10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (2025)

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (1)

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (2)

Every decade, Hollywood finds new ways to one up itself in every genre, with movies only getting bigger and better as time goes on. With each passing decade, production value and film techniques improve, making for more epic pictures, but also more emotionally moving ones. Of course though, there are still some timeless classics that have outlived even some of the more modern flops.

During the 2000s, many war films came out that utilized all the technology available to them during the new millennium, telling exhilirating stories of bravery and valour during multiple points in history. Even if the plotlines of many of these movies vary, they all have one thing in common: they are the best war movies of the 2000s, films that simply must be watched in order not just to understand war, but to understand the genre as a whole.

10 '300' (2007)

Directed by Zack Snyder

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (3)

300 takes place 2,500 years ago, during the Greco-Persian Wars. During the Persian invasion, King Leonidas I of Sparta led a contingent of just 300 Spartans warriors in a sacrificial mission to delay the invaders and buy time for the rest of Greece to prepare for war. During the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas and all of his men were killed, though this sacrifice was crucial to the later Greek victory. This extraordinary tale was captured in a graphic novel by Frank Miller, which later made its way into cinema, with Leonidas being played by Gerard Butler.

300 isn't just thrilling, but it's rather artistic with its exceptionally unique cinematography and production value. The chaos of battle becomes diluted as things centre on one point of view and are slowed down, bringing the viewer closer to the carnage and allowing them to grasp it in further detail. 300 may not be the best war movie ever made by a longshot, but this swords-and-sandals epic tells are remarkable tale from an age long past in a whole new way.

8.5/10

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (4)

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300

R

Action

Drama

History

Release Date
March 9, 2007

Runtime
117 minutes
Cast
Vincent Regan, Giovanni Cimmino, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Gerard Butler, Dominic West

Director
Zack Snyder

Writers
Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon
Sequel(s)
300: Rise of an Empire
Franchise(s)
300
Main Genre
Action

Budget
$65 million

Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (5)

9 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (6)

Inglourious Basterds is an alternate history flick set during World War II. The movie's plot is entirely fictional, but explores a daring operation to assassinate Adolf Hitler and bring the war to an end. Assigned to the task is a group of misfit, rough-and-tumble soldiers with a propensity for violence. Much of the film is action and comedy oriented, but that doesn't detract from the overall quality of it, or the performances of its star-studded cast.

The movie was nominated for nine Oscars, yet shockingly only managed to win one of them for Christoph Waltz as Best Supporting Actor. But to be fair, this was totally warranted, as Waltz does a phenomenal job as Hans Lanza, the film's antagonist. If you're looking for a war movie that is a little more "out there" than traditional wartime dramas or films that are grounded in reality, this should be your number one pick.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (7)
Inglourious Basterds

R

Drama

War

Adventure

Release Date
August 21, 2009

Runtime
153 minutes
Cast
Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger
Director
Quentin Tarantino
Writers
Quentin Tarantino

Main Genre
War

Budget
$70 million
Studio(s)
Universal Pictures
Distributor(s)
Universal Pictures
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (8)

8 'Downfall' (2004)

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (9)

Downfall is a German biopic about Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, the man responsible for initiating the Second World War. During the final days of the Third Reich, as the Eastern Allies approach Berlin, and the Western Allies cut off any escape, Hitler finds himself caught in a vice, anxiously awaiting the fall of his regime, and the failure of his twisted vision for a "greater" Germany. Though Hitler was unquestionably evil, and many can rub their hands with glee at seeing the man become desparate and increasingly hopeless, there is no denying how stellar Bruno Ganz's portrayal of the dictator is.

Ganz perfectly embodies the outward anger, hatred, and paranoia that Hitler was known for, finally allowing moviegoers to understand who Hitler truly was and why he was definitely one of the most evil people to ever walk the Earth. The wartime drama doesn't beg for sympathy for the Nazis, rather, it presents itself as an informative piece, showing things exactly how they were while allowing the audience to formulate their own opinions on the matter. Of course, the vast majority of people can all agree that Hitler was awful.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (10)
Downfall

R

Drama

History

War

Release Date
September 16, 2004

Runtime
155 minutes
Cast
Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Thomas Kretschmann, Ulrich Noethen, Birgit Minichmayr, Rolf Kanies, Justus von Dohnányi, Michael Mendl, André Hennicke, Christian Redl, Götz Otto, Thomas Limpinsel, Thomas Thieme, Donevan Gunia, Matthias Habich, Alexander Held, Devid Striesow, Dieter Mann, Bettina Redlich, Heinrich Schmieder

Director
Oliver Hirschbiegel

Producers
Bernd Eichinger

Character(s)
Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler, Magda Goebbels, Joseph Goebbels, Eva Braun, Albert Speer, Prof. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck, SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, Gerda Christian, General der Infanterie Hans Krebs, General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf, General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling, SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke, Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche, Kammerdiener Heinz Linge, Martin Bormann, Peter Kranz, Prof. Dr. Werner Haase, Walter Hewel, Feldwebel Tornow, Feldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, Frl. Constanze Manziarly, Rochus Misch
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (11)

7 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' (2003)

Directed by Peter Weir

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (12)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is set during the 19th Century, during the global conflict known as the Napoleonic Wars. During the naval campaign of these wars, off the coast of South America, real-life British sea captain Jack Audrey (Russell Crowe) becomes hellbent on chasing down a French vessel, pushing his wooden vessel and his terrified crew to their extremes in order to see his mission through.

