15 Worst War Movies of the 21st Century, Ranked

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Daniel is a 27-year-old List Writer for Collider living in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. As an avid film buff, he watches and analyzes many films and TV shows, especially in the horror genre, and regularly attends movie screenings.

If only every war film in the 21st century were a cinematic masterpiece. But alas, they were not. Despite being one of history's most iconic and revered filmmaking styles, the war genre, especially in the modern century, didn't always produce high-quality, thrilling films. While the last few decades have seen many incredible achievements, like Inglourious Basterds, The Pianist, 1917, and Hacksaw Ridge, these were also marked by notorious blunders that stood out in spectacular bad ways.

Make no mistake, the war genre is thriving these days, and the number of great films far outweighs the bad, but it's worth pointing out the notable flops that have been released in the last several decades since 2001. These were bloated, clichéd, overacted, or disrespectful, and historically inaccurate movies that failed to captivate audiences. They stood out the most for being incredibly awful or spectacularly underwhelming war films that undoubtedly represent the worst of the 21st century.

15 'Red Dawn' (2012)

Josh Hutcherson, Chris Hemsworth, and Josh Peck looking ahead in Red Dawn

When John Millius' action war film Red Dawn was released in 1984, it was an instant phenomenon that's today widely considered a thrilling, rewatchable cult classic that perfectly encapsulated the Cold War-era American patriotism of the 1980s. While it was an admittedly over-the-top cheese-fest, it was way too fun not to enjoy. Unfortunately, the same could be said for its highly unnecessary remake, which was released in 2012, to much less favorable reviews.

While Milllius' film is far from perfect, this tired and uninspired rehash failed to capture the wild and intense magic that made the '84 film so memorable, instead falling flat and barely making a splash critically or financially. Despite Red Dawn's interesting concept that replaces Russia with North Korean aggression, everything falls apart due to a weak script, wooden dialogue, and uninterested performances by a cast who all act like they're trying to get this film done as soon as possible. It honestly had the potential to be a stand-out, but fell into the category of the many useless remakes that were overshadowed by their predecessors.

14 'Operation Seawolf' (2022)

2022's Operation Seawolf is one of those rare generic direct-to-streaming films that stood out, but not for the right reason. Directed by Steven Luke, this bland and mostly forgettable naval war thriller is a mess that only gets worse throughout its runtime, following action icon Dolph Lundgren in a story that underutilizes his charisma as he plays a hardened German U-boat captain who leads his men on a last desperate mission to attack the mainland U.S.

With flat performances, bland storytelling, and an incredibly cheap overall feel, Operation Seawolf has nothing going right with it, making it a frustrating and sleep-inducing watch. It's a shame, as the premise had a chance to tell a gripping story in the right, capable hands, and Lundgren and his co-star, cult action star Frank Grillo, at least tried to add excitement with their combined minimal star power, but it ultimately proved useless, and this is just a dud that, like the submarine at the end, sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

13 'Company of Heroes' (2013)

A group of soldiers in 'Company of Heroes'

Very loosely based on the video game of the same name, 2013's Company of Heroes is a direct-to-video war film that painfully stands out for how generic and clichéd it is. A film that tried and failed miserably to cash in on the game and even a bit of audiences' fascination with WWII history, it tells a story of a U.S. infantry squad heading behind enemy lines to stop a top-secret German weapon.

Lacking competent direction and acting, Company of Heroes falls incredibly short on anything resembling a decent and thrilling WWII story. It's loaded with hilariously bad inaccuracies, cheap production values, and wastes the talents of iconic WWII movie actors, like Jurgen Prochnow, Neal McDonough, and the late Tom Sizemore. Overall, it was a boring and frustrating experience that failed to make a decent impression.

12 'Assault on Hill 400' (2023)

A group of soldiers holding guns in the forest in Assault-on-Hill-400

Another tired, but more frustrating direct-to-streaming flick, 2023's Assault on Hill 400, will leave anyone shaking their head with disappointment if they've even seen the film to begin with. Despite having noticeable names like Eric Roberts, William Baldwin, and the late Michael Madsen, everything else is just wrong, as it fumbles its premise about a ranger battalion tasked with seizing a heavily defended German town.

Bloated with historical and military inaccuracies, tired tropes, and forgettable characters, Assault on Hill 400 is a massive drag that's honestly in contention for being one of the worst World War II movies of all time. It is disrespectful to history for just how many inaccuracies and questionable casting decisions it has, making it so baffling as to how it was even made in the first place.

11 'Windtalkers' (2002)

Two soldiers talking in Windtalkers - 2002

Released in 2002, Windtalkers is a WWII war drama that tried but unfortunately failed to respect the untold story of Navajo code talkers who were instrumental in the war effort. Nicolas Cage and Adam Beach star in a tale about a white U.S. Marine sergeant forming a rocking partnership with the Navajo code talker he's ordered to protect as they take part in the Mariana Islands campaign in the Pacific.

