A still image from the 2008 war thriller film 'The Hurt Locker' starring Jeremy Renner. (Image source: IMDb)
Looking for a decent action-packed, military movie or TV show to binge-watch this weekend? Check out our nine picks that you can stream online. (ranked by year of release)
For Netflix subscribers, some of these shows might require you to use a VPN for access.
1987 | Full Metal Jacket
We’re throwing in this classic war drama based on Gustav Hasford’s 1979 novel The Short-Timers. The plot follows an 18-year-old US Marine recruit from his rigorous training in boot camp to the bloody grounds of Hue, Vietnam.
Starring Matthew Modine, Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Looking for a decent action-packed, military movie or TV show to binge-watch this weekend? Check out our nine picks that you can stream online. (ranked by year of release)
For Netflix subscribers, some of these shows might require you to use a VPN for access.
1987 | Full Metal Jacket
We’re throwing in this classic war drama based on Gustav Hasford’s 1979 novel The Short-Timers. The plot follows an 18-year-old US Marine recruit from his rigorous training in boot camp to the bloody grounds of Hue, Vietnam.
Starring Matthew Modine, Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
This action-packed film depicts a fictitious US Navy SEAL led by a steadfast veteran to a far-flung jungle on a rescue mission in the middle of the civil war in Nigeria.
StarringBruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Tom Skerritt, Cole Hauser
This 2008 American war thriller film will have you gripping the edge of your seat as it follows the “ferociously suspenseful” journey of an Iraq War explosive ordnance disposal team who are relentlessly being targeted by insurgents.
In 2020, the award-winning film was among the films inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
While the movie did okay in theaters and won a heap of awards, service members panned it for some of the ridiculous scenes that would never happen in the real military, like Renner’s character going for a run outside the wire at night and just jumping on a sniper rifle and taking down insurgents. Hollywood is Hollywood though and real life is real life.
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo
Based on the nonfiction book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan by Michael Hastings, a fictionalized account of events based on the US Army General Stanley McChrystal. This 2017 satirical war film follows a four-star, self-assured general who takes on an “impossible” position to win an unpopular war in Afghanistan set in the summer of 2009.
Starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Anthony Hayes, Topher Grace
This Israeli television series is actually adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Amir Gutfreund, who was a veteran himself and served in the Israeli Air Force for twenty years. The 10-episode long series follows four Israeli military veterans who had a bitter fallout after serving in the Lebanon War. Years later, they were forced to reunite for a rescue mission to find a friend who they had all previously presumed dead.
Starring Tomer Kapon, Ninet Tayeb, Michael Aloni, Nadav
A docudrama anthology series featuring honorable brave servicemen who have received the Medal of Honor, America’s highest and most prestigious military award. The eight-episode series tells the individual’s particular story that led to receiving the award through archival footage, dramatic recreations, and interviews with family members, historians, news reporters, and other veterans.
Starring Joseph Cross, Paul Wesley, Aldis Hodge, Derek Mio, Ben Schwartz, Steven R. McQueen, Oliver Hudson, Jonny Weston
10 years in the making. Father Soldier Son is an award-winning true-to-life documentary series from The New York Times by journalists Catrin Einhorn and Leslye Davis. This intimate docuseries follows the military journey of Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch and his family over the course of ten years, highlighting the “intergenerational exploration of the meaning of sacrifice, purpose, and American manhood in the aftermath of war.”
A four-star general has begrudgingly taken on the role of establishing and leading the newest US military branch, the Space Force, alongside eccentric scientists. The comedic television series premiered its first season in November 2020 and released its second season earlier this year.
Starring Steve Carell, John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Diana Silvers, Lisa Kudrow
Purple Hearts is a romantic film depicting the lives of an aspiring musician and a troubled marine who initially agreed to marry solely for military benefits, “but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.”
Starring Sofia Carson, Nicholas Galitzine, Chosen Jacobs
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