The 11 best war movies streaming on Netflix in August 2024 (2024)

1917 (2019)

In 1917, director Sam Mendes fully engages the audience in the harrowing journey of a pair of British soldiers during World War I. Tasked with communicating an important message to a commander in person, lance corporals Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) navigate the chaos of the trenches and an onslaught of enemy fire.

Roger Deakins won an Oscar for his masterful cinematography, with long, unbroken takes, which, as Entertainment Weekly’s critic writes, “effectively drops the viewer into the center of the story and compels them to stay there, fully immersed in every muddy step, hunger pang, and rifle click.” —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch 1917: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Sam Mendes

Cast: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch

Related content: 1917 cast and creators explain how they made the film to be one continuous shot

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

The classic novel All Quiet on the Western Front has been adapted to film twice before, but this version by director Edward Berger is the first in the book’s native German. Newcomer Felix Kammerer plays Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who eagerly signs up to fight in World War I but gradually loses his innocence upon experiencing the hellishness of trench warfare.

Unlike the book and its previous adaptations, this version includes a storyline featuring the officials involved in ending the war. With stunning visuals and an ominous Oscar-winning score, EW’s critic observes that All Quiet on the Western Front is “​​an antiwar drama that transcends the bombast of propaganda mostly just because it's so artfully and indelibly made.” —K.J.

Where to watch All Quiet on the Western Front: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Edward Berger

Cast: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Daniel Brühl

Related content: 10 classic films to pair with the 2023 Best Picture nominees

Beasts of No Nation (2015)

It’s the film that started the Netflix original movie storm. Beasts of No Nation, directed by Cary f*ckunaga, follows Abu (Abraham Attah), a child soldier fighting in a civil war in an unnamed African country. Idris Elba costars as the Commandant, a despotic leader who preys on Abu.

The movie gained the spotlight after many major theaters boycotted it over the rise of VOD, a fight of the past now. But, regardless of its contentious entry into the cinematic sphere, it’s a film that “deserves to be seen,” writes EW’s critic. “The movie becomes a gut-level portrait of exactly how a person’s soul and psyche can be dismantled, brick by brick.” The cast is phenomenal, especially Elba, who terrifies and takes away the humanity of Abu. Despite the positive critical reception, Beasts earned no Academy Award nominations but remains a must-see. —Robert English

Where to watch Beasts of No Nation: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Cary f*ckunaga

Cast: Idris Elba, Kurt Egyiawan, Jude Akuwudike, Emmanuel "King King" Nii Adom Quaye, Abraham Attah

Related content: Beasts of No Nation: Idris Elba and Cary f*ckunaga on humanizing tragedy

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Spike Lee has already proven himself as a legend of the big screen, so it’s no surprise that his tribute to Vietnam War veterans was another hit for the Oscar winner. Da 5 Bloods weaves the present and past as four vets return to Vietnam to seek the remains of their fallen squad leader (Chadwick Boseman in one of his final film roles) and their buried treasure.

The film manages to juggle two themes: the emotional toll on the soldiers and a conversation about race in the 1970s and America’s role in the war. The result is stunning, with EW’s critic calling the director “a filmmaker who remains in total control of his once-in-a-generation gifts and utilizes them to synthesize story and history into something new.” —R.E.

Where to watch Da 5 Bloods: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Spike Lee

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Related content: The Awardist podcast: Delroy Lindo on his titanic performance in Da 5 Bloods

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Hacksaw Ridge is a gripping war film whose protagonist is ironically a pacifist. Based on the true story of Desmond Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist who served as a combat medic during World War II and consciously refused to use a weapon, the film delves into his belief system leading up to and during the war, and his struggle to stay devoted to his cause.

Andrew Garfield earned an Oscar nomination for his earnest performance as Doss, and the film, while a smidge too sentimental in the homefront first half, is riveting in its battle-heavy second. “The latter — a bone-rattling shock-and-awe of blasted limbs and spilled intestines,” EW’s critic writes, “is infinitely more affecting than the former.” —K.J.

Where to watch Hacksaw Ridge: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Mel Gibson

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, Vince Vaughn, Richard Pyros

Related content: Hacksaw Ridge trailer: Andrew Garfield goes to war without a gun

The King (2019)

William Shakespeare’s plays Henry IV and Henry V take the backseat for a new look at the wartorn and political landscape of Henry V’s rise to power. Timothée Chalamet stars as the young king, bowl-cut and all, as he navigates the fight for the crown across feudal England and France. Chalamet and costar Robert Pattinson are the film’s standouts, with eccentric looks and passionate monologues.

