Fourth of July Movies to Watch: 'Independence Day,' 'The Patriot' 'Miracle' and More [TRAILERS]
If you plan on staying in after the fireworks, there are a couple Fourth of July themed movies that may be exactly what you are looking for to cap off the holiday.
The movie starring Will Smith features an alien invasion of the Earth as humans try to fight for what is theirs. The effort is led by a group of scrappy Americans, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman). This sci-fi flick k is full of extravagant special effects and action.
If you are looking for an all-American movie, The Patriot is a Mel Gibson classic. In the film, the peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son. This Revolutionary War-based movie rounds out to about 3 hours long.
National Treasure
In this 2004 flick Nicholas Cage stars as a historian and brilliant treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates who discovers a secret from the United States' past as he tries to hide it from a team of mercenaries leading to the greatest adventure in history. The movie also stars Diane Kruger and Justin Bartha.
Another movie that inspires national pride is the 2004 drama Miracle directed by Gavin O'Connor, which tells the true story of Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell), a player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the invincible Russian team. The victory was named the Top Sports Moment of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated magazine.
The late film critic Roger Ebert wrote of the film:
"[the film] is not about how some of the players have little quirks that they cure, or about their girl, or about villains that have to be overcome. It's about practicing hard and winning games. It doesn't even bother to demonize the opponents. When the team finally faces the Soviets, they're depicted as -- well, simply as the other team. Their coach has a dark, forbidding manner and doesn't smile much, but he's not a Machiavellian schemer, and the Soviets don't play any dirtier than most teams do in hockey. "
