The Best War Movie From Every Year of the 2010s (2024)

War movies can be some of the most harrowing pieces of media. Seen on the big or small screen, they can have the incredible ability to transport their audiences to the battlefield and give them that sensation of overwhelming terror the characters are experiencing on screen. Whether based on real-life events or a fictionalized narrative, they have the potential to captivate an audience, break their hearts, or leave them watching the film through their fingers at the sheer brutality. But despite their usual graphic tone, they are one of the most important genres and a powerful way to represent the horror that is war.

There are those out there so difficult to sit through that people have aborted the movie less than five minutes in due to the unwavering graphic nature; Saving Private Ryan will undoubtedly have just sprung to the minds of many. But even though they can be challenging to get through, there's no denying how incredible they can be at the same time. War films tend to be some of the most successful when done justice. While many of the most notable arguably belong to the 20th century, the 21st, specifically between 2010 and 2019, has provided some of the highest-praised movies in the genre in recent years. From 2016's Hacksaw Ridge to 2011's War Horse, these ten additions to the genre have rightfully earned the acclaim they've received.

10 'Beneath Hill 60' (2010)

Directed by Jeremy Hartley Sims

This low-budget Australian war film is one of the best of its kind. It is based on the book titled Beneath Hill 60: The Extraordinary True Story of the Secret War Being Waged Beneath the Trenches of the Western Front and takes viewers on a journey back in time to 1916 with the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company.

The film centers on the company of civilian miners who trade what they know to head into the depths of war with just two weeks of preparation under their belts. As untrained soldiers, they are thrown into the thick of it in an incredible true story whose participants didn't get the recognition they deserved, and thanks to a very limited release, neither did the film. Gutwrenching performances from those involved, stunning direction, and awe-dropping cinematography make this underrated war retelling something everyone should see.

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9 'War Horse' (2011)

Directed by Stephen Spielberg

Stephen Spielberg is one of the best filmmakers of the last fifty years. Movies like Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, E.T., and Schindler's List are some of his most iconic directorial features. In 2011, he added another stellar, visually stunning film to his list of ever-growing success stories. War Horse is a book, a play, and a movie, and they're all just as incredibly phenomenal as each other.

War Horse takes place during the tragedies of the First World War and centers on an Irish hunter-horse bought by the British Army to become one of over eight million horses forced to serve in WWI. Joey is his name, and this incredible story is capable of bringing a tear to the eye on multiple occasions. The multi-Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA-nominated film has visually stunning cinematography, phenomenal sound design, and visual effects, rightfully earning its place as the Best Film of 2011, according to the American Film Institute.

War Horse

PG-13

Drama

Documentary

War

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Not available

Release Date

December 25, 2011

Director

Steven Spielberg

Cast

Emily Watson , Toby Kebbell , Benedict Cumberbatch , David Thewlis , Tom Hiddleston , Eddie Marsan

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Runtime

146

8 'Zero Dark Thirty' (2012)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Appearing on almost one hundred critics' top ten lists in the year of its release, Zero Dark Thirty is one of the most successful war films of the 2010s and, arguably, the 21st century as a whole. However, it is also criminally underrated at the same time.

The film's ensemble cast consists of many big names in the movie industry, including Jason Clarke, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong, John Barrowman, Jessica Chastain, Kyle Chandler, and around two dozen other incredible actors, as they tell a dramatized account of the infamous national manhunt for Osama bin Laden following the 2001 9/11 attacks. Spine-chilling visuals, powerful performances, and a level of intensity that radiates through the screen make the multi-Academy and Golden Globe-nominated Zero Dark Thirty a captivating film from start to finish, and it'll have viewers on the edge of their seats as soon as that play button is pressed.

Zero Dark Thirty

R

Drama

Documentary

History

Thriller

Release Date

December 19, 2012

Director

Kathryn Bigelow

Cast

Jason Clarke , Reda Kateb , Jessica Chastain , Kyle Chandler , Jennifer Ehle , Harold Perrineau

Runtime

157

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7 'Lone Survivor' (2013)

Directed by Peter Berg

Lone Survivor is a 2013 true story epic that stars Mark Wahlberg as a man by the name of Marcus Luttrell. The biopic depicts a dramatized retelling of Operation Red Wings, a failed Navy SEAL counter-insurgent mission that proved unsuccessful in tracking down the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. Of the four-man surveillance and reconnaissance team sent on the mission, Luttrell was the only one to survive.

Alongside Wahlberg are Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, and Taylor Kitsch, the team's other members who were killed during the mission. Lone Survivor is based on the book of the same name written by Luttrell and Patrick Robbinson, and the adaptation was praised highly for its performances, visuals, and storytelling. It's an edge-of-your-seat watch that'll have audiences feeling anxious and did a brilliant job of depicting sheer hopelessness in such a dire situation, thanks to the performances of its actors.

Lone Survivor

R

Action

Documentary

Drama

Thriller

War

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Not available

Release Date

December 24, 2013

Director

Peter Berg

Cast

Mark Wahlberg , Taylor Kitsch , Emile Hirsch , Ben Foster , Yousuf Azami , Ali Suliman

Runtime

121

6 'American Sniper' (2014)

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood is no stranger to successful Western epics, and while some of them have an element of war to them, he delved headfirst into the genre in 2014 with the release of American Sniper, which became his highest-grossing movie to date. Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle in one of his least talked-about incredible performances in the biographical war drama about Kyle's time as the U.S. military's deadliest marksman in history.

