The Fourth of July celebrates the birth of America as a nation, and that nation was born out of war.
War movies shouldn’t glorify the extreme loss of life that comes with armed combat, but they do serve as a reminder of the soldiers who sacrificed themselves for the good of the nation and the world.
To honor that sacrifice, the Watch With Us team has selected the following three must-watch war movies to stream on the Fourth of July weekend.
All three of these films can be found on Netflix.
‘1917’ (2019)
1917 is one of the rare big-budget World War I movies to be made in the 21st century, and director Sam Mendes masterfully conjures the illusion that the entire film was shot in just two very long takes. (The reality is somewhat different.) On the eve of a major offensive against the German army, British intelligence discovers that their forces are being lured into a lethal trap. With battlefield lines of communication disrupted, Lance Corporals Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) agree to relay the message to the commanding officers.
For Blake, this journey is personal and his brother is on the front line of the forces that may be killed if they don’t arrive in time to halt the battle. But without resources from the British army or anyone to back them up, this may be a one-way trip for the two soldiers.
1917 is streaming on Netflix.
‘Dunkirk’ (2017)
Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk takes place during one of the darkest moments of World War II. In the aftermath of the Battle of France, the allied forces Britain and France are defeated and the remaining troops are trapped by the advancing Nazi army on the beaches of Dunkirk with little hope of escape.
British soldiers Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), Alex (Harry Styles) and Gibson (Aneurin Barnard) are desperate to get off the beach as death surrounds them. The situation is so dire that a civilian fleet sets sail to save the soldiers while putting themselves at risk from German attacks. That story unfolds from the perspective of Peter Dawson (Tom Glynn-Carney), his father Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance), and their employee, George (Barry Keoghan). Their bravery in the face of danger may make all the difference in the world.
Dunkirk is streaming on Netflix.
‘Green Zone’ (2010)
Matt Damon reunited with Jason Bourne director Paul Greengrass for Green Zone, a film inspired by a non-fiction account of the second war in Iraq by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. It’s not meant to be a documentary and dramatic liberties are taken. Damon’s Roy Miller is no Jason Bourne, but he is a dedicated soldier who is increasingly frustrated by his mission to find WMD evidence in Baghdad.
One of the remaining Iraqi generals, Mohammed Al Rawi (Yigal Naor), may have the answers that Miller is looking for. However, the battle for control of Iraq is far from finished, and Miller’s search is seemingly sabotaged by U.S. Department of Defense Special Intelligence officer Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear). Miller’s been asking too many questions, and that may undermine the entire justification of the war.
Green Zone is streaming on Netflix.
Read the full article here