It was noble of the filmmakers to tell a story about brave men who weren't fully talked about when it came to WWII history, but that attempt was largely ineffective as the story focused too heavily on the soldiers tasked with protecting the code-talkers rather than the code-talkers themselves. Adam Beach gives a great performance as the main character, Pvt. Yahzee, but he's the only developed code talker in the film, while the rest are sidelined. It's frustrating that Windtalkers' intended message was ruined by unfocused storytelling. It honestly asks one question: What was the point of making it if they weren't really going to fully focus on the code talkers at all?

10 'Flyboys' (2006)

Blaine Rawlings and two soldiers looking in Flyboys

Flyboys is a 2006 action war drama directed by Tony Bill and starring James Franco, Jean Reno, and Tyler Labine. Set during the grueling midst of the First World War, it tells the story of a small group of brave young American volunteers who train to become pilots in the French Lafayette Escadrille fighter squadron. But as they gain their first bit of combat experience, it soon dawns on them the true horrors of war, and they know every mission might be their last.

Though action-packed and featuring a few decent battle sequences, Flyboys isn't one of the best aerial war movies. For starters, the aerial combat moments, while not the worst-looking, rely heavily on CGI and are not the most convincing. The acting isn't all that great either, especially since the performances seem one-dimensional, and the actors are sometimes given dialogue that gets incredibly cheesy. Upon release, Flyboys was a box office disaster, gaining $17 million on a $60 million budget. It was critically panned and harshly criticized for its historical inaccuracies. While it's not entirely awful, it doesn't really seem that entirely worth a watch.

9 'The Alamo' (2004)

Billy Bob Thornton and Patrick Wilson next to a canon in The Alamo

John Lee Hancock's 2004 historical war epic The Alamo is a big-budget film adaptation depicting the iconic 13-day siege of the Alamo fortress during the Texas Revolution. Starring a rather impressive cast of well-known stars, including Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Patrick Wilson, and Jordi Mollà, it tells the story of the final days of the Texan defenders and the outcome of the siege, which led to the Texan victory in the battle of San Jacinto and Texas' independence.

Today, The Alamo is widely seen as one of the biggest box office flops of all time. Grossing only $25 million on an enormous $107 million budget, it was a financial disaster, greatly overshadowed at the time by the much more profitable Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ. Aside from its abysmal ticket sales, it was also critically panned for its dull pace and lack of excitement. Though it strove for historical accuracy, it came across as trying too hard. It missed an opportunity to tell a more realistic and thrilling adaptation that could have otherwise outshone the John Wayne version from 1960. While not frustratingly terrible, '04's The Alamo feels like an unnecessary snooze fest that fails tremendously to draw viewers into its story.

8 'Red Tails' (2012)

A pilot in a plane doing a thumbs up in Red Tails

Red Tails is a 2012 action war drama depicting the heroic acts of the Tuskegee Airmen of the African-American United States Army Air Forces during their service in the European Theater during WWII. Fighting prejudice and discrimination, they prove their worth and bravery as they go on some of the riskiest aerial assignments of the entire war.

While mostly visually stellar and noble in its attempt to honor these real-life heroes, Red Tails is not the most well-put-together film. Its writing feels lazy and full of overused war movie tropes. The characters are one-dimensional, and the dialogue is littered with clichés. It fails to stand out in any way, and it just feels like its plot is playing things too safely. It's a very predictable story that's nothing really to get that emotionally invested in.

7 'Pearl Harbor' (2001)

Ben Affleck sweaty in the cockpit in Pearl Harbor (2001)

Saying 2001's Pearl Harbor is a cheesy, clichéd mess these days is about as obvious as saying its director, Michael Bay, loves over-the-top explosions. It's about two ace fighter pilot buddies and a beautiful nurse whose awkward love triangle gets interrupted when they're all present for the Japanese surprise attack on the military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Indeed, this loud, obnoxiously acted, overblown, and unnecessarily long war epic is a notorious standout of the war genre, one that's often fun to pick apart its many flaws. It's well-known to be incredibly inaccurate to the real history of the tragic event and seems only to have been made to cash in on the romance-tragedy formula created by 1998's Titanic. Though it boasts incredible action, explosions, and stunts, and the actual attack looks visually impressive, it doesn't compensate for the weak plot and acting. It just comes across as a flashy, blockbuster mess without any resembling a decent story.

6 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' (2001)

nicolas cage in captain corelli playing a mandolin song

Based on a 1994 novel by Louis de Berniès, 2001's Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a romantic war drama directed by John Madden and starring Academy Award-winning actors Nicolas Cage and Penélope Cruz. Set on the tranquil island of Cephalonia during the Italian and German Occupation of Greece, it follows an Italian officer as he tries to cooperate with the locals while falling in love with a beautiful fisherman's wife.

Though it's beautifully shot with gorgeous sets and picturesque scenery, Captain Corelli's Mandolin mostly feels like a clichéd melodrama lacking any real intrigue. It's not the best, well-acted, even though its romantic parts are the selling point of the story. And it's hard getting around the film's biggest flaw: Nicolas Cage. He, though for the most part a competent and entertaining performer, is totally miscast in the lead role of Captain Antonio Corelli. The bizarre, incredibly unconvincing Italian accent he uses throughout the film is hard to ignore, and it takes away from much of the story. Captain Corelli's Mandolin has glaring issues that don't make it the best war movie-watching experience. However, it can be fun to watch Cage in his over-the-top glory at certain points.

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