Thursday, July 9, 2026

Movie Review: Young Washington

Last Friday I went to see Young Washington in the theater. I haven't seen a movie in the theater since I saw Oppenheimer in 2023.

George Washington is my favorite Founding Father so I had to see this movie. 

The movie was reasonably historically accurate but the climax was a bit over the top as he survived an onslaught of musket fire. Yes, he did have two horses shot out underneath him and did have bullet holes in his jacket and hat yet survived. Yes, he rallied the troops to make a fighting retreat in the lost Battle of Monongahela. That is historically accurate. He later attributed his survival to "divine providence." Or he was an alien.

It wasn't all hagiographic. They showed his mistakes (and there were many) at the battle of Fort Necessity where he was forced to surrender to the reviled French. One mistake he made was he thought the French would fight "honorably." They didn't.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. There was enough action to keep modern viewers interested. They did (accurately) portray Washington as an ambitious young man. I'm not sure about the part where 11-year-old George tries to go to school and is refused due to his "station." That is, he wasn't born into the right family. And the part about him wanting to read all the classical books his half-brother Lawrence recommended I've never heard about. If so, he had a singular thirst for knowledge.

If you get a chance, I would recommend seeing Young Washington.

The above photo is being used under Section 107 of the Copyright Act: fair usage.

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