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Movies that feel like We Were Soldiers (2002)

If you loved We Were Soldiers, the closest films we have are Eastern Condors (1987), Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2007) and 12 Strong (2018). All three share We Were Soldiers' kinetic and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

The 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 "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind...dead or alive. We will all come home together."

πŸ… 63% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Randall Wallacekineticepicbleak
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If We Were Soldiers hit the spot, these will too

Eastern Condors poster
Eastern Condors
1987 Β· dir. Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
β˜… 7.1action Β· adventure Β· war

Both are built on the same subject: soldier

The difference: Sits closer to adventure than We Were Soldiers does

A motley group of Chinese prisoners held in the US is sent on a covert mission with the promise of a pardon: to go deep into Vietnam and destroy a secret depot of missiles that the US left behind during the pull-out.

Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan poster
Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan
2007 Β· dir. Sergei Bodrov
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.2history Β· war Β· action

The same mix in both: momentum, then scale

The story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan, a slave who went on to conquer half the world in the 11th century.

12 Strong poster
12 Strong
2018 Β· dir. Nicolai Fuglsig
πŸ… 50%β˜… 6.5war Β· action Β· history

One thread runs through both: a true story

A team of special forces head into Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks in an attempt to dismantle the Taliban.

Black Hawk Down poster
Black Hawk Down
2001 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.7action Β· war Β· history

Both keep coming back to the same thing: a true story

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground.

Enemy at the Gates poster
Enemy at the Gates
2001 Β· dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
πŸ… 53%β˜… 7.5war Β· history

Common ground: hero

The difference: Not nearly as kinetic as We Were Soldiers

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

Kingdom of Heaven poster
Kingdom of Heaven
2005 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 39%β˜… 7.3drama Β· action Β· adventure

The same preoccupation in both: battlefield

After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

Red Cliff poster
Red Cliff
2008 Β· dir. John Woo
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· drama Β· history

Bleak action in both cases

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War poster
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
2004 Β· dir. Kang Je-kyu
πŸ… 79%β˜… 8action Β· adventure Β· drama

Both lean on momentum more than on history

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.

300 poster
300
2007 Β· dir. Zack Snyder
πŸ… 61%β˜… 7.6action Β· adventure Β· war

Common ground: army

A story very loosely based the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians.

Red Cliff II poster
Red Cliff II
2009 Β· dir. John Woo
β˜… 7.5action Β· adventure Β· drama

War built on scale, twice over

The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?

Rambo: First Blood Part II poster
Rambo: First Blood Part II
1985 Β· dir. George P. Cosmatos
πŸ… 33%β˜… 6.5action Β· adventure Β· thriller

Both are working the same pair: vietnam war, vietnam veteran

John 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.

The Woman King poster
The Woman King
2022 Β· dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood
πŸ… 94%β˜… 6.9action Β· drama Β· history

Bleak action, and it commits to that

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

In the mood for more kinetic?

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The best-reviewed films that share We Were Soldiers’ defining feeling.