War Films Best To Worst
I'm only including films based on real wars but no ancient wars and they must be focused on the fighting so no concentration camp films or anything like that.
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- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.5/5
Somali Civil War - DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJude LawEd HarrisJoseph FiennesA Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.5/5
World War II - Europe - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsRyan PhillippeBarry PepperJoseph CrossThe life stories of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in World War II.5/5
World War II - Pacific - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKen WatanabeKazunari NinomiyaTsuyoshi IharaThe story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.5/5
World War II - Pacific - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.5/5
Vietnam War - DirectorMel GibsonStarsAndrew GarfieldSam WorthingtonLuke BraceyWorld War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.5/5
World War II - Pacific - DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsMel GibsonHeath LedgerJoely RichardsonPeaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.5/5
American Revolutionary War - DirectorPeter BergStarsMark WahlbergTaylor KitschEmile HirschMarcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.4.5/5
Afghanistan War - DirectorSergei BodrovStarsOleg MenshikovSergey BodrovSusanna MekhraliyevaTwo Russian soldiers, one battle-seasoned and the other barely into his boots and uniform, are taken prisoner by an anxious Islamic father from a remote village hoping to trade them for his captured son.4.5/5
First Chechen War - DirectorMarc ForsterStarsGerard ButlerMichelle MonaghanMichael ShannonSam Childers is a former drug-dealing biker tough guy who found God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been forced to become soldiers.4.5/5
Second Sudanese Civil War - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKirk DouglasRalph MeekerAdolphe MenjouAfter a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.4.5/5
World War I - DirectorDante LamStarsYi ZhangJohnny HuangHai-QingPLA Navy Marine Corps launch a hostage rescue operation in the fictional Republic of Ihwea and undergo a fierce battle with rebellions and terrorism.4.5/5
Yemeni Civil War - DirectorPeter WeirStarsRussell CrowePaul BettanyBilly BoydDuring the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.4/5
Napoleonic Wars - DirectorSamuel MaozStarsYoav DonatItay TiranOshri CohenDuring the First Lebanon War in 1982, a lone tank and a paratroopers platoon are dispatched to search a hostile town.4/5
Lebanon War - DirectorJohn H. LeeStarsLiam NeesonLee Jung-jaeLee Beom-suA team of spies is sent into Incheon to gain intelligence on North Korean positions ahead of the invasion by UN forces.4/5
Korean War - DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSean ConneryRyan O'NealMichael CaineOperation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.4/5
World War II - Europe - DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsGeorge ClooneyMark WahlbergIce CubeIn the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.4/5
Gulf War - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsBradley CooperSienna MillerKyle GallnerNavy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.4/5
Iraq War - DirectorRandall WallaceStarsMel GibsonMadeleine StoweGreg KinnearThe story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news.4/5
Vietnam War - DirectorSam MendesStarsDean-Charles ChapmanGeorge MacKayDaniel MaysApril 6th, 1917. As an infantry battalion assembles to wage war deep in enemy territory, two soldiers are assigned to race against time and deliver a message that will stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap.4/5
World War I - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsFionn WhiteheadBarry KeoghanMark RylanceAllied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.4/5
World War II - Europe - DirectorYann DemangeStarsJack O'ConnellSam ReidSean HarrisIn 1971, a young and disoriented British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the deadly streets of Belfast.4/5
Irish Troubles - DirectorRichie SmythStarsJamie DornanEmmanuelle SeignerMark StrongIrish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960s.4/5
Congo Crisis - DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsEthan HawkeJanuary JonesZoë KravitzA family man begins to question the ethics of his job as a drone pilot.4/5
War On Terror - DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.3.5/5
Vietnam War - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJeremy IrvineEmily WatsonDavid ThewlisA young farm boy enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. His hopeful journey takes him out of England and onto the front lines as the war rages on.3.5/5
World War I - DirectorLuis LlosaStarsTom BerengerBilly ZaneJ.T. WalshA veteran US Marine sniper is partnered with a rookie sniper as his spotter to take out a politician and a rebel leader in the jungles of Panama.3.5/5
U.S. Special Forces Missions - DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonJason IsaacsGreg KinnearDiscovering covert and faulty intelligence causes a U.S. Army officer to go rogue as he hunts for Weapons of Mass Destruction in an unstable region.3.5/5
