Best War Movies of 2016

1.

Hacksaw Ridge

6.6

8.1/10

WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

2.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

6.0

7.3/10

An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.

3.

Allied

5.7

7.1/10

In 1942, an intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the pressures of war.

4.

The Siege of Jadotville

5.2

7.3/10

Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during in the early 1960s.

5.

War and Peace

5.1

8.2/10

Sumptuous BBC mini-series following the fortunes and the rise and fall of five aristocratic families in the waning days of imperial Russia.

6.

Free State of Jones

5.0

6.9/10

In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to Jones County to safeguard his family but is soon branded an outlaw deserter. Forced to flee, he finds refuge with a group of runaway slaves hiding out in the swamps. Forging an alliance with the slaves and other farmers, Knight leads a rebellion that would forever change history.

7.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

4.7

6.6/10

In 2002, cable news producer Kim Barker decides to shake up her routine by taking a daring new assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dislodged from her comfortable American lifestyle, Barker finds herself in the middle of an out-of-control war zone. Luckily, she meets Tanya Vanderpoel, a fellow journalist who takes the shell-shocked reporter under her wing. Amid the militants, warlords and nighttime partying, Barker discovers the key to becoming a successful correspondent.

8.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

4.5

6.2/10

19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad - contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.

9.

Mine

4.4

5.9/10

After a failed assassination attempt, a soldier finds himself stranded in the desert. Exposed to the elements, he must survive the dangers of the desert and battle the psychological and physical toll of the treacherous conditions.

10.

Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary

4.3

8.1/10

The 25th Anniversary performance – filmed at London's Prince Edward Theatre in 2014 – of the epic musical tale of a young Vietnamese bar girl, Kim, who falls in love with Chris, an American GI. But their lives are torn apart by the fall of Saigon.

11.

Alone in Berlin

4.2

6.5/10

Berlin in June of 1940. While Nazi propaganda celebrates the regime’s victory over France, a kitchen-cum-living room in Prenzlauer Berg is filled with grief. Anna and Otto Quangel’s son has been killed at the front. This working class couple had long believed in the ‘Führer’ and followed him willingly, but now they realise that his promises are nothing but lies and deceit. They begin writing postcards as a form of resistance and in a bid to raise awareness: Stop the war machine! Kill Hitler! Putting their lives at risk, they distribute these cards in the entrances of tenement buildings and in stairwells. But the SS and the Gestapo are soon onto them, and even their neighbours pose a threat.

12.

Ethel & Ernest

4.0

7.8/10

This hand drawn animated film, based on the award winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, is an intimate and affectionate depiction of the life and times of his parents, two ordinary Londoners living through extraordinary events.

15.

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

3.5

5.2/10

The harrowing true story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who were stranded in the Philippine Sea for five days after delivering the atomic weapons that would eventually end WWII. As they awaited rescue, they endured extreme thirst, hunger, and relentless shark attacks.

17.

Gulîstan, Land of Roses

3.4

7.1/10

They belong to the armed wing of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is also an active guerrilla movement. The mission of these female fighters? Defend Kurdish territory in Iraq and Syria, and defeat ISIS (the armed militants of the so-called Islamic State group), all while embodying a revolutionary ideal advocating female empowerment. As filmmaker Zaynê Akyol follows their highly regimented lives, seasoned fighters like Rojen and Sozdar openly share with us their most intimate thoughts and dreams. Even as fighting against ISIS intensifies in the Middle East, these women bravely continue their battle against barbarism. Offering a window into this largely unknown world, Gulîstan, Land of Roses exposes the hidden face of this highly mediatized war: the female, feminist face of a revolutionary group united by a common vision of freedom.

18.

Guernica

3.0

5.8/10

The fates of Henry - an American correspondent - and Teresa, one of the Republic's censors during the Spanish Civil War.

19.

Sniper: Ghost Shooter

3.0

5.3/10

Elite snipers Brandon Beckett and Richard Miller are tasked with protecting a gas pipeline from terrorists looking to make a statement. When battles with the enemy lead to snipers being killed by a ghost shooter who knows their exact location, tensions boil as a security breach is suspected. Is there someone working with the enemy on the inside? Is the mission a front for other activity? Is the Colonel pulling the strings?