The Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen, in Australia on Foxtel Now and HBO Max, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV, takes its characters as seriously as it takes its plot. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Laurence Fishburne anchors it with a performance that rewards close attention. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Foxtel Now.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, The Tuskegee Airmen earns its spot. The Tuskegee Airmen takes its time building the world its characters inhabit, and the patience pays off. During the Second World War, a special project is begun by the US Army Air Corps to integrate African American pilots into the Fighter Pilot Program. Known as the "Tuskegee Airman" for the name of the airbase at which they were trained, these men were forced to constantly endure harassement, prejudice, and much behind the scenes politics until at last they were able to prove themselves in combat. Laurence Fishburne and Allen Payne lead a cast that treats the material with real seriousness. The Tuskegee Airmen came out in 1995. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, The Tuskegee Airmen delivers. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Laurence Fishburne's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.

The Tuskegee Airmen was released in 1995, directed by Robert Markowitz. The full 106-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.