Top 10 military movies you must watch this weekend
These military movies will shake you to your core, and remind you that humanity is capable of being messy and violent just as frequently as it is brave and valorous
Military movies are among the most morally sticky films produced in Hollywood. While most of them go out of their way to reveal the violence and bloodshed that comes with any armed conflict, many can’t help but valorise the men and women who fight in these wars.
As a result, many war movies end up glorifying war even if the creative voices behind the project didn’t intend them to. In a great war movie, though, moral questions are never easily answered.
If you want the best of action military movies to spice up your weekend, check out our list below:
1. The Outpost
The Outpost is about how a small group of U.S. Army soldiers find themselves severely outnumbered, becoming increasingly outgunned.
And ceding the higher ground to Taliban forces during the Battle of Kamdesh, the bloodiest engagement of the Afghanistan War, in The Outpost, arguably the most lauded war biodrama of the Pandemic Summer — this summer’s only war biodrama, in fact.
2. We were soldiers
We Were Soldiers is a 2002 war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson.
Based on the book We Were Soldiers Once… and Young (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway, it dramatizes the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965.
3. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (also known simply as 13 Hours) is a 2016 American biographical action-thriller film directed and produced by Michael Bay and written by Chuck Hogan; based on Mitchell Zuckoff’s 2014 book of the same name.
The film follows six members of the Annex Security Team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya after waves of attacks by militants on September 11, 2012.
4. Platoon
Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone, starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Keith David, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Forest Whitaker, and Johnny Depp. It is the first film of a trilogy of Vietnam War films directed by Stone, followed by Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven & Earth (1993).
The film, based on Stone’s experience from the war, follows a U.S. Army volunteer (Sheen) serving in Vietnam while his Platoon Sergeant and his Squad Leader (Berenger and Dafoe) argue over the morality in the platoon and of the war itself.
5. Midway
Midway is a 2019 war film about the Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The film was directed by Roland Emmerich, who also produced the film with Harald Kloser, and was written by Wes Tooke.
The film stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Tadanobu Asano, Darren Criss, and Woody Harrelson.
6. Lone Survivor
Lone Survivor is a 2013 American biographical war film based on the 2007 nonfiction book of the same name by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson.
Set during the war in Afghanistan, it dramatizes the unsuccessful United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission Operation Red Wings, during which a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team was given the task of tracking down the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah.
The film was written and directed by Peter Berg and stars Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana.
7. Hacksaw Ridge
Hacksaw Ridge is a 2016 biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector directed by Terry Benedict.
The film focuses on the World War II experiences of Desmond Doss, an American pacifist combat medic who, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, refused to carry or use a weapon or firearm of any kind. Doss became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor, for service above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle of Okinawa. Andrew Garfield stars as Doss, with Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, and Vince Vaughn in supporting roles.
8. 12 Strong
12 Strong (also known as 12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers) is a 2018 American action-war film directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and written by Ted Tally and Peter Craig.
The film is based on Doug Stanton’s non-fiction book Horse Soldiers, which tells the story of U.S. Army Special Forces sent to Afghanistan immediately after the September 11 attacks. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, Ben O’Toole, William Fichtner, and Rob Riggle.
Principal photography began in January 2017 in New Mexico. The film was released in the United States on January 19, 2018 by Warner Bros. Pictures, in standard and IMAX theaters. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast and action but criticized the by-the-numbers execution and lack of hindsight of the War in Afghanistan.
9. Fury
Fury is a 2014 American war film written and directed by David Ayer, and starring Brad Pitt in the lead role, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs and Scott Eastwood.
The film portrays US tank crews fighting in Germany during the final weeks of the European theater of World War II. Ayer was influenced by the service of veterans in his family and by reading books such as Belton Y. Cooper’s Death Traps, about American armored units in World War II and the high casualty rates suffered by tank crews in Europe.
10. Black Hawk Down
Black Hawk Down is a 2001 war film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, and co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, from a screenplay by Ken Nolan. It is based on the 1999 non-fiction book of the same name by journalist Mark Bowden, about the U.S. military’s 1993 raid in Mogadishu.
The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Sam Shepard, Jeremy Piven, Ioan Gruffudd, Ewen Bremner, Hugh Dancy, and Tom Hardy in his first film role. Orlando Bloom, Ty Burrell, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau also have minor roles.
Asaase Radio 99.5 broadcasts on radio via 99.5 in Accra, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 100.3 in Cape Coast and on our affiliates Bawku FM 101.5 in Bawku, Beats FM 99.9 in Bimbilla, Somua FM 89.9 in Gushegu, Stone City 90.7 in Ho, Mining City 89.5 in Tarkwa and Wale FM 106.9 in Walewale
Tune in or log on to broadcasts online: www.asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
Live streaming: facebook.com/asaaseradio99.5. Also on YouTube: Asaase Radio Official.
Join the conversation. Call: 020 000 9951 or 059 415 7777. Or WhatsApp: 020 000 0995.
#AsaaseRadio
