10 Best Movies About The Iraq War
A number of truly powerful movies focused on the Iraq War, the soldiers who fought in it, and its impact on their lives have left their mark on the film industry, and Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza‘s Warfare is the next truly great one. Warfare focuses not on the large-scale conflict or how soldiers dealt with the war after returning home, but rather the fury of real combat. Set in the fallout of the significant Battle of Ramadi, Warfare retells the story of an isolated attack in real time based exclusively on the memories of the soldiers who experienced it.
Movies centered around the war in Iraq are diverse in how they handle the conflict. Some, like Warfare, aim for realistic representations of soldiers’ experiences in Iraq, while others forgo accuracy to some degree in order to create an engrossing drama. A person’s appreciation of each of the movies on this list likely depends on what they’re looking for from the movie: accuracy and truth to history or dramatic entertainment. The “best” ranking here is intended to be an objective list based on accolades and acclaim from both critics and moviegoers, filmmaking prowess, and power of the performances.
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Civil War director and Warfare co-director Alex Garland reflects on certain critiques regarding his successful 2024 anti-war film/political thriller.
10
The Wall (2017)
Directed By Doug Liman
Amazon Studios’ action thriller The Wall is an original screenplay that follows two American soldiers (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena) who are pinned down by the real legendary Iraqi sniper known only as Juba. While the anonymous sniper (or snipers, no identities have ever been verified) named in the movie really did fight against American forces in the Sunni part of Iraq, the story that plays out in The Wall is fictional. The low-budget and tightly-focused movie is limited, but maintains the tension and drama of a truly desperate situation for its shorter runtime.
9
Green Zone (2010)
Directed By Paul Greengrass
The Matt Damon-led Green Zone is based on journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s non-fiction book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, a recounting of life in the Green Zone (the area under full control of the U.S.-led Coalition Forces during the occupation of Iraq from 2004-2009). The action thriller mixes fact and fiction to create a compelling drama, and notes of Greengrass and Damon’s Bourne movie collaborations are certainly evident. It does manage to provide an interesting perspective on the reasons why the U.S. was involved in Iraq, but a lackluster script keeps it from being a truly great movie.
8
Taking Chance (2009)
Directed By Ross Katz
Taking Chance was actually an HBO film as opposed to a wide theatrical release, but that didn’t keep it from racking up the accolades. The movie is based on the recollections of the real U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon) who accompanied the body of a fellow Marine killed in Baghdad, Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, across the country to his resting place. Taking Chance focuses on the human impact of the Iraq War, as it chronicles Strobl’s experience transporting Phelps’ body, and the people he met as he attended his funeral and memorial service.
Kevin Bacon earned both a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in Taking Chance. The movie was well-received by the public for its powerful and emotional story, and ultimately it earned 10 Primetime Emmy nominations, winning one. What the movie lacks in war action it more than makes up for in emotional drama, and is, at its core, a method of honoring the fallen soldiers of the Iraq War while emphasizing the human cost of any war.
7
In The Valley Of Elah (2007)
Directed By Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis adapted the screenplay In the Valley of Elah from an account of a real murder case that saw a murdered Iraq War veteran’s father investigate his son’s murder on his own. Some consider the role of Hank Deerfield to be one of Tommy Lee Jones’ greatest performances, and he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for it. The combination of an engrossing murder mystery with the examination of the pointlessness of war, given the effect it has on the soldiers, make In the Valley of Elah a gripping drama from start to finish.
6
Megan Leavey (2017)
Directed By Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Another powerful biographical war drama, Megan Leavey chronicles the experiences of U.S. Marine Corporal Megan Leavey and her military working dog Rex, who served two deployments in Iraq together. The heartfelt true story is driven by Kate Mara’s performance as Leavey, and of course her relationship with Rex. The inspirational narrative certainly tugs at the heartstrings, but not in a corny or saccharine way. While it grossed under $15 million at the box office, Megan Leavey has held up well since its release, and is Certified Fresh with an 86% Tomatometer Score on Rotten Tomatoes.