Iraq War - DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsBruce WillisCole HauserMonica BellucciA Special-Ops commander leads his team into the Nigerian jungle in order to rescue a doctor who will only join them if they agree to save 70 refugees too.3.5/5
Nigerian Civil War - DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetStarsLyle TalbotJune DuprezVictor VarconiThe British Commandos send Bob Owen (Lyle Talbot) to Norway to prepare for a raid. His mission also includes freeing General Heden (Paul Baratoff) who is being held by the Nazis. His aides include Eric Falken (George Nesie) and Harry (Charles Rogers). Inga (June Duprez), a Norwegian girl to whom Falken was once engaged but who has become the sweetheart of Oberst Von Ritter (Victor Varconi), betrays their hiding place. The three overpower the Gestapo men sent after them, take their uniforms and enter the prison camp and free Heden. The four men then start for the coast to meet the Commando expedition. Inga, who the men still trust, again informs von Ritter and Falken is captured but Bob and Harry escape with the aid of Dalberg, who they thought was a Quisling stooge.3.5/5
World War II - Europe - DirectorAleksey BalabanovStarsAleksey ChadovIan KellyIngeborga DapkunaiteDuring the bloody war in Chechnya, a British couple and two Russian soldiers are taken hostage by Chechen rebels. Two of the hostages are then released to bring the money for the British woman who is forced to wait for the ransom.3.5/5
Second Chechen War - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.3/5
World War II - Europe - DirectorTao HaiWei LiGuoqiang TangStarsJackie ChanWinston ChaoBingbing LiA historical drama based on the founding of the Republic of China when nationalist forces led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty.3/5
Xinhai Revolution - DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsNicolas CageTom SizemoreThomas JaneDuring World War II, an American navy ship is sunk by a Japanese submarine leaving 890 crewmen stranded in shark infested waters.3/5
World War II - Pacific - DirectorMike McCoyScott WaughStarsAlex VeadovRoselyn SanchezNestor SerranoAn elite team of Navy SEALs embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.3/5
U.S. Special Forces Missions - DirectorPeter MacDonaldStarsJean-Claude Van DammeAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeSteven BerkoffAlain is a boxer in 1925 Marseille, France. When he doesn't take the dive paid to take by a mob boss, he has to split. He joins the Foreign Legion and is sent to Morocco. He makes 3 friends and they watch each other's backs.3/5
Rif War - DirectorUwe BollStarsKristanna LokenDavid O'HaraNoah Dalton DanbyAmerican journalists in Sudan are confronted with the dilemma of whether to return home to report on the atrocities they have seen, or to stay behind and help some of the victims they have encountered.2.5/5
War In Darfur - DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.2.5/5
Lebanon War - DirectorWerner HerzogStarsChristian BaleSteve ZahnJeremy DaviesA U.S. fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.2.5/5
Vietnam War - DirectorKaren ShakhnazarovStarsAleksey VertkovVitaliy KishchenkoValeriy GrishkoGreat Patriotic War, early 1940s. After barely surviving a battle with a mysterious, ghostly-white Tiger tank, Red Army Sergeant Ivan Naydenov becomes obsessed with its destruction.2.5/5
World War II - Europe - DirectorKen LoachStarsCillian MurphyPádraic DelaneyLiam CunninghamAgainst the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, two brothers fight a guerrilla war against British forces.2.5/5
Irish War Of Independence - DirectorTerrence MalickStarsJim CaviezelSean PennNick NolteAdaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.2.5/5
World War II - Pacific - DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.2.5/5
Iraq War - DirectorKen KennedyStarsJim DavisDon 'Red' BarryMargo WoodeDuring the Korean War, a small squad of American soldiers is sent to destroy a hidden North Korean mortar position and runs into a stranded ambulance driven by an American nurse.2.5/5
Korean War - DirectorJohn MooreStarsGene HackmanOwen WilsonGabriel MachtA disillusioned pilot shot down over war-torn Bosnia goes on the run from the local military and an assassin, as his commanding officer risks all to save him.2/5
Bosnian War - DirectorFred Olen RayStarsSteven SeagalRob Van DamTim AbellWhen the mission to rescue a U.S. Congressman who has been kidnapped by the Taliban goes sideways, Army sniper and his partner are left behind. Now, they must survive in enemy territory and wait for their unit to come back for them.2/5
Afghanistan War - DirectorUwe BollStarsMichael ParéWilson BethelMitch EakinsHalfway into the Vietnam War (1959-1975), a special US combat unit is sent to hunt and kill the Viet Cong soldiers in man-to-man combat in the endless tunnels underneath the jungle of Vietnam.1.5/5
Vietnam War - DirectorCraig R. BaxleyStarsTom BerengerBokeem WoodbineErika MarozsánSgt. Beckett's last mission sends him to a remote war-torn wasteland between Eastern Europe and Asia to assassinate a repressive terrorist leader. Once the job is done, Beckett and his spotter find escaping more difficult than anticipated.1/5
U.S. Special Forces Missions