War films to make you battle- ready
Christopher Nolan is bringing us back to World War II this summer. The Interstel
lar director is returning to the box office July 21 with Dunkirk, a WWII epic that focuses on the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beach during the early part of the war. If the explosive trailer put you in the mood for more from the war film genre, USA TODAY’s Kelly Lawler offers five ( technically six) favorites that are available to stream or rent.
IF YOU WANT AN OLDER CLASSIC: THE GREAT ESCAPE
This 1963 film, though tragic, manages to find humor in the plight of its protagonists, Allied soldiers trying to escape from a Nazi prison camp in World War II. Starring Hollywood legends Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough, the film is both heartbreaking and full of heart, as this motley crew attempts to pull off its titular feat. Stream it on Starz.
IF YOU WANT AN EXPLORATION OF MODERN WAR: THE HURT LOCKER
Kathryn Bigelow still is the only woman to win the best- director Oscar, and she did it with this 2008 film, which also won best picture, about a bomb squad in the Iraq War. Jeremy Renner, inset, Anthony Mackie and Guy Pearce are excellent, but the thrill of this film comes from Bigelow’s taut direction, especially in the bomb- disarming scenes. Stream it on Showtime.
IF YOU WANT A PARODY: TROPIC THUNDER
The war movie genre is so prolific that one day someone was going to poke at it, and that someone was Ben Stiller in 2008. Stiller directed and co- wrote Thunder, a parody of such Vietnam War films as Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. Following a group of actors filming a Vietnam War movie that accidentally gets caught up in a real conflict, the movie lampoons not just movie tropes but Hollywood and celebrity culture, especially with a surprisingly hilarious Tom Cruise cameo. Stream it on Netflix.