The 13 Best War Movies On Netflix Provide a Searing Look at Humanity

Since the dawn of Hollywood, war has been given a frequent spotlight in American cinema. (Check out that first Best Picture Oscar winner: WWII tale Wings.) And over the years, war in film has since developed into a genre all its own. War movies. Within such dire, morally bound climates, plots are driven at rapid-fire pacing by high-stakes action sequences and psychological struggles. (That's excluding your Mark Wahlberg-esque, one-man-stand popcorn epics.)

Beyond the American fascination with military heroism and sacrifice, the war film genre has begun to lend us a closer look into the deeper ethical complications of war in itself. While many films focus upon glorification and romanticization, filmmakers have also used the medium’s subjectivity as a deeper, humanized lens to the true atrocities of wartime. Through these stories, we can attempt to gain a closer relationship to a machination that often feels so emotionally distant.

If you're looking for somewhere to make your way through some of the 21st Century's best war films, especially, you couldn't do much better than Netflix. From action-packed reenactments, to moving historical dramas, commentary-fueled farces, and even a Spike Lee joint, these are the 13 best war movies to stream on the platform.

Looking for more stuff to watch? Check out our Best Movies of 2022.