Red light floods the deck of the USS America as young Marines prepare for drills before dawn. Orders echo across steel corridors, helmets glint, engines roar. It feels like the calm before a storm that everyone knows is coming. That’s the tension driving Marines, the new four-part documentary from Netflix and Amblin Documentary, released to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps. Directed by Chelsea Yarnell and produced by Steven Spielberg’s company, it embeds the audience inside the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Okinawa, Japan. The trailer is at the end of the article.
Filmed during the summer of 2024, Marines takes viewers aboard the USS America and USS Green Bay as a new generation of service members undergoes CERTEX, the grueling certification exercise that tests whether they’re ready for deployment. What begins as a military documentary soon becomes something more intimate – a coming-of-age story about youth, discipline, and the emotional toll of living in constant readiness for a war that may never arrive (you might also like Boots on Netflix: why everyone is loving this coming-of-age drama).
The tone is strikingly human. Yarnell, known for Cheer and America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, trades glitter for grit, capturing fleeting moments of laughter, doubt, and fear amid high-stakes operations. The camera lingers on exhausted faces, quiet conversations in bunkrooms, and the eerie beauty of life at sea. This isn’t about battle – it’s about becoming someone who’s prepared for one.
The access is unprecedented. From gunners and scout-snipers to F-35B Lightning II pilots and UH-1Y Venom crews, Marines spans the entire ecosystem of the 31st MEU – America’s only continuously forward-deployed Marine unit. It reveals a microcosm of modern military life: structured, claustrophobic, occasionally absurd, and deeply human. Fans of military documentaries will recognize the influence of Restrepo, but here the perspective is younger, more conflicted, and more introspective.
Visually, it’s stunning. Yarnell’s lens transforms the ship into a floating world of rituals and codes – part training ground, part home, part psychological crucible. The ambient score heightens the contrast between youthful energy and existential fatigue. The editing keeps pace with the relentless rhythm of drills, blurring the line between endurance and obsession.
Critics have already hailed Marines as one of the most revealing portrayals of the American military in years. The Guardian praised its “startling honesty and emotional intimacy,” while Variety highlighted its “ability to blend patriotism with empathy.” It’s both an homage and a question – what does it mean to live every day preparing for something that might never happen?
Released on the very day the Marine Corps was born in 1775, Marines doubles as a commemorative piece and a mirror for modern geopolitics. It nods to the rising tension across the Pacific, the echoes of old wars, and the resilience of those who serve between peace and conflict. For anyone drawn to true stories that balance heroism with vulnerability, this one’s unmissable.
A story about courage, camaraderie, and the cost of constant readiness, Marines reminds us that sometimes the hardest battles are the ones we fight in waiting.
• Original title: Marines
• Format: Documentary series
• Runtime: 4 episodes, approx. 45–55 minutes each
• Genre: Military documentary, coming-of-age
• Country of production: United States
• Year of release: 2025
• Directed by: Chelsea Yarnell
• Main cast: Real members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit
• Produced by: Amblin Documentary, Lucky 8
• Release date on Netflix: November 10, 2025
A rare and revealing look at modern service – both sacred and fragile. If you’re drawn to documentaries that blend realism with raw emotion, you’ll want to add Marines to your watchlist.
