Paramount+ may not have all our old favorites when it comes to war movies and television shows, but there's no shortage of good viewing for the military enthusiast. On top of the list below, the streaming service also offers old-timey military movies like 1951's "Drums in the Deep South."
It also offers a wide range of Smithsonian Channel documentaries, such as "100 Missions: Surviving Vietnam" and "Arlington: Call to Honor." Subscribers can get access to Showtime movies and shows, opening even more titles, like the original series "Homeland." Here are just a few of the best on Paramount+ right now.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Director Michael Bay tells the real story of the six members of a CIA Annex Security Team, all former service members who responded to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The team, stationed in a secret annex just one mile away from the compound, attempts to rescue American personnel, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, in the face of overwhelming odds.
Allied
Max Vatan (Brad Pitt, "Fury") and Marianne Beauséjour (Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose") are a Canadian intelligence operative and a French resistance fighter who meet on a mission to Morocco during World War II. Once the mission is over and they return to the relative safety of war-torn London, British intelligence begins to suspect there's more to Marianne than they ever knew.
Black Wings
The Smithsonian Channel's "Black Wings" follows the history of America's Black aviators from biplanes to combat operations. From "Prophet of Aviation" William Powell to the Tuskegee Airmen to Air Force legend Daniel "Chappie" James, "Black Wings" is a fascinating documentary about the timeline of how these aviators overcame racism and joined the ranks of America's best pilots.
Clear and Present Danger
Deputy Director of Intelligence Jack Ryan uncovers a complex American conspiracy to wage an illegal war against drug cartels in Colombia, one that may reach the highest levels of the American government. Ryan will risk his life to bring it to light.
Harrison Ford wasn't the first person to portray Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan on screen, but he was the first to reprise the role. "Clear and Present Danger" is the third movie in the "Ryanverse" and Ford's second as Ryan.
Dog
After former Army Ranger Jackson Briggs (Channing Tatum, "Bullet Train") is denied an assignment due to a traumatic brain injury, he learns his best friend was killed in a car accident. He is assigned to escort his friend's working dog, Lulu, to his funeral before taking the Belgian Malinois to be euthanized.
Along the way, Briggs realizes he has a lot in common with Lulu and the two form a close bond, the kind veterans and their dogs know very well.
Devotion
Ensign Jesse Brown was the first Black aviator to complete the Navy's basic flight training program. He earned his commission in 1949, just one year after President Harry Truman integrated the U.S. armed forces. In 1950, he was flying missions in the Korean War.
Jonathan Majors stars as Jesse Brown in "Devotion," the story of his close friendship with his wingman, Thomas J. Hudner, who heroically attempts to rescue Brown when his plane goes down behind enemy lines.
Enemy at the Gates
By August 1942, the German Army had taken large chunks of Soviet territory and captured hundreds of thousands of Red Army troops. Adolf Hitler wanted a symbolic victory for Germans and went all-in on Stalingrad, launching a five-week battle that would kill a total of more than a million soldiers.
At Stalingrad, a Soviet sniper named Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law, "Sherlock Holmes") rises to fame for killing hundreds of German soldiers. The Germans send their best counter sniper, Maj. Erwin König (Ed Harris, "The Rock") to hunt Zaitsev. The two square off in a test of will during one of the most pivotal battles of World War II.
Gladiator
The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius' greatest general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe, "Master and Commander"), wants to return home after subduing Germanic tribes. After the emperor is murdered by his son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, "Joker"), Maximus moves to use his army to arrest the new emperor, but Commodus strikes first.
Surviving an assassination attempt, Maximus is captured and held as a slave. He must fight his way to the biggest games of all, in Rome, to exact his revenge against Commodus, who assumed the throne.
The Kite Runner
Amir (Khalid Abdalla, "The Crown") is a young boy in a well-off family living outside Kabul when his life is turned upside down by an invasion from the Soviet Union, the rise of the Taliban and an invasion by the United States. Amir lives with the guilt of betraying his friend, Hassan, as boys and eventually seeks to make some kind of amends with the experience.
Saving Private Ryan
Does anyone really need an introduction to "Saving Private Ryan"? Though the story is very loosely based on the story of Edward, Preston, Robert and Frederick Niland, four brothers who served in World War II, where three either died or were presumed dead, it's not a real story, but director Steven Spielberg ensured the World War II combat depicted in the movie was.
Spy Wars with Damian Lewis
"Spy Wars" is the perfect show for anyone who loves the history of daring intelligence operations. Host Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers," "Homeland") guides viewers through this docuseries that tells the stories behind some of the most incredible covert missions ever. The series covers Soviet "illegals," the "Argo" mission to exfiltrate Americans from Tehran and the capture of Robert Hanssen, the most damaging traitor in U.S. history.
Top Gun: Maverick
America's favorite naval aviator returned to the big screen in 2022, with Tom Cruise reprising his role as Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. This time, he's training the Top Gun graduates -- including the son of his former radar intercept officer (RIO), Nick "Goose" Bradshaw.
As Maverick prepares the pilots for the most decisive mission of their careers, he has to literally confront his past while fighting to stay in the Navy.
Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin
When United States Marines were sent to Korea in 1945, there was only one Asian-American regular officer in the Corps, Kurt Chew-Een Lee. Lee led Marines from the Inchon Landing through the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. "Uncommon Courage" documents his effort to lead 500 Marines into the jaws of death to save 8,000 more.
We Were Soldiers
Mel Gibson ("Lethal Weapon") stars as Lt. Col. Hal Moore in director Randall Wallace's adaptation of Moore's book, "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young." When Moore arrives in Vietnam, the 400 men of his 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry are tasked to aid a firebase under attack in Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley against an unknown number of enemy soldiers.
Despite being outnumbered, surrounded and unable to withdraw by air, Moore and his soldiers fight the North Vietnamese for a week in one of the most storied and bloody battles of the Vietnam War.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Unsatisfied with her career, journalist Kim Baker (Tina Fey, "30 Rock") takes a gig as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. There, she discovers the ins and outs of war reporting through dealing with the U.S. military establishment, fellow journalists and her Afghan "fixer." The movie is based on real-life journalist Kim Barker's (not a typo, that’s her real name) memoir "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on LinkedIn.
Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment
Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox.
