10 War Movie Cliches That Annoy EVERYONE

Becoming an officer in the military is no picnic. While there may be a preconceived notion that senior soldiers have it easier than the typical army rank and file due to their higher status, the truth is that officers undergo a lengthy and rigorous selection process to qualify for their positions like all other soldiers.

With that being said, it's an inescapable fact that the incompetent officer trope is down to a selection of real-life gung-ho examples, men who made their men miserable or put their lives at risk through general ineptitude. Played by David Schwimmer, Band of Brothers' Captain Herbert Sobel is the quintessential example of one of the genre's cliched officers. A cruel and pedantic drill sergeant, the universally disliked Sobel tormented the men under his command by making them perform tasks like running up Currahee Mountain immediately after consuming large portions of spaghetti.

However, while officers like Sobel existed, such characters typically serve no greater purpose than to illustrate their ineffectiveness in contrast to the film's cast of battle-hardened, savvy veterans. This begs the question as to why this cliche continues to feature so prominently in war movies.