20 Best War Movies Released Since 2000

Sam Mendes strikes again, this time tackling the horror of the First World War with an immersive one-shot tour through all the shades of frontline combat. 

Gorgeously realised and relentlessly intense, 1917 concerns two British soldiers (George McKay and Dean Charles-Chapman) at they're tasked with the thankless but noble task of crossing enemy lines to deliver a critical message to another battalion. 

The results of their mission offer a frank look at every corner of war, from the terror of the trenches to the civilian lives caught in the chaos, and Mendes's unblinking direction offers no break from the thrilling pace of their journey. 

With its punishing pace and lived-in set pieces - you can almost feel the grime and claustrophobia of life in the trenches - 1917 is an exhilarating dive into the madness faced by young men forced into impossible situations, ordered to risk everything for their fellow soldiers, and it's as heartbreaking as it intoxicatingly shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins.