30 Gripping War Movies That Defined 2016's Conflict Narratives

Operation Mekong

2016 • 124 min • Budget $30M • Box office $173M

Action, Adventure, Crime

After finding the bodies of thirteen Chinese crew members on two vessels in the Mekong River, the Chinese government initiates a risky mission to capture a dangerous drug cartel.

7.0

6.5

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+13

The Stopover

2016 • 102 min

Drama, War

After serving in Afghanistan, two young female soldiers, Aurore and Marine, are granted a three-day decompression leave with their unit at a luxurious resort in Cyprus, surrounded by vacationers. However, escaping the war and its violence proves more difficult than…

5.3

6.2

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Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the 4th Reich

2016 • 100 min

Action, War, History

This intense World War II thriller follows an Allied special ops team tasked with rescuing Adolf Hitler after the failed Operation Valkyrie. When the mission goes wrong, the team must now join forces with unlikely allies to prevent a group…

5.4

5.2

17+

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Paradise

2016 • 130 min • Budget $5M • Box office $945K

Drama, War

This historical drama, set during World War II, follows three individuals whose lives become intertwined: a Russian aristocrat who fled to France and joined the resistance, a French person who collaborates with the enemy, and a prominent German SS officer.

6.9

7.1

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My Mother's Wound

2016 • 120 min

Drama, War, Mystery

At eighteen, Salih leaves the orphanage to search for his lost family and takes a job on a Serbian farm, where he unexpectedly finds a home. Can he overcome his past and embrace this new life? As tensions rise, unsettling…

6.7

7.3

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The Officers' Ward

2001 • 135 min

Drama, Romance, War

In the early days of World War I, Lieutenant Adrien is wounded by shrapnel. He spends the remainder of the war at Val-de-Grâce Hospital in Paris. Over the next five years, his life undergoes a profound transformation.

7.0

7.4

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Hatred

2016 • 150 min

War, Drama, History

Summer 1939. Zosia, a young Polish girl, is passionately in love with Ukrainian Petro. Their love faces a severe challenge when her father arranges for her to marry the wealthy widower Skiba. Shortly after the wedding, she is left alone…

7.3

7.6

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The History of Love

2016 • 134 min • Budget $20M

Drama, Romance, War

A forgotten book unexpectedly resurfaces, linking an elderly man's quest to find his son with a young woman's search for a way to ease her mother's isolation.

6.4

6.3

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The White Helmets

2016 • 40 min

Documentary, War

Amidst daily airstrikes targeting civilians in Syria, a dedicated team of first responders bravely risk their lives to rescue people from the wreckage.

7.4

7.5

14+

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Guernica

2016 • 110 min • Budget $6M

Drama, War, Romance

Henry, an American news correspondent, and Teresa, a censor for the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, find their lives intertwined.

5.8

17+

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Dad's Army

2016 • 100 min

Comedy, War

This film reimagines the beloved 1968 sitcom, Dad's Army. The Home Guard platoon in Walmington-on-Sea faces new challenges when a female journalist arrives in town and a German spy attempts to infiltrate their ranks as World War II nears its…

5.0

5.2

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Under the Shadow

2016 • 84 min

Drama, Horror, War

During the Iran-Iraq War, a missile strikes Shideh's building. A superstitious neighbor believes the missile was cursed and carries evil spirits from the Middle East. She becomes convinced a supernatural force is trying to possess her daughter, Dorsa. To save…

6.5

6.8

13+

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Max & Leon

2016 • 98 min • Budget $12M • Box office $8M

Comedy, War, Adventure

This World War II comedy, reminiscent of "La Grande Vadrouille," follows Max and Léon, two carefree friends who desperately try to evade military service. Their attempts to avoid the front lines lead them on a series of increasingly absurd and…

6.3

6.2

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+12

Railroad Tigers

2016 • 124 min • Budget $50M • Box office $102M

Action, Adventure, Comedy

In China, 1941, a railroad worker organizes a group of freedom fighters to combat the Japanese occupation. Their mission: to secure food for those in need.

6.1

5.8

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+10

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

2016 • 112 min • Budget $35M • Box office $48M

Comedy, Drama, War

In 2002, cable news producer Kim Barker takes a risky assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan, disrupting her predictable American life. Thrust into a chaotic war zone, Barker finds unexpected support in Tanya Vanderpoel, a seasoned journalist who guides her. Navigating the…

6.3

6.6

17+

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13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

2016 • 144 min • Budget $50M • Box office $69M

War, Action, History

During a violent attack on a U.S. Compound in Libya, an American Ambassador is killed. A security team is left trying to understand the unfolding chaos.

