American Sniper is one of the most powerful war movies Hollywood has ever produced, namely for the way it portrayed life after the war, through the vessel of a modern story. After 4 tours in Iraq, Chris Kyle returns to his life as a husband and father, only to find that the war won’t leave him.
This remarkable, powerful story is all the more poignant for the fact that it is based on a real-life story: the life of Chris Kyle, the American Sniper. And, while American Sniper perhaps represents the epitome of life-after-war movies, it is not the only one. We’ve added 5 more to the list of films that you have to see if you loved American Sniper.
The Deer Hunter
This iconic wartime classic features a stellar cast including Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. It focuses on a group of blue-collar buddies living in Pennsylvania who are days away from shipping out for a tour in Vietnam.
The first act of the film focuses largely on the crew’s rocky friendships and the frivolous things they argue about, while the second act focuses on the horrors of their time in Vietnam. The final act of the film focuses on the survivors trying to readjust to normal life again, while one of them is so far gone as to stray beyond saving. It’s a tragic, but poignant look at the way the Vietnam War was thought of by young American men versus the horrifying reality.
Saving Private Ryan
The entire premise of Saving Private Ryan revolves around the titular character - an elderly WWII vet with grandchildren who is forced to relive the horrors of war while remembering the military unit sent to pull him out of enemy territory.
The movie was so realistic that real-life WWII vets had a hard time watching the opening Normandy Beach scene, with one saying that he could literally smell diesel fuel inside the theater. No other war movie has truly captured the cost of war so well, nor its lingering effects on the human psyche.
Three Kings
While a fictional comedy at heart, Three Kings tackles the events of the 1990 Gulf War with a heavy degree of stoicism and seriousness, especially during the second half. The story starts out with four soldiers chasing a get-rich-quick scheme involving the theft of Kuwaiti gold previously held by Saddam Hussein.
Their plan backfires when Iraqi civilians are caught in the crossfire, and they are forced to intervene. Soon, the horrors of the war become all-too-apparent, and the cost rises as the four soldiers switch their focus towards saving the lives of innocent Iraqis under threat of extermination by Saddam’s forces.
Casualties Of War
Brian De Palma’s Casualties Of War was in many ways an answer to Oliver Stone’s Platoon, albeit stripped of much of the overly dramatic elements. It focused on a lone Private’s opposition to his company kidnapping a female villager, which quickly raises tensions to the boiling point.
When things take a turn for the worst, he attempts to have the offending officers court-martialed, only to come face to face with the harsh realities of a lenient justice system, and a government uninterested in paying attention to a case which could further divide America’s opinion of the war.
Black Hawk Down
Ridley Scott made waves with Black Hawk Down, a retelling of the 1993 raid by U.S. forces in Mogadishu which dramatically shifted the focus of U.S. foreign affairs in the Middle East. The story focuses on a Black Hawk helicopter that is shot down, forcing all hands to scramble and set up a defensive perimeter against hostile forces.
The film’s gritty action sequences are harrowing and loaded with tension, but the real focus is on the high psychological cost suffered by the men and women of the military who are caught up in similar predicaments.
The Wall
As the Iraq war is drawing to a close, two American soldiers get pinned down by an expert sniper. It quickly turns into a not-so-subtle political commentary on the legitimacy of the government’s decision to enter into the Iraq war in the first place.
But before the movie becomes too bogged down with political hints, it builds a fair amount of suspense while also proving that John Cena can, in fact, carry a dramatic role. While it might not be the best Iraqi war story out there, it is still compelling enough to watch.
The Hurt Locker
While The Hurt Locker doesn’t have the kind of focus on life after war that made American Sniper so famous, it displays an incredible focus on the personal convictions that drive soldiers to fight. Providing a stark, painfully emotional visualization of the Iraq war, it follows Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) as he takes command of an Explosive Ordnance unit.
James is reckless and seems to thrive on war, but he is still surgically precise when it comes to bomb defusion. The film is thrilling, filled with suspense, and more clearly demonstrates the complexities of warfare and the men involved in it than the vast majority of war films.
