January 7, 2013 11:14 AM | By Norman Wilner
Modern Warfare: 6 movies about the way we fight now

Let's take a look at other recent American pictures that investigate war from the soldier’s perspective.

Zero Dark Thirty (© Columbia Pictures)
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  • Zero Dark Thirty (© Columbia Pictures)
  • Three Kings (1999) (© Warner Bros.)
  • Jarhead (2005) (© Universal Pictures)
  • Redacted (2007) (© Magnolia Pictures)
  • The Hurt Locker (2008) (© Summit Entertainment)
  • Green Zone (2010) (© Universal Pictures)
  • Act of Valor (2012) (© Relativity Media)
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Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty arrives in theatres this week bearing accolades from American critics, some favour from the Toronto Film Critics Association (which listed it as a runner-up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress) and an awful lot of controversy over whether its depiction of CIA operatives torturing detainees constitutes an endorsement of the Bush-era practice.

What no one is talking about is the exacting methodology with which Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal immerse their audience in a world at war, capturing the state of mind that drives people into dark places (both literally and figuratively) in the belief that they serve a greater good. So we thought we’d take a look at other recent American pictures that investigate war from the soldier’s perspective. We’re not pretending these films are in any way representative of the real battlegrounds – for that, you should check out the exceptional recent documentaries Restrepo, Armadillo and Hell and Back Again – but they’re an intriguing look into Hollywood’s evolving attitude towards war movies in recent years.