Best movies like Sgt. Will Gardner
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A troubled Iraq War veteran struggling to reintegrate into society sets out on a cross-country journey with the hope of reuniting with his young son.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, road movie
Best tv shows and movies like Sgt. Will Gardner (2019):
Similar in 86%
End of Sentence (2019)
Plot Summary:
Newly widowed Frank Fogle embarks on a journey to Ireland to scatter his late wife’s ashes. His estranged son, Sean, recently released from prison, agrees to join only when his father promises that they’ll never see each other again following the trip. After revelations surface about an old flame of Frank’s wife and a charming hitchhiker with plans of her own intervenes, father and son find themselves drawn together in unexpected ways.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: UK, Ireland, USA, Iceland
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: road movie, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 78%
Godspeed (2022)
Plot Summary:
An ex-army captain travels to Dalyan to stop his friend's beloved from marrying another man, but grief and trauma from a combat tragedy mar his journey.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Turkey
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Blessed by Fire (2005)
Plot Summary:
Argentine film about the experiences of conscripts in the Falklands War.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Argentina, Spain
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, captivating, disturbing, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
20 Cigarettes (2010)
Plot Summary:
Based on director Aureliano Amadei's 2003 experiences in Iraq, 20 Cigarettes is the gripping story of a twenty-eight year old anarchist and anti-war activist who receives an offer to fly to Iraq as assistant director on a film about the Italian military peace mission.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 813
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, contemplative, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 78%
The Four Horsemen (2008)
Plot Summary:
Four high school football stars enlist in the Marines and head off to fight in the war in Iraq. When one of them is killed and another wounded, they return home only to find is extremely difficult to pick up the threads of their old lives. The memories of events in Iraq combined with the lack of public support pushes many of these men to the breaking point.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 466
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, bleak
Similar in 85%
The American Dream (2011)
Plot Summary:
Armed with dreams that extend beyond their block, Luis and Ronald, two best friends from Los Angeles, videotape their last 36 hours before shipping off to Afghanistan. One hundred days before Obama's inauguration, these young men have joined the Marines together to face the obstacles and circumstances that seem to overwhelm their passage into manhood. Luis wants to be a filmmaker and Ronald wants to travel the world and raise a family. Through the lens of Luis's video camera, they capture their friends, family members and places they call home - to remember who they are and where they come from. In their darkest hour, they turn on the video camera for the last time and document the final moments of their journey home. They soon realize that their dreams and promises of a new life mean nothing in a place called War.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 120
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: serious, contemplative, sincere, realistic, non-linear, independent film
Similar in 81%
Happy New Year (2011)
Plot Summary:
A war-torn marine returns home to face his fiercest battle yet - the one against himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 123
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, captivating, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
American Dresser (2018)
Plot Summary:
When a recent widower consumed with regret seeks absolution in riding his motorcycle cross-country to confront the mistakes of his past, he unexpectedly discovers that life is about moving forward, one mile at a time.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 475
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: melancholic, psychological, sentimental, road movie, thought provoking, depressing, captivating, disturbing, retro
Similar in 85%
Cartel War (2010)
Plot Summary:
Led by a detective hell-bent on revenge, a team of undercover cops in Los Angeles attempt to bring down a powerful drug mob from the inside. Operating outside the law, they put everything on the line to clean up the streets and exact payback on the king pin who devastated their families. Based on the true story of Mexico's most powerful drug lord, Cartel War is an action-packed journey into an all-too-real violent underworld.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 82%
Behind Enemy Lines (1986)
Plot Summary:
Col. Carradine leads a group of American P.O.W.s, battling their way to freedom as Saigon falls to the Viet Cong.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 742
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 75%
The American Dreamless (2020)
Plot Summary:
A young addict is convinced by his best friend to train-hop across the country in hopes of finding the buried treasure that they talked about when they were kids. One is self-destructive and the other is blind, neither of them expected a small-town drifter to lead the way, especially when the only way to go, is within. The American Dreamless is Tanner Matthews' directorial debut and the first film to be shot in all fifty US states.
