Band of Brothers

I first saw Band of Brothers last year, and I can’t believe it took me twenty years to get on this train. It’s an amazing series with an outrageously talented cast. After fighting through some horrible movies, I treated myself to a rewatch of this gem and it is even better the second time around.

World War II is one of the few real life stories where good fights evil on an epic scale, and Band of Brothers is (thankfully) long enough to go into some depth on some of the heroes involved. This ten-episode mini series format is much better for truly establishing some of the scope and scale of the conflict. There’s the main storyline of the war as a whole, plus the ongoing struggles of Easy company and its men. There’s time for multiple episodes that each focus on an individual character, and there are so many great characters that some don’t have a moment to shine until late in the season. The show manages to weave all of these characters and storylines together so well that I wanted to watch it again within a year of my first watch, primarily to see the first few episodes again after having experienced the entire series.

The cast is, as mentioned above, absurdly talented. There are so many actors that are here before they are stars, like Hardy, McAvoy, Fassbender, and Dominic Cooper. There are also a lot of A Listers who make cameos, but even the lesser known cast members do a phenomenal job.

This show is as good of a show about war can be. It’s (mostly) true, gripping to watch, and it has crossed my mind frequently ever since I first watch it. 10/10, perfect show.