Ryan Dube · October 24, 2024 (Updated) · 9 min read There’s something unique about war movies. They involve so many elements that people love in a film. Things like survival, companionship, action, and so much more.
War movies usually contain a lot of violence and other things that children shouldn’t watch, so if you’re looking to binge on any of the following free war movies, make sure the children are soundly in bed. Then pop some popcorn, and get ready to be entertained by explosions, intrigue, and edge-of-your-seat action.
Note: Some of the “free” war movies in the list below do require either an Amazon Prime or Netflix subscription to watch. Others are genuinely available for free on services like Tubi or Peacock. They aren’t all the latest releases, but still entertaining.
1. The Outpost (2020)
- Director: Rod Lurie
- Lead Actors: Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom
- Duration: 2h 3m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
This movie portrays the true story of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan. The film culminates when over 300 Taliban attacked the encampment in a surprise assault. Only 54 U.S. troops had to defend against and survive the attack.
Where to Watch: Netflix
2. Ghost of War (2020)
- Director: Eric Bress
- Lead Actors: Brenton Thwaites, Kyle Gallner, Alan Ritchson
- Duration: 1hr 34m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 5.6/10
If you love horror as much as you love war movies, you’ll enjoy Ghost of War. Five American soldiers are ordered to occupy a French Chateau during WWII. What should have been a fairly straightforward assignment turns into a nightmare when the soldiers realize that something supernatural is already in residence in the mansion with them.
Where to Watch: Netflix
3. Mine (2016)
- Director: Fabio Guaglione, Fabio Resinaro
- Lead Actors: Armie Hammer, Annabelle Wallis, Tom Cullen
- Duration: 1h 46m
- Rating: Not Rated
- IMDB Rating: 5.9/10
Marine sniper Sergeant Mike Stevens must locate and take out the leader of a terrorist cell in North Africa. One wrong move lands him with his left foot on an active mine in the middle of the desert. Stevens must use his marine training and wits to survive for 52 hours until the next convoy arrives. However, the heat, thirst, and hunger are not the most difficult challenges he faces. His mind is.
Where to Watch: Fubo, Tubi, Redbox, Crackle, Vudu
4. The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
- Director: Richie Smyth
- Lead Actors: Jamie Dornan, Jason O’ Mara, Danny Sapani
- Duration: 1h 48m
- Rating: TV-MA
- IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
This movie tells the true story of a group of Irish peacekeepers in the Congo who are assigned to protect the residents of Jadotville during the start of a local civil war. Caught in the middle of the firefight with Katangese and mercenary troops, the Irish soldiers must stand their ground and survive with little supplies and limited weapons.
Where to Watch: Netflix
5. Journey’s End (2018)
- Director: Saul Dibb
- Lead Actors: Paul Bettany, Sam Claflin, Stephen Graham
- Duration: 1h 47m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
Journey’s End tells the tale of a company of British soldiers along the Western Front in April of 1918. The company, led by veteran Captain Stanhope, now an alcoholic and war-weary, must prepare for an upcoming assault against German forces. 2nd Lieutenant Raligh joins the line fresh out of training, only to learn that the Stanhope he knew back at school is no longer the same man.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Vudu, Tubi, Kanopy
6. The Monuments Men (2014)
- Director: George Clooney
- Lead Actors: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray
- Duration: 1h 58m
- Rating: PG-13
- IMDB Rating: 6.1/10
This movie tells the remarkable true story of a WWII platoon created by FDR to rescue art from Nazi forces. What’s most surprising about this story is that this platoon was made up of museum curators and art historians. These regular citizens accepted their mission to locate and capture mountains of precious artifacts that the world would otherwise lose forever if the Nazis succeed in destroying it all.
Where to Watch: Tubi
7. T-34 (2020)
- Director: Aleksey Sidorov
- Lead Actors: Alexander Petrov, Irina Starshenbaum, Viktor Dobronravov
- Duration: 2h 19m
- Rating: TV-14
- IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
T-34 may very well be one of the best tank movies of all time. Lieutenant Ivushkin, held in captivity by German forces, puts together a crew of fellow prisoners and plans a daring escape using an old T-34 tank. The Germans plan to use the crew and the unarmed T-34 tank as target practice during training exercises. Little do they know that Ivushkin has managed to arm the tank and plans to bust out using it.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Vudu, Pluto TV
8. The Yellow Birds (2018)
- Director: Alexandre Moors
- Lead Actors: Alden Ehrenreich, Tye Sheridan, Mikey Collins
- Duration: 1h 34m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
Yellow Birds tells the story of John Bartle and his efforts to stay alive during his time in the Iraq War. The movie isn’t all war and action. After the war, it also follows him as he tries to deal with the psychological aftermath once he returns home to Virginia.
