Movies have taught us that war can be a lot of things: funny, horrifying, harmless, scary, exciting, redemptive… Despite the power of film to inform how people view war and the military, the entertainment that movies provide often comes at the expense of realism. Some films like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen play like some sort of absurd ad for joining the military in a candy-land universe where there are few of war’s familiar consequences.

Looking past the typical Hollywood bullshit, here are a few movies that show things the way they are. If you can watch these movies and you still want to join up, you are one brave SOB.

Saving Private Ryan, Director Steven Spielberg (1998)

Steven Spielberg’s seminal film is an honest portrayal of a war. The masterful open sequences bring a chaotic, bloody realism to war that surpassed anything that came before it. The landing on Normandy Beach is shown with such intensity in the film the audience could almost suffer from shell-shock. Tom Hanks’ performance as the understandably drained and no-nonsense Capt. Miller brings a strong center to the powerful experience. The nuanced script suggests that even the Captain is torn between his mission to save Pvt. James Ryan and his duty to fight a war as James Ryan becomes an incredibly hard person to find. The film salutes the soldiers who fought in that war and knows they are not free from doubt, fear, and second-thoughts.

Black Hawk Down, Director Ridley Scott (2001)

Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down is a very intimate experience of the catastrophic attempt to capture two high-ranking warlord lieutenants in Somalia. Like Saving Private Ryan, Scott’s portrayal of combat is realistic and physically draining to watch. Unlike most other military-inspired films, it attempted to accurately portray events in the conflict. Black Hawk Down is less character driven than most movies of this type. In fact, at times it can be quite difficult to tell the actors apart underneath the uniforms. Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, and Eric Bana lead the cast of actors, but become somewhat interchangeable in combat. This confusion adds to the film’s uncanny ability to make the audience feel as though they are fighting alongside the soldiers. The audience identifies with the characters not because they know the actors, but because they’re glad to see friendlies in a town full of hostiles.

Flags of Our Fathers, Director Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s staggering epic is a challenging war film. Its complicated structure and beautifully muted palette do justice to the story of how, who, and why one of the most famous photographs (the one with the 6 men raising the US flag on Iwo Jima) came into existence.  The battle for Iwo Jima was extremely bloody and chaotic, accounting for one-third of all the Marines losses during WWII. Eastwood took the subject matter and crafted frightening and powerful battle scenes, as well as its effect on the soldiers after the war. Ultimately, the film comes down to how true heroes were created on a small speck in the Pacific ocean and how it can be both meaningful and commercialized after the fact.

Jarhead, Director Sam Mendes (2005)

Sam Mendes’ non-traditional war movie is a strong character piece about how the first Gulf War was unlike any war fought before it. The movie follows Anthony Swofford as he progress through boot camp, deployment, the inanities of being a foot soldier in a mechanized war, and the aftermath on the home front. Jake Gyllenhaal’s lead performance is engaging, and gives the film an emotional center from which to discuss the subject of war without any sort of combat scenes. Beautifully filmed by Roger Deakins, the film’s focus does not move politically to the left or right, instead opting for realistic depictions  of less glamorous daily routines. Sam Mendes is not afraid to show his characters crushed by the cruelty of the world around them, but Jarhead finds a way to balance the nobility and personal consequences of serving in the Armed Forces. During the Gulf War the hot desert sand was unforgiving, and so was time: time away from your country, your family, and your loved ones. Jarhead is not a happy film, but a necessary one. Enlisting while such personal issues are on the line is nothing short of heroic, and Jarhead shows that.

The Hurt Locker, Director Kathryn Bigelow (2008)

The Hurt Locker opens with a powerful statement: War is a drug.  Not everyone is addicted to this drug, but for some very brave (or reckless, or fearless) few, war opens up opportunities to show their true colors. For Sgt. William James, the Iraq war gives him what he needs: bombs to defuse.  The Hurt Locker is being named the first and possibly only great movie to be made about the second war in Iraq.  If there is any movie that can be honest about the current war in Iraq, The Hurt Locker is it.