Best Military/Government Movies
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- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring 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.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsHarrison FordWillem DafoeAnne ArcherCIA Analyst Jack Ryan is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonJason IsaacsGreg KinnearDiscovering covert and faulty intelligence causes a U.S. Army officer to go rogue as he hunts for Weapons of Mass Destruction in an unstable region.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJessica ChastainJoel EdgertonChris PrattA chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsLeonardo DiCaprioRussell CroweMark StrongA CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsJamie FoxxChris CooperJennifer GarnerA team of U.S. government agents are sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsGene HackmanDenzel WashingtonMatt CravenOn a U.S. nuclear missile sub, a young First Officer stages a mutiny to prevent his trigger happy Captain from launching his missiles before confirming his orders to do so.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsHarrison FordSean BeanAnne ArcherWhen CIA analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets him and his family for revenge.
- DirectorJohn MooreStarsGene HackmanOwen WilsonGabriel MachtA disillusioned pilot shot down over war-torn Bosnia goes on the run from the local military and an assassin, as his commanding officer risks all to save him.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMark RylanceAlan AldaDuring the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsMark WahlbergTaylor KitschEmile HirschMarcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKen WatanabeKazunari NinomiyaTsuyoshi IharaThe story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsJake GyllenhaalJamie FoxxLucas BlackA psychological study of Marine's state of mind during the Gulf War. Told through the eyes of a U.S. Marine sniper who struggles to cope with boredom, a sense of isolation, and other issues back home.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsGeorge ClooneyMark WahlbergIce CubeIn the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsSean ConneryAlec BaldwinScott GlennIn November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
- DirectorMichael BayStarsSean ConneryNicolas CageEd HarrisA mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi MooreMilitary lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodMarsha MasonEverett McGillHard-nosed, hard-living Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn CazaleAn in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsBradley CooperSienna MillerKyle GallnerNavy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
- DirectorTerry GeorgeStarsDon CheadleSophie OkonedoJoaquin PhoenixPaul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsBruce WillisCole HauserMonica BellucciA Special-Ops commander leads his team into the Nigerian jungle in order to rescue a doctor who will only join them if they agree to save 70 refugees too.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsTom CruiseBill NighyCarice van HoutenA dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJames WoodsJim BelushiMichael MurphyA burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.
- DirectorMichael BayStarsBen AffleckKate BeckinsaleJosh HartnettA tale of war and romance mixed in with history. The story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsRyan PhillippeBarry PepperJoseph CrossThe life stories of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in World War II.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsLeonardo DiCaprioArmie HammerNaomi WattsJ. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsTom CruiseKen WatanabeBilly ConnollyIn 19th century Japan, Nathan Algren, a US army captain, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Captain Algren finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
- DirectorGeorge Tillman Jr.StarsCuba Gooding Jr.Robert De NiroCharlize TheronThe story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver, and the man who trained him.
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
- DirectorStephen GaghanStarsGeorge ClooneyMatt DamonAmanda PeetA politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved in and affected by it.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsTom CruiseTim RobbinsKelly McGillisAs students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
- DirectorLewis TeagueStarsCharlie SheenMichael BiehnJoanne WhalleyA battle-hardened SEAL Team set off on a mission to destroy a shipment of US-built Stinger missiles that have fallen into terrorist hands.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsBen AffleckMorgan FreemanIan MongrainCIA analyst Jack Ryan must stop the plans of a Neo-Nazi faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's President by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore, Maryland.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsHarrison FordGary OldmanGlenn CloseCommunist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.
- DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsJason RobardsJoBeth WilliamsSteve GuttenbergThe effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsClint EastwoodJohn MalkovichRene RussoSecret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn't save Kennedy, but he's determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerJamie Lee CurtisTom ArnoldA fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used-car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
- DirectorD.J. CarusoStarsShia LaBeoufMichelle MonaghanRosario DawsonJerry and Rachel are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsWill SmithGene HackmanJon VoightA lawyer becomes targeted by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a politically motivated crime.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsTom HanksBarkhad AbdiBarkhad AbdirahmanThe true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsRobert RedfordBrad PittCatherine McCormackRetiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors.
- DirectorRod LurieStarsRobert RedfordJames GandolfiniMark RuffaloA court-martialed General rallies together twelve hundred inmates to rise against a corrupt and sadistic warden.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsAl PacinoColin FarrellBridget MoynahanA brilliant young CIA trainee is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the Agency.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanEd HarrisCareer thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) witnesses a horrific crime involving U.S. President Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman).
- DirectorRon HowardStarsFrank LangellaMichael SheenKevin BaconA dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsAngelina JolieLiev SchreiberChiwetel EjioforA CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.
- DirectorRobert SchwentkeStarsBruce WillisHelen MirrenMorgan FreemanWhen his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last-ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants.
- DirectorDaniel EspinosaStarsDenzel WashingtonRyan ReynoldsRobert PatrickA young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.
