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Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)


DBFlyguy

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  • 2 weeks later...
2 hours ago, Feathered_IV said:

Not too long now. I hope the acting and dialogue is okay. The trailers don't make it look promising in that regard. That deep voice affectation that the lead actor is using will get annoying pretty fast.

Yeah, Austin Butler (the lead actor) definitely used his "Elvis" voice for this show too ...

I just saw the co-star Callum Turner, in a movie (The Boys in the Boat) this past Tuesday and he did a pretty good job!  I've also started to notice Brits definitely keep themselves busy playing historical US figures 😂

I just hope Masters of the Air is good, I'm still not stoked about the CGI fest... but I'm going in with a open mind

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On 1/11/2024 at 4:46 AM, Feathered_IV said:

Wow. The movement of the CGI aircraft is some of the worst I have ever seen. 

Unfortunately can't disagree ☹️

"Unbroken" from 2013 had a somewhat similar scene (also CGI) and I think that looks much better than the new sequence in MoTA...

 

Still looking forward to MoTA... just with much lowered expectations

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On 1/11/2024 at 10:46 AM, Feathered_IV said:

Wow. The movement of the CGI aircraft is some of the worst I have ever seen.

I thought that too. I wish those cgi guys had at least watched some dcs videos to get a slight sense of movement and trajectory.

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On 1/11/2024 at 6:46 PM, Feathered_IV said:

Wow. The movement of the CGI aircraft is some of the worst I have ever seen. 

Maybe they were thinking WWII planes flew more like X-Wing fighters. If they've never flown flight sims (or real plans), I can't blame them too much. My first flight sim experience was flying the P-51 unrealistically, until it stalled and fell out of the air.

Edited by Feldgrün
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Yeah, I unfortunately have some doubts too. I hope it is good and up to the same standards. I really wish they had picked a story like following the 4th FG or the 56th FG instead being a fighter jock guy and the wartime history of the 4th FG is of particular interest to me (or the fighter ace competition in the pacific with guys like Bong, etc. would've really been fun, but...).

 

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2 hours ago, Props said:

Yeah, I unfortunately have some doubts too. I hope it is good and up to the same standards. I really wish they had picked a story like following the 4th FG or the 56th FG instead being a fighter jock guy and the wartime history of the 4th FG is of particular interest to me (or the fighter ace competition in the pacific with guys like Bong, etc. would've really been fun, but...).

 

Yeah, I definitely think they should've done this following a fighter group instead of a bomber group.  Logistically, I think it would've been easier to produce without such a heavy reliance on CGI being front and center.  Someone on the reddit thread mentioned, the 4th FG would've been perfect since it could've gone from them fighting in the RAF as the "Eagle Squadron" then transitioning to the USAAF all the way to VE day.

At the very least, they should've picked an 8th AF fighter group to depict in the show instead of the 332nd FG which has already been in multiple movies and shows.  If this mini series goes all 9 episodes without specifically mentioning a single 8th or 9th AF fighter group protecting these guys (100th BG)... that would be disappointing and honestly pretty disingenuous.

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My initial thoughts after the first watch of episodes 1 & 2:

 

  • The 2nd episode was better than the 1st episode by far! They really needed an episode of the group training so we could get to know the characters better instead of rushing into combat... when people died or got wounded I felt nothing. The actors playing Crosby and Biddick are doing a great job so far though, they are my favorites on the show at this point.
  • The CGI... it ranges from being "ok" to pretty decent in some spots and in other spots...looks very unfinished. The exterior takeoff scenes are very wonky looking. But the stationary stuff on the ground around the planes and the aircraft interior scenes  where they used more practical sets look great!
  • I feel like there is way too much music during the combat scenes. The sound design in several spots could've used some beefing up.
  • Even if there aren't the real veterans around to open each episode, some historical context like there was at the beginning of some of "The Pacific" episodes would've been great! There is a lot of assumption that the viewer knows what's going on in the war.
  • The RAF isn't portrayed in the best of lights in the show so far which I know is definitely gonna ruffle some feathers...as it should, no idea why they felt this was needed...
  • Why are there random children running around on a military base in wartime? Was this a thing in England during the war?
Overall... in the first two episodes its very evident this show isn't to the quality standard of "Band of Brothers" or "The Pacific" by a long shot in my opinion...but it's still decent and I'm looking forward to next week's episode which is supposed to be the Schweinfurt raid.
Edited by DBFlyguy
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34 minutes ago, golani79 said:

Well, time to activate Apple TV today 😅

I'll be watching this evening.  I'm not reading any additional posts in this thread, until after watching...  🙂

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Had time to watch the first episode. The inside the bomber shots look good, the CGI isn't that bad most of the time so far. When the B-17s are moving it doesn't have the right weight or physics and looks pretty fake that's my biggest gripe. 

For example after they make that crosswind landing in Greenland and are watching the 2nd plane come down, when it aborts and goes back up into the air it looked really fake. 

I was watching on headphones and Butler's voice is all bass it's so deep. Hard to make out what he's saying. Is that how this guy really talks? 🙂 I'll have to rewatch with subtitles. That helped me learn all the names better in BoB and The Pacific after a couple watches.

Yeah I miss the little subtitles before and after each episode. Explaining what is happening overall. How many people and planes they totally lost on those raids would of hit home with folks that don't know much about this part of the war. I know reading the book that blew me away how many lives were lost in this campaign...

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17 hours ago, DBFlyguy said:

Why are there random children running around on a military base in wartime? Was this a thing in England during the war?

From the book: "The arrival of the bombers created a sensation in the local community. “One day I was cycling back from school and they started coming in, landing thick and fast and at close intervals,” recalled Gordon E. Deben, then a twelve-year-old who lived on a farm right by the runway."

I just watched the first episode which I found to be quite good. Things happened a bit fast though - for someone who hasn't read the book it might be a bit too fast.

The overall atmosphere was captured kinda good in my opinion and the sound design emphasized the situation and danger in which the fortresses were situated in.

CGI was ok for the most parts but every once in a while there were some shots with lower quality - nothing dramatic though. Overall the speed, weigth etc from the airplanes was done quite good with a few exceptions.

Is it as good as BoB and Pacific? I dont know yet but the first episode left a pretty good impression.

I know that it is different than its two predecessors but so was The Pacific in comparison to BoB.

I'm sure that I will enjoy the rest of the show and for me I think I can already say that it will be on par with BoB and The Pacific.

For everyone who hasn't read the book yet I'd strongly recommend it!

Edited by golani79
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watched episode 1 Friday night, and episode 2 last night.  was excellent!  I'm hooked.

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