Best and Worst Criminal Investigation War Movies

by William S. Andrews

Criminal investigations in the military are a bit different than in the civilian world.  There are consequences to speaking as a witness when half the community's population outranks you.  Plus, it's a community filled with people who kill for a living.  Consequently, criminal investigations that take place in the military can be very thrilling and vastly entertaining to watch on film.  Or, depending on the filmmaker, they can also be really painful.  Here are the best and the worst criminal investigation war movies. 

A Few Good Men (1992)

The Best!

A Few Good Men is both, a classic military movie and classic courtroom thriller, combining the best of both genres.  In this film, Cruise and Moore investigate Jack Nicholson's Marine unit, and the accidental murder of a private during a "Code Red" (where privates take it upon themselves to violently discipline one of their own).  Nicholson's growl is now infamous.  You say the lines, "You can't handle the truth!" and everyone knows what you're talking about.  And what is the truth?  That's what Cruise and Moore seek to discover.  The truth in the film is that Marines are tough and rough and punish their own.  Somehow this film manages to take what are fairly low stakes in the real world - a single missing private - and make them seem gargantuan.

High Crimes (2002)

The Worst!

Ashley Judd investigates Army officer who participated in a mass murder in El Salvador.  Cover ups, abound. the worst thing about this film is that no one cared about it.  There seems to be no attached writer or director, or participant who wanted to create this film for reasons having to do with art or creative expression.  This was entirely, and fully, a product of corporate meetings.  In other words, this movie has no reason to exist.  Barely a decade later, and this movie is almost unrecognizable to the public at large.  If you said the words, "High Crimes" - no one would know the movie you're talking about.  And there's a reason for that.  Utterly forgettable, so you might as well skip it in the first place.

Basic (2003)

The Worst!

This is not just one of the worst movies on this list, it's one of the worst war films ever made. Briefly, it's a film that wants desperately to be a complex thriller - one told through different witnesses, some of them unreliable.  However, I'm convinced that when you organize the story threads of the different stories, that the film actually makes no sense.  Moreover, I suspect that some of those involved with the film started to realize this but then simply gave up (how else to describe the lackluster performances?)  The ending twist is one of the most absurd I've ever seen in a film.  This is a film that actively hates its viewers.

The WhistleBlower (2010)

The Best!

Rachel Weiz stars during this real-life story of an American divorcee and officer who tries to boost her financial situation by taking a paid contract to supply police training within the Balkans under the United Nations flag.  What she discovers could be a completely ineffective U.N. mission, rampant corruption.  Weiz struggles to guard the young women being victimized and realizes she may have put herself in peril. a desirable (and enraging) story of corruption, crime, and one woman who couldn't let it go.  It's all the more disturbing of a movie once you remember that this is often supported by a real story!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William S. Andrews, a personal development coach. He likes helping people cope with their problems. In this case, William has his own section on the website of write my paper service. Moreover, he takes part in various conferences to improve his knowledge and develop new skills.