The action is gritty, “a series of grand battleground set pieces,” EW’s critic cites, recalling images of Game of Thrones’ Battle of the Bastards. And according to Chalamet, these war scenes and duels are suffocating and intense, “properly messy and dangerous.” —R.E.

Where to watch The King: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: David Michôd

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Robert Pattinson, Joel Edgerton, Lily-Rose Depp, Ben Mendelsohn, Sean Harris

Related content: The best drama movies on Netflix

Outlaw King (2018)

This medieval war drama transports us back to the early 1300s in Scotland, where Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) gradually ascends to King of Scots. Hoping to free Scotland from England’s tyranny, he leads his country in battle against the English army.

While not groundbreaking in its approach, Outlaw King is a reliably bloody (and muddy) epic full of heavy skirmishes. Director David Mackenzie “films it beautifully in the natural light of candles, torches, and overcast skies,” writes EW’s critic, “and there’s a solidness to the old-fashioned conventions of his storytelling.” —K.J.

Where to watch Outlaw King: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: David Mackenzie

Cast: Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle, Sam Spruell, Tony Curran, Callan Mulvey, James Cosmo, Stephen Dillane

Related content: Chris Pine on bringing Robert the Bruce's story to Netflix in Outlaw King

The Outpost (2020)

Visceral and raw in its recreation of the Battle of Kamdesh, this action drama follows American soldiers during one of the War in Afghanistan’s deadliest days. At a precarious outpost near the town of Kamdesh, the soldiers face constant threats from the Taliban, which culminate in a bloody fight depicted over the course of a pulse-pounding 40 minutes.

While Hollywood isn’t always on the money when it comes to adapting true stories of war, The Outpost has been approved by veterans — including one of the men in the real-life unit. —K.J.

Where to watch The Outpost: Netflix

Director: Rod Lurie

Cast: Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom, Jack Kesy, Cory Hardrict, Milo Gibson, Jacob Scipio, Taylor John Smith

Related content: How war drama The Outpost recreates one of the bloodiest battles in Afghanistan

Starship Troopers (1997)

What if Star Wars was a politically-charged cult classic? That’s the result of Starship Troopers, a 1997 sci-fi movie set in a fascist, militaristic future where the human race battles giant alien bugs. Based on the book by Robert A. Heinlein, the film has action stars, gross creatures, tons of slime, and nonstop thrills.

Much of its budget went to the VFX department to create the “film’s razor-taloned, plasma-spewing intergalactic beasties,” and it pays off visually. While it may not be the greatest war film or even the best sci-fi one, Starship Troopers is a lot of guns-blazing fun and worth checking out for an action-packed movie night. —R.E.

Where to watch Starship Troopers: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Cast: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Muldoon, Michael Ironside

Related content: Starship Troopers cast: Where are they now?

Unbroken (2014)

Unbroken chronicles the real-life story of Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini and his harrowing survival during World War II. Zamperini was on a search-and-rescue mission in 1943 when his plane experienced engine failure and crashed in the ocean, leaving him stranded at sea with two crewmates for weeks. Japanese sailors captured him and he subsequently was made a prisoner of war.

Jack O'Connell plays Zamperini in a performance EW’s critic calls “totally hypnotic,” and director Angelina Jolie’s production is handsomely mounted, netting Oscar nominations for its cinematography and sound. —K.J.

Where to watch Unbroken: Netflix

Director: Angelina Jolie

Cast: Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock

Related content: Watch Angelina Jolie discuss the true story behind Unbroken

The White Helmets (2016)

This sobering documentary short film centers on the efforts of Syrian Civil Defence volunteers to save innocent civilians in the country’s ongoing civil war. Known as the White Helmets, these everyday heroes risk their lives to get victims of missile strikes and bombings to safety.

Following three men from the organization, the film provides a gripping on-the-ground account as they train in Turkey and venture into unpredictable territory in Syria. As one of the volunteers states in the film —which won the 2017 Oscar for Best Documentary Short: “In the White Helmets we have a motto: To save a life is to save all of humanity.” —K.J.

Where to watch The White Helmets: Netflix

Director: Orlando von Einsiedel

Cast: Khalid Farah, Mohammed Farah, Abu Omar, Raed Saleh

Related content: Oscars 2017: The White Helmets wins Best Documentary Short