7.3

17+

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+10

Operation Chromite

2016 • 111 min • Budget $12M • Box office $49M

History, Drama, War

During the critical Battle of Incheon in the Korean War, a group of soldiers fight.

5.8

6.2

The King's Choice

2016 • 133 min • Budget $7M • Box office $9M

War, Action, Drama

In April 1940, German soldiers invade Oslo, forcing the King of Norway to make a pivotal decision that will reshape his nation's future. *The King's Choice* recounts the three most critical days in Norway's past: the royal family's flight and…

6.9

7.1

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+11

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

2016 • 113 min • Budget $40M • Box office $30M

Drama, War

After a brutal battle in Iraq, 19-year-old Billy Lynn returns to the United States for a celebratory tour. The film uses flashbacks to depict the true events of the conflict faced by Billy's unit, highlighting the stark contrast between the…

6.0

6.2

17+

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Alone in Berlin

2016 • 103 min • Box office $33K

War, Thriller, Drama

June 1940, Berlin. As Nazi propaganda proclaims victory over France, Anna and Otto Quangel mourn the loss of their son in the war. This working-class couple, once ardent supporters of the regime, now confront the realization that the Führer's promises…

6.7

6.5

17+

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+11

The Siege of Jadotville

2016 • 108 min

War, Drama, Thriller

In the early 1960s, Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan commands his troops in a tense standoff against French and Belgian mercenaries in the Congo.

7.1

7.2

17+

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In This Corner of the World

2016 • 130 min • Box office $19M

Drama, Animation, Romance

Japan, 1943, World War II. Young Suzu journeys from her village near Hiroshima to Kure, a naval port, to marry and live with her husband's family. Her resourcefulness blossoms as she adapts to a life of hardship, quickly becoming essential…

7.9

7.8

13+

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Panfilov's 28 Men

2016 • 105 min

History, Action, Drama

November 1941. This film, based on Vasiliy Koroteev's account, tells the story of Panfilov's Twenty-Eight – twenty-eight Red Army soldiers led by General Ivan Panfilov. They held off a column of fifty-four Nazi tanks from the 11th Panzer Division for…

6.8

6.7

13+

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Allied

2016 • 124 min • Budget $106M • Box office $119M

Action, Drama, War

In 1942, a British intelligence officer in North Africa meets a woman working with the French Resistance on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. They are reunited in London, where the demands of wartime put their connection to the test.

6.8

7.1

17+

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Anthropoid

2016 • 120 min • Box office $4M

History, Thriller, War

In December 1941, Czech soldiers Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš parachute into Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia with a mission: to assassinate the high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich.

7.1

7.2

17+

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+14

Jarhead 3: The Siege

2016 • 95 min

War, Action, Drama

Corporal Evan Albright joins the Marine Corps Security Guards hoping for excitement – world-saving action, ideally. Instead, his first mission protecting a U.S. Embassy in a calm Middle Eastern city turns out to be mostly dealing with protesters and practicing…

6.2

5.1

17+

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Mine

2016 • 107 min • Box office $1M

War, Thriller

Following a failed assassination attempt, a soldier is left stranded in the desert. Exposed to harsh conditions, he struggles to survive the desert's dangers and the psychological and physical strain of his ordeal.

6.6

5.8

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+12

Free State of Jones

2016 • 140 min • Budget $50M • Box office $25M

Action, Drama, History

In 1863, Newt Knight, a Mississippi farmer, works as a medic for the Confederate Army. He opposes slavery and prefers tending to the wounded over fighting the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns to his family in…

6.8

6.9

17+

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Sniper: Ghost Shooter

2016 • 100 min • Budget $3M

Action, Drama, War

Highly skilled snipers Brandon Beckett and Richard Miller are deployed to the Middle East to combat extremists. Their mission shifts when they're tasked with protecting a crucial gas pipeline connecting Georgia to Western Europe from those seeking to disrupt the…

6.3

5.4

17+

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USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

2016 • 128 min • Budget $40M • Box office $2M

Action, War

This is the gripping true story of the USS Indianapolis crew, lost in the Pacific for five days after delivering the atomic bombs that brought World War II to a close. While waiting for rescue, they faced brutal conditions: desperate…

5.9

5.3

17+

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+14