War films are full of emotion, thrill, suspense, and sometimes historical revelations. It is no wonder that it remains a popular genre loved by many people. Over the centuries there have been many incredible war films that provide realistic and engaging depictions of battles, with many based on true events.
In the 21st century alone, film lovers have been graced with a countless amount of remarkable war films, including Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, a 2017 film based on the Dunkirk evacuation during World War 2. It went on to become the highest-grossing World War 2 film before being surpassed by Oppenheimer in 2023. Critics have also labelled it as one of the greatest war films ever made.
This century also brought film fans The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It follows an Iraq War Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. Writer and producer, Mark Boal took on his experience of being embedded with a bomb squad in Iraq to produce the film, which has an impressive score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
As incredible as the two films are, there is one that beats the two, according to Indie Wire, a film industry and critic website.
Having the same writer and director as The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty was placed as number one on Indie Wire’s list of best war films of the 21st century. The 2013 thriller dramatises what happened in the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden.
Indie Wire wrote: “Bigelow’s disjunctive cutting style and Boal’s on-the-fly observational journalism do not follow narrative conventions; the movie generated political controversy for representing waterboarding as a means to extricate information vital to bin Laden’s capture.”
The film has a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics consensus describing the film as “gripping, suspenseful, and beautifully crafted.”
MovieFreak.com gave the film full mark and said: “[Zero Dark Thirty] is one of the greatest cinematic procedurals ever made.”
Keith & the Movies wrote: “It’s a movie that’s not afraid of asking tough questions or of challenging popular sentiments. It’s also a movie made with impeccable filmmaking style and skill which all comes back to Bigelow.”
Fans also praised the film, with one describing it as “two and a half hours of adrenaline rush”. Others said the film is so great that its worth watching multiple times.
Zero Dark Thirty is availble to stream on Amazon Prime.