10 Best Contemporary War Movies Like The Hurt Locker

10 Best Contemporary War Movies Like The Hurt Locker

Fans of Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker will want to check out similar contemporary war movies including American Sniper and Dunkirk.

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Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker is an absolutely fantastic movie that depicts the Iraq War in a way that was beloved both by critics and by regular viewers, particularly for its realism, heart, and dramatic storyline. No wonder Bigelow would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Director, a historic moment in the world of cinema.

Fortunately for the fans of The Hurt Locker, there is a number of equally amazing contemporary war movies to check out. Some of these – like The Hurt Locker – depict the Iraq War while others focus on WWI, WWII, and others.

10 War Horse (2011)

Steven Spielberg’s War Horse doesn’t have a human protagonist like most war movies do – its main star is a horse that gets to interact with different people as it lives through and participates in World War I.

Though the horse (named Joey) never actually speaks throughout the movie, its story is more than human – it is both heartwarming and heartbreaking and will leave no viewer indifferent.

9 American Sniper (2014)

Starring Bradley Cooper in the lead role, American Sniper focuses on a single character and the way he is impacted by his experiences in the Iraq War. But even though it is just one sniper, there are many other people who went through similar or even worse things of such kind.

It becomes even more impactful when one considers that the movie is loosely based on a memoir of Chris Kyle who himself participated in the Iraq War and experienced similar things.

8 Mudbound (2017)

Much like American Sniper, Mudbound is more about the impact of war rather than war itself. The Hurt Locker also explores such psychological aspects of being a soldier, but Mudbound straight out dives into the subjects of racism and PTSD.

The story follows two WWII veterans who return home after the war. One of them is Black and one is White – and they both experience their civil life in their own ways, suffering from their past and current experiences.

7 Enemy At The Gates (2001)

Enemy at the Gates is also based on a non-fiction book and also set during WWII, but it focuses on events not often depicted in Western media – namely, the Battle of Stalingrad, which is considered to be one of the bloodiest battles in history.

The movie does have some inaccuracies and the love story can be distracting at times, but the look and feel of war are said to be depicted perfectly which is something most viewers will definitely enjoy.

6 Fury (2014)

Starring Brad Pitt in one of the lead roles, Fury is a movie that seems to examine the differences between young recruits and experienced soldiers fighting in WWII.

Its protagonists are the crew of a US tank, which makes for a unique story as such soldiers are not often depicted in war movies. Because the narrative takes place during the last weeks of fighting, the viewers know about the coming end of the war, but the characters, unfortunately, don’t.

5 Beasts Of No Nation (2015)

Speaking of young recruits, Beasts of No Nation is a movie that doesn’t shy away from the topic of child soldiers and depicts war from the perspective of a very young one.

What makes it even more awful is that the story takes place in an unspecified West African country. Even to this day, many African countries struggle with civil wars, and child soldiers remain a common phenomenon there.

4 Black Hawk Down (2001)

Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down is a movie quite similar to The Hurt Locker in that it focuses on a group of American soldiers sent to a different country in the midst of fighting.

But unlike The Hurt Locker, Black Hawk Down depicts more contemporary events – namely, the 1993 raid in Mogadishu executed by the US military.

3 Dunkirk (2017)

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk doesn’t have a single protagonist – in fact, it doesn’t even have a defined antagonist. It is more of an experience rather than a confrontation between the villains and the heroes.

Taking place during WWII, it depicts the Dunkirk evacuation when the Allied soldiers were surrounded in the French city of Dunkirk by the German forces and then evacuated by all means possible.

2 Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Starring Andrew Garfield in the lead role, Hacksaw Ridge is yet another movie set during WWII. Based on a documentary, it is a biopic about Desmond Doss, who became the first conscientious objector (someone who has refused to serve in the military) to earn the Medal of Honor for serving in the Battle of Okinawa.

With a strong anti-war message, Hacksaw Ridge takes a non-violent person to lead its story which is a very unusual choice to make for a war movie.

1 1917 (2019)

The most recent of all the movies on this list, 1917 is an experience just like Dunkirk. However, 1917 does have two clearly defined protagonists even though they mostly serve as a way for the audience to experience what they go through.

Visually, the movie is a spectacle with everything being choreographed to the detail as the filmmakers wanted it to look like a single shot – a difficult but not impossible feat that they managed to achieve.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-contemporary-war-movies-similar-to-the-hurt-locker/

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