10 War Films on Amazon Prime Video that will make Netflix subscribers think twice

Netflix is the king of online streaming and for us war film fans they offer a great selection ( as of August 2018 45 war movies), but are there alternatives to the streaming giant. Amazon itself is a great proposition, they are clearly trying to compete with the likes of Netflix for on demand viewing, but the Amazon Prime packages offer so much more. Offering free and fast delivery on selected purchases, plus loads of free books, music and of course movies and television to stream. Even better they are currently offering a free 30 day trial on Prime membership, check that out here and it's normally £7.99 per month. For today and tomorrow only, there's even £20 off an annual prime membership £59 for the year, what a bargain!! Check it for yourself here.

Anyway to the purpose of this blog, what's worth watching on Amazon Video in terms of war movies? In a previous post (Current Top Rated War Films on Amazon Prime) I listed 10 great war movies with the idea that if people were looking for something to watch one of those would surely satisfy that need. The list of content on Amazon Prime is absolutely huge, I don't intend to cover it all in this blog. So I'm going to cherry pick out some of the films I think are worth watching. I've seen loads of war movies over the years but I haven't seen them all so if there's one on there that's worth watching that I don't include please let me know in the comments below or on our Facebook page (War Films Online).

1. Schindler's List

2. Apocalypse Now (no longer available)

3. Full Metal Jacket

4. Hurt Locker

5. The Deer Hunter

6. Defiance (no longer available)

7. Jarhead

8. The Hurt Locker

9. Where Eagles Dare

10. '71

5 of the newest and best war films to stream on Netflix 2017 and 2016 releases

So what to watch on Netflix tonight? I've covered in the some previous posts some of the greats available to stream on Netflix (and Amazon Prime Video), but what about new movies, what about something different? Well here I've compiled a list of 5 of the newest war films from the last few years that are currently available (Originally April 2018, films still current 12/8/18) to stream on Netflix UK. I'm trying to provide some insight into the war films and I really don't mind writing reviews, but I don't really want to give the whole plot away. Instead giving some insight into what the film is about and some of the cast, if readers want more detail I'm happy to provide it in future posts, just let me know below in the comments or on facebook or twitter. I hope you find something worth watching.

Starting with the best films available on Netflix UK now, according to IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings first;

A Pacifist hero

Hacksaw Ridge, 2016, BBFC rating 15. Inexplicably I've not seen this movie, it's one I want to watch and I know IMDB gives Hacksaw Ridge a very healthy 8.2 meanwhile Rotten Tomatoes gives a great score too 86% reflecting the quality of probably one of the top war films on Netflix. It's a war film that has a great deal of buzz around it and for good reason. It follows Andrew Garfield playing Desmond Doss an American solider in World War 2 who was deployed to Okinawa and refused to kill enemy combatants and instead spent his time helping the injured gaining a coveted Medal of Honor for his efforts. Surely this is a must watch for a war film, let me know if I'm wrong.

Siege of Jadotville, 2016, 15. I've seen this one and would recommend it. Following the theme of recent war films that break the mould, this film revolves around historical events when Irish United Nations troops were deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1961, certainly not a well trodden war film path. The story follows 155 Irish troops under Commander Patrick Quinlan played by Jamie Dornan, besieged and isolated in a remote outpost by Katangese troops and foreign mercenaries. It's a very compelling story of survival against the odds. I think the ratings of 7.3 from IMDB and 60% from Rotten Tomatoes are fair.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi on Netflix

13 Hours: the Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, 2016, 15. I have seen this movie and I think it's probably one of the better ones of recent years. Again it follows that theme of atypical war movies as it follows the stories of Private Military Contractors (or mercenaries if you prefer) in the conflict in Libya, which is an unusual -but welcome- setting for a war movie. The gripping tale of the team deployed to guard an unofficial CIA base in Libya but when a compound containing the US Ambassador is attacked the 6 contractors are the American's only hope. IMBD rating of  7.3 and a rather different Rotten Tomatoes score of 50% 🤔.

Sand Castle, 2017, 15, I've seen this one and I would definitely recommend it. In some ways it's very typical of a war film; lots of action, suspense, struggle and loss but in other ways it's very nontypical for example if I was going to describe the film in 3 words they'd be: fear, tension and futility. I've included the trailer from YouTube which gives a very good sense of what the movie is about. Briefly the film follows a US Army Recruit Matt Ocre played by Nicholas Hoult, as his platoon is assigned to secure the water supply for an Iraqi village in the opening parts of the 2003 war. This seemingly simple task is anything but. IMDB gives the film a rating of 6.3 and Rotten Tomatoes 49% I feel this is a little unfair and I think it's worth watching, that said I don't think it'll mature into a classic.

War Machine, 2017, 15. I've not seen this one, so I can't provide a great deal of insight into the film. It's apparently a satirical comedy starring Brad Pitt, as a Four Star General tasked with overseeing the end of the war in Afghanistan. The poster has the tagline "We're going to liberate the sh** out of you", doesn't quite sound like my kind of movie, maybe I'll watch it one day, maybe. But for now all I can say about how good it is or not IMDB gives it a rating of 6/10, Rotten Tomatoes meanwhile gives it 49%.

Let me know if I've missed any of the newest or best war films on Netflix. Thanks for reading, I hope it helped uncover a great movie for you to watch.