Where to Watch: Tubi
9. Company of Heroes (2013)
- Director: Don Michael Paul
- Lead Actors: Tom Sizemore, Alastair Mackenzie, Chad Michael Collins
- Duration: 1h 40m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 5.1/10
Lost behind enemy lines during WWII in the Battle of the Bulge, a company of U.S. soldiers discovers that Hitler is developing a super bomb. The story tells how they attempt to race deeper into Nazi Germany to recover the defecting German scientist in charge of developing the bomb and bring him back into Allied hands.
Where to Watch: Tubi
10. Air Strike (2018)
- Director: Xiao Feng
- Lead Actors: Ye Liu, Bruce Willis, Song Seung-heon
- Duration: 1h 36m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 3.2/10
Featuring Bruce Willis as a U.S. Colonel in charge of training Chinese soldiers to defend Chongquing from Japanese Air Force attacks. The story takes place in 1940 and presents little-known history to audiences. While this movie is ranked lowly by IMDB and other critics, war movie fans will appreciate the firefights and action throughout this film.
Where to Watch: Netflix
11. Defiance (2008)
- Director: Edward Zwick
- Lead Actors: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell
- Duration: 2h 17m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
During WWII, the Bielski brothers and fellow fleeing Polish Jews hid and survived in the deep forests of German-occupied Eastern Europe. This movie details how they not only survived but also gathered weapons and defended themselves against threats from both the German forces and also the Soviets who had little sympathy or concern for the escapees.
Where to Watch: Netflix
12. Tears of the Sun (2003)
- Director: Antoine Fuqua
- Lead Actors: Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Monica Bellucci
- Duration: 2h 1m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Tears of the Sun tells the story of an elite Navy SEAL squadron headed by Lieutenant A.K. Waters. Their mission has nothing to do with the Nigerian conflict waging around them – they are only supposed to retrieve Dr. Lena Kendricks of Doctors Without Borders. But the group must defy their orders to protect a group of refugees the doctor is tending to. So the Navy SEALs take the villagers through the jungle as they continue to be attacked by rebel forces.
Where to Watch: Netflix
13. Danger Close (2018)
- Director: Kriv Stenders
- Lead Actors: Travis Fimmel, Toby Blome, Alexander England
- Duration: 1h 58m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
Danger Close is one of the most nail-biting tails based around the Vietnam war. It tells about the actual experiences of Australian and New Zealand soldiers attempting to defend an area of Long Tan on August 18, 1966. As supplies run low and a North Vietnamese force of 2,500 encircles them, these soldiers must maintain their will to survive against overwhelming odds. The Battle of Long Tan is considered one of the most violent engagements of the war, with an ending that will leave you stunned.
Where to Watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime
14. Hyena Road (2016)
- Director: Paul Gross
- Lead Actors: Rossif Sutherland, Allan Hawco, David Richmond-Peck
- Duration: 2h
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
This 2015 Canadian film covers the true story of a Canadian task force attempting to defend the construction of the Hyena road being built by Canadian combat engineers. The film details how Taliban forces sought to hunt down the Canadian soldiers, how locals double-crossed the troops and the violent encounters that happened along the way.
Where to Watch: Tubi, Vudu, Amazon Prime, Pluto TV
15. To End All Wars (2001)
- Director: David L. Cunningham
- Lead Actors: Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland, Ciarán McMenamin
- Duration: 1h 57m
- Rating: R
- IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
During World War II, the Japanese used Allied POWs to build a railroad through the Burmese jungle. This film details the psychological torture the POWs endured and how they managed to stay alive while maintaining their humanity and hope. This dramatic film will force you to think about complicated questions around morality, pride, and revenge.
Where to Watch: Tubi, Peacock TV, Amazon Prime
16. The Trench (1999)
- Director: William Boyd
- Lead Actors: Paul Nicholls, Daniel Craig, Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Duration: 1h 38m
- Rating: Not Rated
- IMDB Rating: 6.0/10
One of the greatest WWI trench warfare movies, this film details the days in British trenches during the buildup to the battle of the Somme in 1916.
Where to Watch: Pluto TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime
17. Battle for Sevastopol (2015)
- Director: Sergey Mokritskiy
- Lead Actors: Yuliya Peresild, Evgeniy Tsyganov, Oleg Vasilkov
- Duration: 1h 50m
- Rating: Not Rated
- IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
This movie details the fantastic true story of student Lyudmila Pavlichenko who enlisted in the Russian army in 1941. She proves herself as a skilled sniper, which the German HIgh Command soon recognizes as a threat that needs to be eliminated. She survives the war, but not without serious injury first. She travels to the United States and meets with Eleanor Roosevelt before speaking to the American public to gain approval for a second front.
Where to Watch: Tubi, Amazon Prime
Watching War Movies for Free
It isn’t always easy to find good war movies for free, but hopefully the list above will provide war movie buffs with plenty of entertainment. Throughout these plots, you’ll find drama, horror, action, and even love stories. You might also consider searching through old public domain movies for more fabulous finds.
Do you know of any other great free war movies you can watch online? Share your favorites in the comments section below.