- DirectorBetty ThomasStarsEddie MurphyOwen WilsonFamke JanssenA professional athlete has to help a U.S. government agent recover a missing jet.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsJulia RobertsDenzel WashingtonSam ShepardA law student uncovers a conspiracy, putting herself and others in danger.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack LemmonNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsDustin HoffmanRobert RedfordJack Warden"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanRobert De NiroAnne HecheShortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMichael DouglasAnnette BeningMartin SheenA widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsJack LemmonJames GarnerDan AykroydTwo former U. S. Presidents, hated rivals, join forces to expose the current, corrupt President at the risk of their lives.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsAnthony HopkinsChris RockMatthew MarshWhen an Ivy League-educated C.I.A. Agent is killed during an operation, the secret agency recruits his twin brother (Chris Rock).
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsVal KilmerElisabeth ShueRade SerbedzijaSimon "The Saint" Templar (Val Kilmer), is a thief for hire, whose latest job to steal the secret process for cold fusion puts him at odds with a traitor bent on toppling the Russian government, as well as the woman who holds its secret.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRobert De NiroJean RenoNatascha McElhoneA freelancing former U.S. Intelligence Agent tries to track down a mysterious package that is wanted by the Irish and the Russians.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsChanning TatumJamie FoxxMaggie GyllenhaalWhile on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsDustin HoffmanRene RussoMorgan FreemanArmy doctors struggle to find a cure for a deadly virus spreading throughout a California town that was brought to America by an African monkey.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsBruce WillisMiko HughesAlec BaldwinShadowy elements in the NSA target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he is able to decipher a top secret code.
- DirectorSimon WestStarsJohn TravoltaMadeleine StoweJames CromwellWhen the daughter of a well-known and well-respected base commander is murdered, an undercover detective is summoned to look into the matter and finds a slew of cover-ups at West Point.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerBruce GreenwoodShawn DriscollIn October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsRoy ScheiderWarren OatesCandy ClarkThe cop test pilot for an experimental police helicopter learns the sinister implications of the new vehicle.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsTom HanksJulia RobertsPhilip Seymour HoffmanA drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
- DirectorChuck RussellStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerVanessa WilliamsJames CaanA Witness Protection specialist becomes suspicious of his co-workers when dealing with a case involving high-tech weapons.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsHarrison FordTommy Lee JonesSela WardDr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.
- DirectorStuart BairdStarsTommy Lee JonesWesley SnipesRobert Downey Jr.U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard and his team of Marshals are assigned to track down Sheridan, who has been accused of a double-murder.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsBruce WillisDamon WayansChelsea FieldA private detective's protected female witness is murdered, prompting him and the victim's boyfriend to investigate the crime that leads to a corrupt politician and a crooked football team owner.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsNick NolteMelanie GriffithJennifer ConnellyIn 1950's Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
- DirectorMikael HåfströmStarsSylvester StalloneArnold Schwarzenegger50 CentWhen a structural-security authority finds himself set up and incarcerated in the world's most secret and secure prison, he has to use his skills to escape with help from the inside.
- DirectorJames McTeigueStarsHugo WeavingNatalie PortmanRupert GravesIn a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
- DirectorRay KelloggJohn WayneMervyn LeRoyStarsJohn WayneDavid JanssenJim HuttonCol. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for a mission in South Vietnam. First off is to build and control a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy the second mission is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsCharlton HestonHenry FondaJames CoburnA dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
- DirectorRichard FleischerKinji FukasakuToshio MasudaStarsMartin BalsamSô YamamuraJason RobardsThe story of the 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, and the series of preceding American blunders that aggravated its effectiveness.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDemi MooreViggo MortensenAnne BancroftLt. Jordan, a US Navy topographic analyst, joins the US Navy Special Warfare Group and struggles to prove her worth in a unit dominated by men. But a cynical woman Texan senator has sold her out.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsBruce WillisRichard GereSidney PoitierAn imprisoned I.R.A. fighter is freed to help stop a brutal, seemingly "faceless" assassin from completing his next job.
- DirectorFranc RoddamStarsDavid KeithRobert ProskyG.D. SpradlinIn 1960s America, a black cadet is allowed acceptance into a seemingly prestigious military academy, unleashing a barrage of corruption within the system that another cadet is willing to expose.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsSylvester StalloneBrian DennehyRichard CrennaA veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
- DirectorMenahem GolanStarsChuck NorrisLee MarvinMartin BalsamAfter a plane is hijacked by terrorists, The Delta Force is sent in to resolve the crisis.
- DirectorJoseph ZitoStarsChuck NorrisM. Emmet WalshDavid TressColonel Braddock launches a mission deep into the jungles of Vietnam to find the POW camp that he escaped from and free the Americans still held captive there.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaCharles NapierRambo returns to the jungles of Vietnam on a mission to infiltrate an enemy base-camp and rescue the American POWs still held captive there.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsTom CruiseBryan LarkinRaymond J. BarryThe biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsJohn TravoltaEmma ThompsonKathy BatesA man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for President of the United States of America.
- DirectorMariano BarrosoStarsSalma HayekLumi CavazosEdward James OlmosIn the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsMatthew BroderickAlly SheedyJohn WoodA young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsDean-Charles ChapmanGeorge MacKayDaniel MaysApril 6th, 1917. As an infantry battalion assembles to wage war deep in enemy territory, two soldiers are assigned to race against time and deliver a message that will stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsEd SkreinPatrick WilsonWoody HarrelsonThe story of the Battle of Midway, told by the leaders and the sailors who fought it.