MOTA Review Thread. Keep It Civil!

[Dadtallica]

The first episode is up now! Will report back soon.

Update: ummm well slow start. There are certainly more episodes so maybe it gets better. Maybe I’m a curmudgeon. 

Looks like 1&2 are up.

[Dadtallica]

After episode two it’s still the same for me. I guess I need to try and not compare it to BOB. They do not seem to care if you are interested in the characters. Hope the ratio of 45 minutes of show and 5 minutes of action picks up a bit.

I agree with the over used CGI but then again that’s the world we live in so gotta deal with it.

They for sure like to show you the B17 startup procedures lol.  It’s not awful so far but not a showstopper. I for sure keep watching anyway.

[Spikes]

I quite like everything they put into the first two episodes. If you want constant action, I'd just youtube wwii guncam videos instead. People need to remember this is an entertainment series, not a documentary.

[Dadtallica]

I quite like everything they put into the first two episodes. If you want constant action, I'd just youtube wwii guncam videos instead. People need to remember this is an entertainment series, not a documentary.

I totally get that. This is where the lack of fully flushed out character development will come through. Even with BOB when there was no battle there was still a lot going on with the people to keep you connected. With most of their time spent on the ground it could get boring real fast without any decent back stories.

Luckily it’s a subjective art form and I’m still going to watch it anyway lol

[Eagler]

One episode in..the cgi seems more red tailish than I hoped but maybe it will settle down..

Eagler

[Dadtallica]

One episode in..the cgi seems more red tailish than I hoped but maybe it will settle down..

Eagler

That’s the overall consensus is what it is. It just doesn’t seem to have the grit of the time.

[oboe]

Red Tails came was released over a decade ago.  With all the advances in graphics since then, like ray-tracing for example - you'd think industrial CGI would be hard to tell apart from reality by now.

Wonder if they intentionally cut corners on CGI?  I suppose there are different levels of price/quality, so maybe it was a economical decision?

[Devil 505]

Wonder if they intentionally cut corners on CGI?  I suppose there are different levels of price/quality, so maybe it was a economical decision?

Probably.

There's a reason that HBO wanted no part of MOTA. They lost their shirt on The Pacific and I'm sure that the estimated budget for MOTA was significantly more than that was.

We're at the point in computer graphics where the effort to reach the highest quality possible is exponentially higher than the required effort for generally acceptable quality. Why would they spend 4 times as much money on a result that's probably not even twice as good?

[Dadtallica]

Decent Q&A with the shows creator. He teases some of what’s to come in the remaining episodes. Sounds cool.

https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/masters-of-the-air-john-orloff-austin-butler-world-war-ii/

[Animl-AW]

I quite like everything they put into the first two episodes. If you want constant action, I'd just youtube wwii guncam videos instead. People need to remember this is an entertainment series, not a documentary.

This.^^

I suggest relax, watch the whole thing, enjoy a movie, then watch it a second time for critiques.

This is the first movie I’ve watched in over 5 yrs. I’m a documentary type.

[Eagler]

Thought the 2 punch fight at the bar was odd and out of place..2nd episode..

Did they really throttle back an entire flight to keep one damaged plane in some sort of formation?

Find that hard to believe .. as was the crash landing lol

Eagler

[Dadtallica]

Thought the 2 punch fight at the bar was odd and out of place..2nd episode..

Did they really throttle back an entire flight to keep one damaged plane in some sort of formation?

Find that hard to believe .. as was the crash landing lol

Eagler

I lol’d at the crash too. The part where they hit the cliff was a bit much. At that angle it would have cracked in half.

[Brooke]

I liked it.

There are some things here and there that aren't perfect, of course.  (I dearly wish Hollywood people would take 10 minutes to learn how bombs dropping from bombers really looks and works, for example.  And some of the other things already mentioned.)

But overall, I think they're doing a good job.  I feel like the characters are more distinct than The Pacific, and we'll see how it goes over time.  I like the casting so far.

We super enthusiasts can find fault with most things that aren't historical footage.  But I try to not let my pickiness ruin things for me.

My wife, who knows more than the average person on this but isn't at the enthusiast level of us here, had some things she liked about it that didn't occur to me.  She liked that many actors look much closer in age to real WWII pilots, crew, etc., not 35 year olds playing 20 year olds as is typical in so many movies and shows.  She liked that they portrayed the stupid crap those young people did at times in real WWII -- picking fights over nothing, bike racing around columns that could cause big problems if you smacked into one, various ways things go wrong (not everyone was the greatest expert), showing what it was like inside the aircraft for various crew.

I'm looking forward to more.

[Brooke]

Just watched episode 1 with my 13-year-old daughters.

They liked it, which I didn't expect.  I was quite pleased about that.

[Baloo]

What Brooke said above ^, same for me - great show overall and I'm excited to see more

I do miss the interviews they would have with the real people, like in Band of Brothers...though I do understand most, if not all, have already passed.