10 Most Intense War Movies Ever Made

2. Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down 2001
Columbia Pictures

A stellar cast, incredible firefights, brilliant setting and cinematography and dire events that only get worse with every passing minute? Yes, please!

Black Hawk Down depicts the peacekeeping attempts by the US military during the Somali civil war of 1993.

Several branches, including the 75th Rangers and a counter-terrorist Delta unit, are deployed to capture the warlord Aidid's closest advisers in what was meant to be an in-and-out operation with little in the way of opposition.

This apparently simple plan is scuppered when Private Blackburn is injured and requires immediate medical attention and one of the Black Hawk helicopters is shot down.

As the convoy breaks apart - some taking the prisoners and Blackburn to the Mogadishu airport and the rest rushing to help the crew of the crashed helicopter - everything goes wrong.

They come under heavy gunfire and take some casualties, beginning with Sgt. Dominick Pilla (Daniel Hoch) and run into several roadblocks.

Viewers were firmly gripping the edges of their collective seats as the operation spirals out of control. What their superiors had described as being 'no longer than 30 minutes' turned into a series of firefights and skirmishes spread over 15 hours.

Only the dead have seen the end of war, but it's something you should definitely go and watch.

Contributor

Lover of all things zombie. Secretly wishing for the apocalypse, but only on easy difficulty. Top of the world leaderboards for a couple of songs on Pro Drums on Rock Band 4. Can name every world flag. Currently doing my MA in Creative Writing in an attempt to do something with my life.