its heroic characters. Creators John Shiban and John Orloff understandably look to be as respectful as possible to the courageous soldiers who sacrificed everything throughout the war.
But they’re almost too deferential. The result is that all the characters are earnest and sincere to a fault. They lack any complexity, feel one-dimensional, and, in the end, are frankly quite dull. Even though the show spends a lot of time with them, it never manages to establish a deep emotional connection between the characters and the audience.
The actors aren’t helped in their efforts by scripts that fail to look at the war from a modern and fresh point of view, while they also have to utter wooden dialogue and forced banter that’s often painful to watch. Especially from Butler, who occasionally drops back into the southern drawl he used in Elvis, even though Gleven is supposed to be from Wyoming.
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Masters of the Air is at its best when it takes to the heavens. Production designer Chris Seagers does an exceptional job of recreating the aircraft interiors, which are so tight that it creates a genuine sense of the compact conditions the soldiers had to work under. Each director also portrays the horrific injuries and casualties in a detailed and gruesome style that looks more genuine than previous war movies.
Ultimately, though, Masters of the Air comes nowhere near to matching the high hopes of fans. Despite its impressive visual effects and the authentic way that it brings the era back to life, it’s too nostalgic. So much so that it even feels outdated. It’s not just those watching who deserve better, the people Masters of the Air is honouring do too.
Masters of the Air is streaming on Apple TV+ from Friday
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
and
Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker
Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters
Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press
Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2A)
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South Africa World Cup squad
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (w), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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