The movie depicts the time Kyle spent at war in Iraq and the toll that 225 sniper deaths took on him as a human being. Cooper's emotional performance gripped the audience from the moment they pressed play. It's arguably not a story as well-known as some of the other war films out there. However, its storytelling, sound design, performances, and visuals are a big part of its success and the six-time Oscar-nominated film it became.

American Sniper

R

Action

War

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Release Date

December 25, 2014

Director

Clint Eastwood

Cast

Bradley Cooper , Sienna Miller , E.R. Ruiz , Luke Grimes , Jake McDorman , Max Charles

Runtime

132

5 'Max' (2015)

Directed by Boaz Yakin

Max is an underrated war movie that showcases a different kind of hero in war. When his handler is killed in action and he is injured, Max, a Belgian Malinois dog who assists Marines in Afghanistan, is sent to live with his fallen handler's family but finds it hard to adjust to the change, as some soldiers can experience after returning home.

The film is an emotional depiction of the bond between K9 and the handler and the post-traumatic stress disorder that dogs can experience following trauma. While the developing bond between Max and his handler's brother is a focal point of the film, it becomes much more intense when the truth behind his death and a cartel connection bubble to the surface. Storytelling at its underrated finest, Max is a film with much more than meets the eye.

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4 'Hacksaw Ridge' (2016)

Directed by Mel Gibson

Hacksaw Ridge is one of the most historically accurate war films of the last ten years. It tells the incredible true story of a man named Desmond Doss, played by Andrew Garfield in one of his most phenomenal performances. He served as a medic during World War II, saving more lives than humanly possible, all without bearing arms.

Ridiculed, belittled, and beaten by those he served with, Doss' superiors did everything they could to get him out of the Army. Resilient, determined, and one of the bravest human beings, Desmond Doss single-handedly saved the lives of a remarkable seventy-five people during a relentless twelve-hour fight for survival on Hacksaw Ridge. The movie contains one of the most harrowingly accurate depictions of war, the brutality it withholds, and a brilliant tribute to one of WWII's notable heroes.

Hacksaw Ridge

R

Drama

Biography

History

War

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

• stream
• rent
• buy

Release Date

November 4, 2016

Director

Mel Gibson

Cast

Andrew Garfield , Richard Pyros , Jacob Warner , Milo Gibson , Darcy Bryce , Roman Guerriero

Runtime

139 minutes

3 'Dunkirk' (2017)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Between May 26th and June 4th, 1940, a huge operation occurred as part of a mission to evacuate over 338,000 Allied soldiers during World War II from France's beaches of Dunkirk as a result of the Battle of France.

Told from the points of view of sea, land, and air, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is one of the most visually transporting pieces of media in recent years. Relying more on visual storytelling than verbal, Dunkirk tells the WWII evacuation story with little to no dialogue, which is incredibly effective in building unease and uncertainty to depict the suspense emitting from the screen. It was the most commercially successful film of the WWII subgenre for six years until last year's near-$1 billion Oppenheimer, also from Nolan's direction, claimed the crown, but it will remain one of the best for years to come.

Dunkirk

PG-13

Drama

Action

History

Thriller

War

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

• stream
• rent
• buy

Release Date

July 19, 2017

Director

Christopher Nolan

Cast

Tom Hardy , Cillian Murphy , Kenneth Branagh , Mark Rylance , Harry Styles , James D'Arcy

Runtime

107 minutes

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2 'Operation Red Sea' (2018)

Directed by Dante Lam

Somewhat inspired by real-life events that took place during the ongoing civil war in Yemen in 2015, 2018's Chinese-Hong Kong war film Operation Red Sea tells a dramatized version of the events that occurred at the time when nearly 600 people were uprooted from the southern port of Aden.

The film is chock full of action and barely takes a moment for the viewers to breathe as they are thrust into the world of the Yemeni civil war and the fight to save the hostages and bring the soldiers home safely. Some incredibly impressive action sequences and unwaveringly brutal depictions of the time keep audiences hooked and unnerved as to what could be coming at any minute. It's a brilliant thriller-war film and deserves to be seen by more people from around the world.

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1 '1917' (2019)

Directed by Sam Mendes

1917 is one of the best WWI movies ever made, in the eyes of many film enthusiasts. Director Sam Mendes has said that the film is somewhat inspired by real stories told to him by his paternal grandfather. The film primarily centers on two British soldiers serving in the titular year of 1917 as they traverse the treacherous battlefields with the goal of delivering some important information.

Nominated for a whopping 162 awards, including ten Academy Awards, of which it won three, 1917 is an incredible addition to World War I movies and proudly sits as one of the highest praises of the last decade. Breathtaking cinematography and visual effects prove how deserving this film is of its countless accolades, and it's not hard to see why it was nominated for Best Picture at the 92nd Oscars.

1917

R

Drama

Biography

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

• stream
• rent
• buy

Release Date

December 25, 2019

Director

Sam Mendes

Cast

Andrew Scott , Richard Madden , Benedict Cumberbatch , Mark Strong , Colin Firth , Teresa Mahoney

Runtime

110

NEXT: The 21 Best War Movies of the 21st Century (So Far)