No other real-life event featured more in cinema than World War II. It’s one of the most iconic conflicts in human history and continues to be shown heavily in movies throughout the years. For decades, cinemagoers have become fascinated by films centering around this war.Some ofthe great movies in history revolve around this period,and it’s mostly stellar stories.
Unfortunately, the following entries below are WWII films that no one could consider the best. These are some of the worst war movies, period. Whether critical and commercial duds or historically inaccurate flops,these movies don’t honor the events they portray and can get quite frustrating to watch. FromMichael Bay’sPearl HarbortoXiao Feng’sAir Strike, here are the ten worst movies depicting World War II.
10’Pearl Harbor' (2000)
Michael Bay
At first, entering a film around the infamous attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor seems like it would make for a compelling idea, as it was already once in 1970 withTora! Tora! Tora!In the hands of a more subtle director with respect to history, they would turn this story truly into one of the greats. But instead,the disastrous 2001 blockbusterPearl Harborgot director Michael Bay.
Known for his weak storytelling and need for obnoxious explosions, Bay and his films have been viewed more as style over substance, and here it clearly shows.Pearl Harborisa bloated, explosion-heavy messwith less to do with actual history and more of an awkward romance drama. The leads are poorly miscast, the dialog is clichéd, the attack scene drags on way longer than the actual event, and it’sfilled with frustrating inaccuracies. While there is some decent action and a few thrilling performances,Pearl Harboris certainly not one of the most praised war movies around.
Pearl Harbor
9’Red Tails' (2012)
Directed by Anthony Hemingway
What makesan aerial war movie so thrilling? Is it the high-flying action, incredible midair stunts, the hot-shot ace pilots, or a combination of the three? Indeed, these movies have fascinated cinemagoers for years, and there are plenty of memorable ones to choose from. But not all of them have such a high reputation, which is where 2012’sRed Tailscomes in.
Red Tailsis not entirely terrible or frustrating, but it justfalls short of being an entertaining movie. It plays things too safely, telling a generic story that, while based on incredibly true events, is still forgettable and formulaic. The acting is OK for what the performers are given, but the characters are one-dimensional and saddled with clichéd dialog. The battle scenes are semi-decent despite their overreliance on unconvincing-looking CGI. Overall,Red Tailsis a bit of a disappointment—not the worst, but certainly not the best.
8Captain Corelli’s Mandolin' (2001)
Directed by John Madden
Besides some famous examples, likeEscape to AthensandThe Guns of Navarone, Greece often doesn’t get shown as much in WWII movies as in other parts of Europe. Even so, in 2001, a film adaption of a novel set in Axis-Occupied Greece premiered.Captain Corelli’s Mandolincould have offered a compelling story that shed light on this mostly overshadowed side of the war and offered some decent history. Instead,it was a melodramatic, dull mess that failed to entertain.
The romance is wasted by the lack of chemistry between the two leads,Nicolas CageandPenélope Cruz. And there’s no looking pastCage’s hilariously fake Italian accent, which makes the performance laughable. Though visually stunning and competently directed,Captain Corelli’s Mandolinis an easily skippable war film thatdoesn’t really offer anything interesting.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
7’Windtalkers' (2002)
Directed by John Woo
A war movie shedding light on an unsung group of heroes during World War II seems like a great idea. But what happens when someone makes that movie only to barely focus on those heroes at all? Unfortunately, that’s what happened withJohn Woo’s 2002 action war dramaWindtalkers, a failed attempt to honor the story of the Navajo code talkers who were instrumental in the war effort.
Sadly,the code talkers are poorly represented. BesidesAdam Beache’s main character, Ben Yahzee, the rest are sidelined as supporting characters or barely shown at all. Instead, the film sees Nicolas Cage hogging most of the screen time, and although his acting is fine, his character is just generic.Windtalkersis forgettable, clichéd, and featuresso many tired tropes. It’s not as frustratingly bad as some others here, but it honestlycomes across as mediocre.
Windtalkers
6’Battle of the Last Panzer' (1969)
Directed by José Luis Merino
Directed byJosé Luis Merino,Battle of the Last Panzerisan international war movietold from the German perspective during the Allied invasion of WWII. Told through the eyes of a panzer tank crew, it follows the team as they engage in a desperate final battle against an overwhelming Allied force.
