1Top Gun: Maverick
We’ve long praised Top Gun: Maverick as one of our favorite action movies, but it bears repeating: It is truly one of the best films of the decade so far. Tom Cruise plays Pete Mitchell, a star aviator in the Navy. After thirty years of service, he becomes a teacher and trains a new class of recruits. The only issue? They’re about to be sent on Mitchell’s toughest mission yet. In order to keep himself and his team safe, he has to dig deep and face his greatest fears.
2The Greatest Beer Run Ever
In this you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it film, Zac Efron stars as John “Chickie” Donohue—a plucky New Yorker with a dream of cracking a cold one with his buddies in Vietnam. Cue a comedic journey across the seas, fit with heartwarming reunions and harsh truths. Best of all, The Greatest Beer Run Ever is based on a true story.
3Da 5 Bloods
Da 5 Bloods follows four Black veterans who return to their old battleground long after the Vietnam War in search of the remains of their deceased squad leader. Before he died, he buried a gold fortune with their help—now it’s up to them to find it.
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4Black Hawk Down
It’s 1993. The U.S. Special Forces unit has been sent to Somalia to bring humanitarian aid to a starving population. Their mode of travel? Black Hawk helicopters. They expect a manageable mission, but plans change when Somalian forces shoot down two of the U.S. choppers. In order to survive, they have to regain control of their helicopters while evading a wave of gunfire.
5M*A*S*H
Lighten the mood with M*A*S*H, a dark comedy about the medical unit of a U.S. encampment in the Korean War. Surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre make the best of their predicament with martini parties and incessant jokes. The film was such a hit that it spurred a hit TV show that ran for eleven seasons. (You can check out the series on Hulu.)
6The Thin Red Line
Think of The Thin Red Line as the film equivalent of eating your greens—a necessary nutrient for any cinephile. This war epic stars Jim Caviezel as Private Witt, a U.S. Army member living on a tiny island in the South Pacific. Life is peaceful there. It’s much quieter than America, which, at that point, is embedded in World War II. When Witt’s hideout is discovered, he’s forced to leave the island and join the American troops in training for the Battle of Guadalcanal.
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7Devotion
Devotion tells the true story of Jesse Brown, the first Black aviator in the U.S. Navy. He’s the best of the best and has the skills to prove it, but when he’s assigned to assist in the Korean War, Brown’s leadership skills are put to the test. Can he complete the mission, protect his teammates, and make it home safely? You’ll have to watch to find out.
8Saving Private Ryan
One of Captain John Miller’s paratroopers, Private James Ryan, is missing, and Ryan’s three brothers were killed. To find the soldier, Miller (Tom Hanks) and his team breach enemy territory and forge a manhunt, displaying remarkable courage along the way.
9Glory
Glory, which is based on a true story, is an important history lesson. In the film, Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Mathew Broderick) is assigned to command America’s first Black regiment. The crew includes Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes), a junior officer; Trip (Denzel Washington), a runaway slave; and John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman), a clever gravedigger. Together, they climb the ranks and become key fighters in a legendary battle.
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10Greyhound
Here’s another one for the Tom Hanks hive. In Greyhound, the actor stars as Navy Commander Ernest Krause. During World War II, he’s tasked with leading an Allied convoy across the Atlantic Ocean. Things get dicey when German boats catch on to their plan. To make matters worse, this is Krause’s first wartime mission, which went down as the longest naval conflict in history—you may remember it as the Battle of the Atlantic.
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