Shooter
Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) is one of the best snipers the U.S. Marine corps has to offer. But when a mission goes terribly wrong, he vanishes without a trace. Eventually, he is coaxed back into service to help thwart a plot against the President of the United States.
But when he realizes that the whole mission is nothing more than a setup, he sets out to exact his revenge against some of the most powerful people in the world. Shooter is a smart, dignified action-thriller, led to success by Wahlberg’s powerful performance.
12 Strong
Captain Mitch Nelson is on the home front during 9/11. The attack leads him to volunteer to lead a strike team of Green Berets into Afghanistan, as the first boots-on-the-ground to suppress the Taliban. This war quickly becomes complicated, as the Berets have to ally themselves with local warlords in order to take the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a Taliban stronghold. They have no vehicles, no reinforcements, and little time. With only 12 men, tasked with leading the warlord’s ragtag forces, they gallop on horseback into a fierce, high stakes battle.
The few scenes we are granted of Captain Nelson before he sets foot in Afghanistan help make this movie even more emotionally heavy - we see him choose between love and duty, and leave his family, knowing full well that he will likely not return. The movie is gritty and steeped in realism, something that always makes the difference between a good war movie and a great one.
Triple Frontier
After trying and failing to readjust to normal life, a group of formal special operatives reunites for one last mission, united now by brotherhood and greed, rather than country.
They fly into South America, with the goal of pulling off a raid that will set them all up for a comfortable retirement. But things quickly go awry when their helicopter crashes in a field, forcing them to continue their journey on foot, pursued by a group of natives seeking vengeance. Filled with a few heart-stopping twists, Triple Frontier shows just how difficult it is for a career soldier to put away his gun.
Enemy At The Gates
Starring Jude Law, this 2001 war epic tells the story of Hitler’s invasion of Stalingrad. With the enemy at the gates, Vassili Zaitsev, one of Russia’s most accomplished snipers, is tasked with thinning the German forces.
Even as he becomes part of a propaganda campaign designed to raise Russian morale, he grows entangled in a war-time love triangle as he is hunted by one of Germany’s most dangerous snipers, who is tasked with eliminating this beacon of Russian resistance. A gritty, powerful story of love, war, and snipers, Enemy at the Gates is a true masterpiece.
Flags Of Our Fathers
The image of the falling flag being raised by World War II soldiers is an American icon. Flag of our Fathers tells that story, in a way that tackles issues of patriotism, brotherhood, and lasting emotional damage.
Told as a recollection from the few survivors of the battle of Iwo Jima, the terrifyingly costly battle is displayed in a way that befits its significance: clear and brutal. It tells of a motivation to fight that is beyond patriotism and beyond our understanding; brotherhood, kinship, and honor.
Home Of The Brave
Home of the Brave tells a simple story of recovery after war; of a soldier’s attempt to find peace when it has been so unattainable for so long. The film follows 4 soldiers who returned alive but heavily battered, from Iraq.
A doctor, a teacher, and two of their comrades, who are unable to move past the horrors they experienced, among which include the accidental murder of a civilian, and the death of a best friend. While this film was not especially highly regarded, it tells an important story in an important way, demonstrating the dark, winding path veterans must follow to free themselves of the horror that is warfare.
Stop-Loss
After a long tour in Iraq, young American Staff Sergeant Brandon King is ready to return home to Texas. But after his return and attempt to resettle into civilian life, the Army invokes a clause in his contract that requires him to return to active duty.
King refuses to return to Iraq, and instead goes rogue while trying to figure out a way out of his obligation. This sharp, violent film accomplishes its main goal of raising and highlighting the moral questions that always accompany war.
Thank You For Your Service
This film, concerning the attempts of a group of Iraqi war veterans to return to civilian life, accomplishes the goals of Home of the Brave in a far more successful and emotional manner.
From the same director that so expertly handled American Sniper, Thank you for your Service follows 4 veteran soldiers whose lives at home are marred by extreme physical trauma and severe PTSD. The film expertly portrays just how little the government cares for soldiers after they leave the battlefield, acting as a quiet, yet no less powerful message that veterans deserve far more than they are offered.
