• Born to Kill (1987)
• Platoon (1986)
• Men of Honor (2000)
• 684: Combat Unit (2003)
• War on Terror (2008)
• American Sniper (2014)
• The Men Who Stared at Goats (2009)
• Apocalypse Now (1979)

Over the years, many films with a military theme have become popular worldwide, and soldier training sequences have become a reference in cinema.

It is difficult to select the best films with this theme, because many have gone down in history and were remarkable in their own way, but it is possible to list some that are fundamental to understanding this cinematographic sub-genre and also to feel like soldiers.

Born to Kill (1987)

Direction: Stanley Kubrick

The Vietnam War is, in itself, a historical passage that makes us reflect on the humanity of armies and the real motivations of military conflicts. In the film Born to Kill, director Stanley Kubrick manages to raise this reflection to the highest level.

The first half of the film presents a group of conscripts under the command of a sadistic sergeant, and in the second half we follow the war from the perspective of a military newspaper correspondent.

Every scene and dialogue is stomach-churning. Born to Kill is a masterpiece of cinema.

Platoon (1986)

Direction: Oliver Stone

Director Oliver Stone is known for the acidity of his films and his lack of scruples in portraying his characters in a visceral way.

The movie Platoon is considered by many to be "the best war movie ever made," and despite the hype about it, this title is extremely understandable.

A young man, played by Charlie Sheen, voluntarily enlists to fight in Vietnam. Little by little, his libertarian and patriotic ideal is suffocated by the changes imposed by the war scenario and, just like him, we also lose our innocence throughout the narrative.

Men of Honor (2000)

Direction: George Tillman, Jr.

In a completely different setting from the previous two films, Men of Honor depicts a young American who joins the Navy hoping to become a diver.

In the beginning, he works as a cook because this was one of the few jobs assigned to black people in the 1950s and 1960s.

However, over the course of the story, he manages to gain a foothold alongside the commander played by Robert De Niro.

The film shows, besides the interesting training of Navy divers, the real story of a battle against prejudice and military bureaucracy.

684: Combat Unit (2003)

Direction: Kang Woo-Suk

Eschewing the Hollywood circuit, the South Korean film 684 tells the story of a group of men turned war machines.

The trained soldiers are individuals who lived on the margins of society and were drafted by the government in the 1960s.

In the film, the training takes place on the island of Silmido and the scenes are based on true accounts.

War on Terror (2008)

Direction: Kathryn Bigelow

To understand the mind of soldiers and the effects of war in a raw, intimate and visceral way, you must watch War on Terror.

The film was written by former Iraq War correspondent Mark Boal and chronicles the soldiers' routine days before they return home.

Winner of the Oscar in five categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, War on Terror deserves to be highlighted for its critical and inspired direction.

American Sniper (2014)

Direction: Clint Eastwood

The film tells the true story of Chris Kyle, a member of the United States Navy Special Operations Forces who enlisted to fight in the Iraq War.

Nicknamed "Legend" for the large number of casualties to his name, Chris Kyle lived in limbo. Clint Eastwood's direction shows how he could not detach himself from the war and live an ordinary life with his family.

The Men Who Stared at Goats (2009)

Direction: Grant Heslov

While the films listed above are dramas, The Men Who Stared at Goats is filled with acid humor.

Based on a book of the same name, the film tells the story of a reporter played by Ewan McGregor who, while looking for a major news story, meets a man who claims to be part of a large experimental unit of the US army trained to read enemy thoughts.

The soldiers' main training, as the name implies, was to kill goats with the power of the mind.

As crazy as the story may sound, the movie is based on a true story.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Direction: Francis Ford Coppola

The same director of The Godfather created one of the most bloody and striking war movies.

With an impacting soundtrack and hallucinogenic photography, the film tells the story of a captain whose mission is to find and kill a colonel who supposedly went crazy and hid in the jungles of Cambodia.

Played by Martin Sheen (Charlie Sheen's father), the Captain experiences frightening moments as he encounters a colonel, incredibly played by Marlon Brando, who is extremely affected by the horrors of war.