Though an interesting concept that offers perspectives on the Axis side of the war,Battle of the Last Panzerfails in its execution. The acting is mediocre, the music is beyond obnoxious, andthe plot is littered with glaring inaccuracies. While it boasts a few decent action sequences,Battle of the Last Panzerisan overall skippable war flickthat had the potential to be better but unfortunately came up short of being good.
Battle of the Last Panzer is not available to buy or stream in the US and Canada.
5’Assault on Hill 400' (2023)
Directed by Christopher Ray
What’s not to love about a WWII set during the Allied liberation of Europe? Hollywood has been fascinated with that side of the war for years, creating perfect ones likeThe Longest Day,The Dirty Dozen, andSaving Private Ryan. But sadly, for this next entry, it’s not like any of those films. Directed byChristopher Ray,Assault on Hill 400is a direct-to-video 2023 that tries and fails to tell the thrilling real-life events of the US 2nd Ranger Battalion’s siege of Bergstein, Germany.
Assault on Hill 400is an absolute mess that’s not interesting, poorly made, and insulting to history.
Assault on Hill 400takes a pretty fascinating true story and turns it into a generic snoozefest. Everything from the costumes, sets, and effects shows how little of an attempt the movie made to authentically portray the time, as it’s loaded with inaccuracies. The acting is unremarkable as well, and most of the cast are actors who are far older than the average men who fought during this time. It’s an absolute mess that’s not interesting, poorly made, and insulting to history.
WATCH ON PLEX
4’Operation Seawolf' (2022)
Directed by Steven Luke
Submarine warfare moviesusually provide great entertainment, so what happened with 2022’sOperation Seawolf? Directed bySteven Luke, this mediocre, B-grade flick somehow turns what could have been a thrilling, intense, high-seas war into a completely forgettable mess that wastes the talent of its actors.
Despite having some exciting names attached to it, likeHiram A. Murray,Frank Grillo, andDolph Lundgren, the film comes across asbland and unremarkable. Its low budget definitely shows, as everything from the outfits to the sets to the attempts at action looks incredibly cheap. The whole film is overall lackluster anddoesn’t stand out, even in a terrible way.
WATCH ON TUBI
3’Company of Heroes' (2013)
Directed by Don Michael Paul
Direct-to-video war movies are usually forgettable since there are so many of them. Still, the worst of the worst seem to stand out, which is why 2013’sCompany of Heroesappears on this list. Based on the real-time strategy videogame series, this hilariously bad film adaptation is a disaster that has almost nothing going right throughout its runtime.
The film is all over the place, featuringunrealistic action, inaccuracies, and incredibly wooden acting. Not even the presence of notable actors who’ve contributed majorly to the war genre, likeNeal McDonough(Band of Brothers),Jürgen Prochnow(Das Boot), and the lateTom Sizemore(Saving Private Ryan), could save it from its weak script and glaring plot holes.Company of Heroesis a nonsensical mess that doesn’t thrill or try to be a compelling action war movie.
Company of Heroes
2’USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage' (2016)
Directed by Mario Van Peebles
Nicolas Cage is not done yet on this list. Here, he appears one more time inUSS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, a 2016 disaster war film. It depicts the survival of a ship crew that spends more than five days adrift in shark-infested waters after their heavy cruiser is struck by a Japanese submarine.
Withweak storytelling, terrible CGI, and mediocre acting,USS Indianapolis: Men of Couragehas stood out asone of the worst war movies in modern cinema. It’s unfortunate because there’s a significant story to tell, highlighting the brave acts of courage and incredible endurance these men went through. Alas, their story is overshadowed by the film’s many flaws. Though not all too insulting,Men of Courageis a misfire thatfails to honor this real-life event.
USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage
1’Air Strike' (2018)
Directed by Xiao Feng
Finally, in last place is the worst of the worst:Air Strike, the 2018 China-produced war drama starring popular American actors likeAdrian BrodyandBruce Willis. It follows multiple perspectives of Chinese pilots as they’re tasked with defending a vital military machine during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Arguablyone of the worst war movies of all time,Air Strikeis a complete and total disaster from start to finish.It’sa 2-hour mess of nothing coming together, featuring dated special effects, clumsy directing, and dull performances. Not even having a mostly talented cast could have made the atrocious writing and dialog any better.Air Strikeundoubtedly takes the cake asthe most terrible World War II movie ever made.