5
Thank You For Your Service (2017)
Directed By Jason Hall
Thank You For Your Service is based off the non-fiction book of the same name by journalist David Finkel, which follows a battalion of veterans who return home after a 15-month deployment to Iraq. While many movies touch on the effects of the Iraq War on soldiers, it’s central to Thank You For Your Service, which focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. The entire cast, led by Miles Teller, received widespread praise for subtle yet powerful performances based on observed behavior, making Thank You For Your Service a sobering yet important examination of the effects of war.
4
American Sniper (2014)
Directed By Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning biographical war drama American Sniper is undoubtedly great from a filmmaking standpoint. Eastwood flexes his muscles with the war action and complexity of his central character, the real U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, whose autobiography served as the basis for the movie. Bradley Cooper gives a powerful and nuanced performance as Kyle, and Eastwood manages to build an incredible amount of tension that becomes central to the narrative.
American Sniper serves as a potent reminder of the effects of war on those that fight it, and addresses the widespread neglect of veterans returning from combat in the Iraq War.
Where American Sniper draws criticism is in its historical accuracy and questionable handling of the nature of the Iraq War itself. The movie paints it as far more black-and-white, good-guys-vs.-bad-guys than the actual conflict was, and at times stumbles with the moral questions that come with that approach. Still, the film serves as a potent reminder of the effects of war on those that fight it, and addresses the widespread neglect of veterans returning from combat in the Iraq War. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Cooper.
3
The Messenger (2009)
Directed By Oren Moverman
- Release Date
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November 13, 2009
- Runtime
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113 minutes
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Ben Foster
Will Montgomery
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Woody Harrelson
Tony Stone
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Eamonn Walker
Stuart Dorsett
Driven by powerful performances from both Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson, The Messenger is among the strongest examinations of the effect of war on soldiers. Part war drama, part romance, The Messenger follows a young soldier (Foster) injured in Iraq as he returns home to complete his tour of duty as a casualty notification officer paired with an older veteran (Harrelson). The movie doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to its heavy material, and as Foster deals with PTSD on top of the crushing weight of his duties, the movie leaves an undeniable impact on the viewer.
2
Warfare (2025)
Directed By Alex Garland And Ray Mendoza
Legendary writer and director Alex Garland moved into a supporting role as co-director of Warfare so that former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza could take the lead on a movie that chronicles his own experiences in Iraq. The movie, which occurs in real time yet doesn’t hold to the somewhat gimmicky one-take method of filming, provides an immersive experience in the hellfire of combat that may never be matched. The movie’s basis on Mendoza’s real memories of an attack ensures authenticity, and Garland’s frenetic and engaging style of working the camera makes this drama truly shine.
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Warfare – Key Details |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Release Date |
Budget |
RT Tomatometer Score |
RT Popcornmeter Score |
Metacritic Metascore |
Metacritic User Score |
|
April 11th, 2025 |
$20 million |
94% |
93% |
76 |
7.5/10 |
Warfare is already breaking Rotten Tomatoes records, and it seems destined for nominations on the biggest stages in cinema given how positive the reception has been from not only critics and moviegoers, but Iraq War veterans and other military experts. While it seems far too soon to declare it an Oscar candidate, there are not many movies on the docket for 2025 that could muscle it out of contention for some of the technical awards. Mendoza’s directorial debut is proof that he has a long career in film ahead of him if he chooses that path.
1
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Directed By Kathryn Bigelow
The only thing keeping Warfare out of the top spot is a movie that won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2010. Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker has just about everything going for it from a filmmaking standpoint; Bigelow’s focused direction, Mark Boal’s tight, perfectly-paced script, Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner’s stirring performances, and gripping action sequences all make this a cinematic triumph. In total, it was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won six, including Oscars for Boal and Bigelow.
The only major criticism of The Hurt Locker is the accuracy of its combat sequences. The movie faced some backlash from veterans, who criticized it as a Hollywood version of the Iraq War, and not an actual depiction of the experience thanks to missing details and what experienced soldiers found to be nonsensical plot points. Still, The Hurt Locker is considered one of the most influential war movies of the century, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
7/10
- Release Date
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April 11, 2025
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Producers
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Allon Reich, Andrew Macdonald, Matthew Penry-Davey
