5 patriotic Netflix films to light up your Fourth of July

Fireworks are great. So is air-conditioning. If you want the latter more than the former this Fourth of July, Netflix has a solid spread of movies that tap into grit, resilience, and the whole stars-and-stripes vibe without feeling like homework. Here are five picks that actually play on the holiday: some inspiring, some nostalgic, one unabashedly swoony.

• The Redeem Team (2022)

  This 97-minute documentary tracks the 2008 U.S. men's basketball squad rolling into Beijing with one job: fix the mess from 2004, when Team USA shockingly settled for bronze in Athens. It brings together the era's heavy-hitters — Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony — and centers the competitive spark (and leadership) of the late Kobe Bryant. It's about chemistry as much as talent, and it ends where it should: with the gold back where the players think it belongs.

• The Six Triple Eight

  Written and directed by Tyler Perry and based on a true story, this one spotlights the all-Black, all-female 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during World War II. Their mission sounds small until you hear the scope: head to Britain and crush a years-long pileup of millions of undelivered letters and packages so service members can reconnect with home. The job is brutal and the deadlines are absurd, and they still push through racism, rough conditions, and bureaucracy to get it done.

  "When America needed hope, they delivered."

  Kerry Washington leads a strong ensemble that includes Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, and Pepi Sonuga. The premise alone — saving morale with mail — is one of those under-told chapters that turns out to be a big deal.

• Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022)

  Richard Linklater turns his own late-60s Houston memories into a warm, slightly wild animated coming-of-age story. We follow 10-year-old Stanley in 1969, with an older Stanley narrating as the film blends a kid's day-to-day with an out-there what-if: he's secretly recruited for a test trip to the Moon while the real Apollo 11 mission plays out on TV. Originally conceived as live-action before pivoting to animation, it lands with a unique, nostalgic look at a very American moment. Voices and performances come from Milo Coy, Jack Black, Glen Powell, Zachary Levi, Josh Wiggins, and Lee Eddy.

• Unbroken (2014)

  Angelina Jolie directs this adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's book 'Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.' It follows Louis Zamperini — one-time Olympic runner turned U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier — who survives a plane crash and 47 days at sea, only to be captured by the Japanese. What follows is sustained brutality in POW camps, especially under Sergeant Mutsuhiro Watanabe, and a story that keeps circling back to one idea: refusal to break. The cast includes Jack O'Connell, C.J. Valleroy, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, Miyavi, Finn Wittrock, and Jai Courtney.

• Purple Hearts

  If you want romance with your red, white, and blue, this drama from director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (based on Tess Wakefield's novel) goes for it. Cassie is an aspiring singer juggling Type 1 diabetes and bills; Luke is a U.S. Marine in his own financial bind. They marry for the benefits — purely transactional — then life does what life does. He deploys, gets injured, and feelings get real just as their arrangement risks coming to light, with legal fallout circling. Sofia Carson and Nicholas Galitzine lead, with Chosen Jacobs, John Harlan Kim, and Kat Cunning rounding out the cast.

Pick your flavor: underdog triumph, unsung wartime heroes, space-age nostalgia, survival against the odds, or messy love that sneaks up on you. What are you queueing up tonight?