Thanks to an onslaught of advertisements on social media, I was curious about Netflix’s “The Six Triple Eight” film and naturally had to check it out myself.
While World War II isn’t exactly my historical area of interest, I am a fan of movies based on true incidents and experiences – so this was right up my alley overall.
For me, it all breaks down to the key main characters and the actors playing them.
The rest of the film misses marks for me due to the way the movie progresses quickly without denoting the passage of time.
Outside of that, Triple Eight is a fairly interesting movie for Netflix to debut.
The Six Triple Eight is a 2024 American war drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry, on the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II.
The film features an ensemble cast that includes Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Moriah Brown, Gregg Sulkin, Susan Sarandon, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, and Oprah Winfrey.
The film is based on the 2019 magazine article "Fighting a Two-Front War", by Kevin M. Hymel, on the contributions of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II.
Triple Eight is 127 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for language including racial slurs, thematic material, and some war violence.
The film begins as American troops make a surge through enemy fire along with backup from fighter pilots overhead.
One young man struggles with the charge as the chaos erupts around him – including a plane crashing just yards ahead of him and catching on fire.
The soldier pulls the pilot from the wreckage to check his pulse and finds it gone while blood wells from various wounds.
The young man takes a letter he found on the dead pilot to carry back to base after the fight.
Once there, the letter joins sacks of others that are haphazardly stored in an airplane hangar.
Shortly after that, a mother in West Virginia waits every day for news about her two sons who are serving overseas, but no mail comes.
Meanwhile, childhood friends, Lena (King) and Abram (Sulkin) reckon with the difficulty of their budding romance.
The odds are stacked against them since Lena is black and Abram is Jewish in 1940s Philadelphia.
There is another obstacle since Abram is also preparing to deploy as a pilot in the Army.
Unfortunately, Abram dies shortly after enlistment and a heartbroken Lena vows to enlist after her high school graduation.
On the train to basic training in Georgia, Lena meets other enlistees who will become her friends.
In Georgia, the battalion is trained by Captain Charity Adams (Washington) and Lieutenant Noel Campbell (Jackson).
Despite being well-trained, the battalion is never given any orders despite Adams fighting for them.
One day, the West Virginia mother travels to the White House to meet Eleanor Roosevelt (Sarandon) and tells her that, across the country, no one is receiving mail from the war.
That conversation sets the stage for Adam’s battalion to make history and be given the recognition they deserve.
Given its rating and the largely unknown subject matter, I think the movie did its origins justice and is certainly worth the time to watch.
