Movies and TV series about soldiers
The 42 best titles about soldiers, ranked by the iRank Score — our composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb. Every page includes cast, where to watch and similar recommendations.
Paths of Glory
1957 · Stanley Kubrick
MovieDramaWarA commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.
The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · Irvin Kershner
MovieAdventureActionScience FictionThe epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture L
Crash Landing on You
2019 · Jang Young-woo
SeriesComedyDramaA paragliding mishap drops a South Korean heiress in North Korea -- and into the life of an army officer, who decides he will help her hide.
The Hurt Locker
2008 · Kathryn Bigelow
MovieDramaThrillerWarDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Descendants of the Sun
2016
SeriesAction & AdventureDramaAfter a chance meeting in a hospital, an ardent soldier falls for a gifted surgeon. Opposing philosophies tear them apart, but fate has other plans.
Edge of Tomorrow
2014 · Doug Liman
MovieActionScience FictionMajor Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with hi
Hacksaw Ridge
2016 · Mel Gibson
MovieDramaHistoryWarWWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional
Battle Royale
2000 · Kinji Fukasaku
MovieActionDramaThrillerIn the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Source Code
2011 · Duncan Jones
MovieMysteryScience FictionThrillerWhen decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.
The Longest Day
1962 · Ken Annakin
MovieActionDramaWarThe retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's A
The Others
2001 · Alejandro Amenábar
MovieHorrorMysteryThrillerGrace is a woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights
Shadow and Bone
2021 · Leigh Bardugo
SeriesDramaSci-Fi & FantasyIn a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country. But as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces pl
The Dirty Dozen
1967 · Robert Aldrich
MovieActionAdventureWar12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentence
The Thin Red Line
1998 · Terrence Malick
MovieDramaHistoryWarThe story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalc
Joint Security Area
2000 · Park Chan-wook
MovieActionDramaThrillerTwo North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Kor
The Outpost
2020 · Rod Lurie
MovieActionDramaHistoryA small unit of U.S. soldiers, alone at the remote Combat Outpost Keating, located deep in the valley of three mountains in Afghanistan, battles to defend against an overwhelming force of Taliban figh
The Last Samurai
2003 · Edward Zwick
MovieActionDramaWarNathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to
Starship Troopers
1997 · Paul Verhoeven
MovieActionAdventureScience FictionSet in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally t
We Were Soldiers
2002 · Randall Wallace
MovieActionHistoryWarThe year is 1965 and America is at war with North Vietnam. Commanding the air cavalry is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), a born leader committed to his troops. His target: the Ia Drang Valley, called "
A Bridge Too Far
1977 · Richard Attenborough
MovieDramaHistoryWarThe story of Operation Market Garden—a failed attempt by the allies in the latter stages of WWII to end the war quickly by securing three bridges in Holland allowing access over the Rhine into Germany
You Only Live Twice
1967 · Lewis Gilbert
MovieActionAdventureThrillerA mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his arche
The Patriot
2000 · Roland Emmerich
MovieActionDramaHistoryAfter proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel e
Tora! Tora! Tora!
1970 · Toshio Masuda
MovieDramaHistoryWarIn the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lea
Small Soldiers
1998 · Joe Dante
MovieActionAdventureComedyWhen missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
2001 · Hironobu Sakaguchi
MovieActionAdventureAnimationLed by a strange dream, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squadron and her
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
2016 · Ang Lee
MovieDramaWar19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad – contrasting the realities of war with Ame
300: Rise of an Empire
2014 · Noam Murro
MovieActionDramaWarGreek general Themistocles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. Themistocles faces the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god
Rambo: First Blood Part II
1985 · George P. Cosmatos
MovieActionAdventureThrillerJohn Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
2011 · Rob Marshall
MovieActionAdventureFantasyWhen Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past, he's not sure if it's love...or if she's a ruthless con artist using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth.
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
2008 · Dennis Dugan
MovieActionComedyAn Israeli counterterrorism soldier with a secretly fabulous ambition to become a Manhattan hairstylist. Zohan's desire runs so deep that he'll do anything -- including faking his own death and going
Universal Soldier
1992 · Roland Emmerich
MovieActionScience FictionThrillerAn American soldier who had been killed during the Vietnam War is revived 25 years later by the military as a semi-android, UniSols, a high-tech soldier of the future. After the failure of the initiat
Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026MethodologyData sources