11 Best Modern Military Films of the 21st Century

Whether you're looking for something to entertain you, or something to make you reflect on how war is an unnatural and terrible phenomenon, we suggest you check out some of the great war movies of the 21st century. From stories about the heroes of WWII to the heroes of modern warfare, from criticism of the modern army and the political games that only lead to sorrow, to the experience of a pacifist man who refused to bear arms throughout the whole war. Without further ado, let's take a look at the list of the 11 best modern military films.

11 Great Military Movies Everyone Should Watch

11. Zero Dark Thirty (2012, IMDB rating: 7.4/10)

10. 12 Strong (2018, IMDB rating: 6.5/10)

9. Act of Valor (2012, IMDB rating: 6.4/10)

8. Jarhead (2005, IMDB rating: 7.0/10)

7. We Were Soldiers (2002, IMDB rating: 7.2/10)

6. The Hurt Locker (2008, IMDB rating: 7.6/10)

5. Lone Survivor (2013, IMDB rating: 7.5/10)

4. Fury (2014, IMDB rating: 7.6/10)

3. Black Hawk Down (2001, IMDB rating: 7.7/10)

2. Hacksaw Ridge (2016, IMDB rating: 8.1/10)

1. Band of Brothers (2001, IMDB rating: 9.4/10)

From stories of valor and dignity to meditations on the horrors of war, the military movies have one thing in common: war never changes and never causes anything but suffering. But let's be honest, despite their gruesome subject matter, modern military movies never fail to bore us, as they are always stories that are hard to look away from, and it's not just our depravity due to our love of violence on the big and small screens. We all just love human drama paired with action-packed storytelling and epic cinematography.

As eagle-eyed readers may have noticed, one of the projects listed above doesn't technically fit on the list because it's a TV series rather than a feature film. Yes, we're talking about HBO's Band of Brothers, executive produced by none other than Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

However, it's important to note that Band of Brothers is really worth making an exception for, because when it came out in 2001, it set an incredibly high standard for war dramas (both serialized and feature-length) that not many projects have been able to match since.

Gorgeous cinematography, respect for historical sources and eyewitness accounts of events from Normandy to Bavaria, a deeply moving story of the heroism of the soldiers of 'Easy' Company, and most importantly, an unapologetic message about the terrible tragedy that is war. Each episode reveals the story of one of the soldiers, presented in part as an anthology, and as a result we can safely place Band of Brothers in the top tier of the best military dramas of the 21st century.