Master and Commander received ten Oscar nominations, winning two for Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing. Its scenes of naval warfare are truly exciting, making a point in history that many find dull feel so much fresher. Though there were obviously some deviations from the novel upon which the movie was initially based, it is endlessly entertaining and makes use of every cent of its production value, with not a penny gone to waste.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (13)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Release Date
November 14, 2003

Stream

WHERE TO WATCH

RENT

BUY

Cast
Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, Edward Woodall, Chris Larkin, Max Pirkis

Runtime
138 minutes
Director
Peter Weir
Writers
Patrick O'Brian, Peter Weir, John Collee
Main Genre
Adventure
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (20)

6 'Waltz with Bashir' (2008)

Directed by Ari Folman

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (21)

Waltz with Bashir is an animated war docudrama that is both written and directed by Ari Folman, who also stars as himself in the leading role. The movie is based on Folman's personal experiences serving in the military during the 1982 Lebanon War, and his disillusionment with the army and with his country following the massacre of innocent civilians that he witnesses firsthand. Much of the film centres on Ari's life after the war, decades later, as he finds himself plagued by horrifying memories and distressing flashbacks.

This film is largely about the psychological toll that war can have on an individual, and how it can distort everything they once thought or believed in and lead to them questioning their entire lives up to that point. Folman exposes the raw details of his journey to recovery, exploring his search for guidance, belonging, and psychological help in the decades following his traumatic experiences. Very few movies have ever presented such a story in such a forthright way, especially with the film's director taking on multiple roles to ensure that his vision matched how he really felt.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (22)
Waltz with Bashir

R

Documentary

Animation

Biography

Drama

War

Release Date
June 12, 2008

Runtime
90 Minutes

Cast
Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ari Folman, Dror Harazi, Yehezkel Lazarov, Mickey Leon

Director
Ari Folman

Writers
Ari Folman

Main Genre
Documentary
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (23)

5 'Hotel Rwanda' (2004)

Directed by Terry George

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (24)

Hotel Rwanda is set during the Rwandan Civil War and concurrent Rwandan genocide, a campaign of slaughter led by Hutu insurgents against the minority Tutsi and Twa people. Amidst the darkest time in Rwandan history, hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who is half Hutu and half Tutsi, feels at risk due to the conflict and decides to provide humanitarian relief by opening his hotel as a sort of safehouse for refugees.

Don Cheadle plays Rusesabagina in this true story of heroism and sacrifice in one of the worst genocides of the last 50 years, and really brings his a-game. Hotel Rwanda kind of tiptoed around showing too much violence in the film, but that's okay because it's largely about Rusesabagina's personal courage and how he secretly fought for what was right without physically fighting. This touching war drama is so necessary to watch because it draws attention to a very important genocide that is often overlooked, yet must never be forgotten.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (25)
Hotel Rwanda

PG-13

Biography

Drama

History

War

Release Date
February 4, 2005

Runtime
121 Minutes
Cast
Xolani Mali, Don Cheadle, Desmond Dube, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Tony Kgoroge, Rosie Motene

Director
Terry George

Writers
Keir Pearson, Terry George

Main Genre
Biography
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (26)

4 'Letters from Iwo Jima' (2006)

Directed by Clint Eastwood

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (27)

Letters from Iwo Jima may be an American film, but it takes the unorthodox approach by centring on the losing side of the Battle of Iwo Jima, that of the Japanese. During the Pacific Theatre of World War II, in the weeks following Nazi Germany's surrender, American forces assaulted the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, which were two of the last battles fought during the war. The Americans won both battles, but they were hard-fought victories.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a surprisingly compassionate movie, focusing on the human aspect of war, and lending a hand to a fallen enemy from decades ago, allowing them to tell their stories of the conflict. The movie emphasizes how anyone in war, regardless of affiliation is capable of good and evil, and that most times, it is the tyrannical regimes they work for that is responsible for the chaos, and that it is not the fault of the common man who was forced to join the war effort. Letters from Iwo Jima showed how many of the Japanese soldiers were just like the Americans--many of them may not have necessarily believed in the cause, but were there because they had no choice, and wanted nothing more than to go home and see their families again. It is a painful, emotionally moving film that scarcely gets the attention that it deserves.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (28)
Letters from Iwo Jima

R

Drama

Action

Adventure

Release Date
February 2, 2007

Runtime
141 Minutes
Cast
Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe, Takumi Bando, Yuki Matsuzaki
Director
Clint Eastwood

Writers
Iris Yamashita, Paul Haggis, Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Tsuyoko Yoshido

Producers
Paul Haggis, Robert Lorenz

Main Genre
Drama

Character(s)
Private Saigo, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Colonel Baron Nishi, Private Shimizu, Lieutenant Ito, Lieutenant Fujita, Captain Tanida, Private Nozaki, Kashiwara, Lieutenant Okubo, Hanako, Admiral Ohsugi, Sam, Medic Endo, Kanda, Lt. Colonel Oiso, Captain Iwasaki, Colonel Adachi, Maj. General Hayashi, Ozawa, Lead Woman, Admiral Ichimaru, American Officer, Officer's Wife, Marine at Clearing
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (29)

3 'Black Hawk Down' (2001)

Directed by Ridley Scott

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (30)

Black Hawk Down is set at the height of the ongoing Somali Civil War in 1993. During this period of turmoil, a task force of American special forces units are sent into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture the advisors of ruthless Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, who has been intercepting care packages and aid drops meant for the Somali populace. What should be a quick snatch-and-grab spirals out of control when an American helicopter is shot down, and Aidid's forces swarm the crash site, turning what was supposed to be a 30-minute operation into a nearly 24-hour long standoff that would later become known as the Battle of Mogadishu.

Though insurgent forces suffered heavier losses, the battle was a disaster for Allied troops, and proved to be the catalyst that would prompt the American military to leave Somalia. Black Hawk Down details the gritty details of this nightmarish firefight, showing the chaos and brutality of combat in jarring detail, and showing how each attempted action at salvaging the operation only makes things worse in the long run. It's a thrilling, tense movie that is action-packed from start to finish, making it easily the most exhilirating war movie ever made.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (31)
Black Hawk Down

R

War

Drama

History

Release Date
January 18, 2002

Runtime
144 minutes
Cast
Jason Isaacs, Eric Bana, Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Tom Hardy, Hugh Dancy, Orlando Bloom
Director
Ridley Scott

Writers
Ken Nolan

Cinematographer
Slawomir Idziak

Producer
Ridley Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer

Production Company
Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Revolution Studios, Scott Free Productions

Sfx Supervisor
Tim Burke, Neil Corbould

Budget
$92 million
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (32)

2 'The Hurt Locker' (2008)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (33)

The Hurt Locker takes place during the Iraq War, following an American squadron who has lost their bomb disposal technician. As a replacement, Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) is brought in, who is a lot more abrasive and a bit more of a loose cannon than his predecessor, often finding himself at odds with the squad he works with. As such, much of the movie shows what bomb disposal is like, and how insurgents in Iraq often utilize improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, to inflict the most amount of damage possible.

The Hurt Locker is director Kathryn Bigelow's magnum opus, and was what propelled her to be the first woman in history to ever win the Oscar for Best Director. This is an award that she absolutely earns, as The Hurt Locker is not only thrilling, but eye-opening, showing viewers just what was going on during the Iraq War, which was really not that long ago. It is a movie that simply must be seen in order to grasp it in all of its glory.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (34)
The Hurt Locker

R

Thriller

War

Drama

Release Date
July 31, 2009

Runtime
131 minutes
Cast
Jeremy Renner, David Morse, Guy Pearce, Anthony Mackie, Ralph Fiennes, Christian Camargo, Evangeline Lilly, Brian Geraghty
Director
Kathryn Bigelow

Writers
Mark Boal

Budget
$15 million

Studio(s)
Summit Entertainment

Distributor(s)
Summit Entertainment
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (35)

1 'The Pianist' (2002)

Directed by Roman Polanski

10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (36)

The Pianist is a biopic set during the Holocaust, following the life of Polish piano player Władysław Szpilman, played by Adrien Brody, in a role that even Brody had a hard time playing due to how emotionally taxing it was, even if the movie did win him an Oscar. Szpilman being Polish automatically put him on the Nazis' radar, as they were intent on exterminating Slavic people during the genocide, but he was also Jewish, putting him in an extremely dangerous situation when the Nazis invade his homeland in the early days of the war.

The Pianist allows viewers to witness the nightmare that Szpilman had to endure just to survive the Nazis' rule, which, needless to say, is extremely depressing to watch. The Pianist is a movie that simply must be watched, because it is by far one of the finest movies of the decade, helping audiences grasp the evil that was the Third Reich, making sure that the history remains fresh in viewers' minds, so that this sort of thing never happens again.

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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (37)
The Pianist

R

Biography

Drama

Music

Release Date
March 28, 2003

Runtime
150 Minutes
Cast
Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox, Michal Zebrowski, Ed Stoppard, Maureen Lipman, Jessica Kate Meyer

Director
Roman Polanski

Writers
Ronald Harwood, Wladyslaw Szpilman

Main Genre
Biography

Character(s)
Wladyslaw Szpilman, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, Father, Dorota, Jurek, Henryk, Mother, Halina
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10 Essential War Movies of the 2000s, Ranked (38)

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