5 Best war movies of 2014

2014 could easily be called as the year of sci-fi films with movies like Interstellar and Guardians of the Galaxy overshadowing every other movie. But amidst those there were some gut wrenching war movies that, apart from showing the impact of war and the complexities of the battlefield, revealed the effect of it on the soldiers involved. Here is a list of some of the best war movies released in 2014:    

1. American Sniper: After directing a musical hit Jersey Boys in 2014, Clint Eastwood delivered an exhilarating war movie which will leave you speechless and wanting for more. A movie based on  Chris Kyle's autobiography of the same name, stars a heavily built Bradley Cooper as the lead. From showing the horrors of the war to showing the emotional side of a soldier, Eastwood executes the film with perfection. The movie got positive reviews from the critics around the world with Vanity Fair calling it the best film of the year. A combination of excellent background score, good story and a prolific Bradley Cooper makes the film our Number One.  

2. '71: The movie tells the tale of a British soldier who gets separated from his unit while combating a riot in Belfast. The film stands apart from the usual crop of war films. The debut feature film directed by Yann Demange surprised everyone with Empire magazine calling it a "gripping thriller that combines real-world relevance with high-concept entertainment". Lead actor Jack O' Connell doesn't disappoint either, giving a performance that is wonderfully woven and watchable. Made on a moderate budget of less than Rs 50 crore the movie leaves you more satisfied than big budget production Fury. 

3. Fury: Starring Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf the movie set during World War II tells a tale of 6 veteran soldiers marching ahead on a  M4A3E8 Sherman tank named Fury. Directed by David Ayer, the writer of cult classic The Training Day, the movie keeps its viewer on the edge of their seats for most part of the movie. Like other war movies, Fury too portrays the horrors of war with some intense battle scenes. The film wasn't quite popular with the critics with Hollywood Reporter calling the film "a modern version of the sort of movie Hollywood turned out practically every week back in the 1940s and 1950s".  Steven Spielberg's TV series Band of Brothers, set in the same era, have captured the essence of it much better. But presence of the stars like Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf lifted the movie a notch above rest and make it a must watch for the audience who find war films interesting.

4. Unbroken: When Brad Pitt was doing Fury, his wife Angelina Jolie was busy directing the movie Unbroken. Based on 2010 non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand, the shows the struggle of World War II hero Louis "Louie" Zamperini who spent two and a half years in Japanese prisoner of war camps after surviving a plane crash and spending 47 days drifting on a raft. The movie features Jack O' Connell in the lead garnering accolades from Variety magazine saying that "O’Connell’s acting has rarely been more soulful or delicate". The movie had its own share of  controversies with it being banned in Japan for showing the Japanese army in bad light. 

5. The Monument's Men: With stalwarts like George Clooney, Matt Damon and Bill Murray working in the the movie, the movie could have easily been the best war movie in 2014. But with George Clooney wearing hats of director, producer, screenwriter and actor, the Hollywood veteran failed to hold the film together turning a true story into a dull and boring piece of history. Critic Matt Zoller Seitz on Roger Ebert's website concludes why it is so low in the rankings," This is not a terrible movie. It's just not consistently good enough to get excited about. It's the kind of film that you'll stumble across on TV, watch for a few minutes thinking, "This is all right, I don't know why everybody was so hard on it," then change the channel." However, the splendid special effects and an honest effort to make a boring story entertaining makes it a must watch and brings it to the number 5 spot on our list.