Alex Garland’s Warfare is the director’s latest entry in his string of violent anti-war movies, following on from Civil War last year. The project follows a group of young Navy SEALS fighting in the Iraq War, where their recon mission goes horribly wrong and they’re forced to reckon with the consequences of their own violence. Warfare centers around the real-life Battle of Ramadi, with the narrative unfolding in real-time as the conflict happens.

For those who enjoyed Warfare and are seeking another project that questions the politics and ethics of war in a similar way, there are countless examples that Garland’s movie both draws inspiration from and subtly references in his own. Warfare’s bleak ending is reminiscent of the most distressing anti-war movies ever made, many of which center around Iraq and similar conflicts.

10

American Sniper (2014)

Directed By Clint Eastwood

Although Clint Eastwood is best known for his work in the Western genre, his 2014 action movie about a skilled US sniper during the Iraq War is one of the filmmaker’s most engaging and powerful projects to date. The story follows the real-life career of Chris Kyle, who is widely regarded as one of the most talented snipers in US military history – although his experiences in the war caused psychological damage that Eastwood explores in this heartbreaking drama. Just like Warfare, this project explores just how damaging and traumatic the concept of war can be – from a very human perspective.

9

Man Behind The Sun (1988)

Directed By Mou Tun-Fei

Man Behind The Sun is often cited among the most realistic war movies ever made, which also makes it one of the most distressing and impactful. The film graphically depicts the violent crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, including illegal experiments with biological warfare on civilians.

It’s a much more personal and intimate story than most other war movies, focusing on the real-life characters who were affected by these crimes rather than the political state of the war as a whole. Director Tun-Fei does an incredible job of making his characters feel real and authentic.

8

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Directed By Kathryn Bigelow

The Iraq War was an extremely polarizing conflict, and it has been explored thoroughly in American cinema in the years that followed. Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker is one of the most interrogative examples, following the leader of a bomb disposal team whose experiences in Iraq cause him to question the authority of those who sent him there. Like Warfare, it’s a very important story about how soldiers can become disillusioned with their own beliefs when faced with the unjust consequences of war.

7

Civil War (2024)

Directed By Alex Garland

Warfare and Civil War seem like obvious comparisons given their shared director, but there’s also a thematic depth that runs through both projects. While Civil War focuses on war journalism and questions the morality of those who treat conflict as an opportunity rather than a necessity, Warfare centers instead on the soldiers themselves – but its interrogation of their beliefs is just as fierce.

Civil War lacks the real-world authenticity of Warfare and other great movies about the Iraq War. That said, it’s still a very strong drama that has a lot to say about politics and ethics.

6

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Directed By Kathryn Bigelow

Bigelow’s immediate follow-up to her Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker was Zero Dark Thirty, another film about the complex morality of war. The narrative centers around a CIA analyst named Maya and her team, who are tasked with hunting down those involved with the September 11 attacks in New York City. The film is a very methodical, slow-paced drama that gives its characters plenty of time to reckon with the effects of their mission, proving to the audience just how complex and murky the politics of warfare can be.

5

Platoon (1986)

Directed By Oliver Stone

Acclaimed filmmaker Oliver Stone is no stranger to making movies about complex and polarizing topics, but Platoon is one of his most straightforward projects to date. A scathing anti-war film that brings into question the American involvement in the Vietnam War, this story follows a group of soldiers who witness terrible suffering in the jungle and quickly become jaded about their mission. Platoon is one of the highest-grossing war movies of all time, and its anti-war politics were clearly an inspiration for projects like Warfare in their unrelenting depiction of trauma and psychological torment.

4

All Quiet On The Western Front (2022)

Directed By Edward Berger

A modern remake of the 1930 war classic of the same name, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front is widely regarded among the most horrific depictions of war ever put to screen. The Oscar-nominated drama follows a group of school friends who sign up to fight for their country, unaware of the horrors that are awaiting them in the trenches. Although it takes place in a completely different time and place than Warfare, both movies focus on how ill-equipped the human psyche is to deal with such pain and suffering on a large scale.

3

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Directed By Steven Spielberg

Perhaps the most well-known war movie ever made, Saving Private Ryan is a sprawling epic that follows a group of soldiers in the Second World War as they search for their missing friend. It’s a brutal odyssey through the blood-soaked fields of Normandy, where the Allied forces landed to push the Nazis out of France. Fueled by some fierce performances from Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Tom Sizemore, Spielberg’s film certainly doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to depicting the brutality (and often futility) of warfare.

2

Come And See (1985)

Directed By Elem Klimov

Come And See

is a Soviet anti-war film that’s developed a reputation over the years as one of the most disturbing films about war ever made. The story follows a young boy who joins the Soviet army against his family’s wishes, where he is unfairly treated by those around him and forced to return home. But the world that he returns to isn’t the same as the one he left behind, and the soldier is forced to reckon with the consequences of the decisions he made along the way.

The film is such a rich and mature exploration of how warfare is rarely depicted as what it truly is, with military propaganda persuading people to sign up for almost certain death without even realizing it. Much like Warfare, Klimov’s film forces the audience to experience this realization in real-time alongside the young soldier as his life is torn apart.

1

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Directed By Stanley Kubrick

The question of which Stanley Kubrick movie is best is strictly impossible to answer, but Full Metal Jacket is certainly his most powerful. Another project that criticizes American involvement in the Vietnam War, this film explores the dehumanization of soldiers from two different perspectives: both the vicious fighting in the jungle and the brutal training from self-interested authority figures.

Kubrick displays such an innate and mature understanding of the human psyche in Full Metal Jacket that he blends with his own cinematic vision and rich character development to forge a story that makes the audience truly feel the emotions of those involved. Just like Warfare, it’s an anti-war movie that doesn’t provide the viewer with any answers but simply encourages them to ask the questions.