IMDB Rating:
IMDB Votes:
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: road movie, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 85%
Grace Is Gone (2007)
Plot Summary:
Upon hearing his wife was killed in the Iraq war, a father takes his two daughters on a road trip.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, emotional, realistic, tense, intense, sincere, serious, road movie, sad
Similar in 75%
The Broken Chain (1993)
Plot Summary:
The true story of Iroquois warrior Thayendanegea participating in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 416
Genere: Drama, War, Action
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, epic, factual, rough
Similar in 84%
Rocket Hunter (2020)
Plot Summary:
In one of the most dangerous missions of the war, an American B-17 pilot volunteers to fly a surrendered Messerschmitt 109 on a daring flight through the heart of Germany to try to prevent the people of London from being terrorized by the V-2 rockets. "Rocket Hunter" tells the story of an amazing pilot and his bombardier brother from the time they are teenagers dreaming of taking to the skies to the dark days of January 1945.
IMDB Rating: 1.4
IMDB Votes: 314
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Last Flag Flying (2017)
Plot Summary:
Thirty years after serving together in the Vietnam War, Larry "Doc" Shepherd, Sal Nealon and the Rev. Richard Mueller reunite for a different type of mission: to bury Doc's son, a young Marine killed in Iraq. Forgoing burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Doc and his old buddies take the casket on a bittersweet trip up the coast to New Hampshire. Along the way, the three men find themselves reminiscing and coming to terms with the shared memories of a war that continues to shape their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: road movie, thought provoking, touching, sincere, humorous, captivating, depressing, sad, twisted, interesting
Similar in 77%
The Lucky Ones (2008)
Plot Summary:
The story revolves around three soldiers — Colee, T.K. and Cheaver — who return from the Iraq War after suffering injuries and learn that life has moved on without them. They end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: road movie, sentimental, sincere, semi serious, touching, humorous, realistic, profound, contemplative, feel good
Similar in 77%
Bass Ackwards (2010)
Plot Summary:
A man coming off a disastrous affair with a married woman has a lyrical, strange and comedic cross-country journey in a modified VW bus.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 363
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, sincere, serious, realistic, mumblecore, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 86%
Field of Lost Shoes (2015)
Plot Summary:
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious, touching
Similar in 84%
The Situation (2006)
Plot Summary:
The first U.S.-made film drama set during the Iraq war, THE SITUATION chronicles the tragic death of an Iraqi teenager at the hands of U.S. soldiers. The incident sets off an "investigation," a cover-up, and complications involving Iraqi mayor Sheikh Tahsin (Saïd Amadis), who has a complex relationship with the Americans.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 885
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, extraordinary
Similar in 81%
Home of the Brave (2006)
Plot Summary:
The day after they get the word they'll go home in two weeks, a group of soldiers from Spokane are ambushed in an Iraqi city. Back stateside we follow four of them - a surgeon who saw too much, a teacher who's a single mom and who lost a hand in the ambush, an infantry man whose best friend died that day, and a soldier who keeps reliving the moment he killed a civilian woman.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA, Morocco
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, disturbing, rough, serious, suspenseful, sincere
Similar in 81%
Taking Chance (2009)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort accompanies the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to his hometown in Wyoming.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, emotional, sincere, sentimental, sad, serious, harsh, christian film, motivational
Similar in 84%
A Taste of Hell (1973)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Philippines during WW II, two U.S. Army officers are caught and shot by a Japanese officer. One survives and soon joins with a guerrilla troop to battle the enemy... and get revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 90
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA, Philippines
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, cult film
Similar in 88%
Memorial Day (2012)
Plot Summary:
Memorial Day, 1993. When 13-year-old Kyle Vogel discovers the World War II footlocker belonging to his grandfather, Bud, everyone tells Kyle to put it back. Luckily, he ignores them. Although Bud has never talked about the war, he finds himself striking a deal with his grandson: Kyle can pick any three souvenirs, and Bud will tell him the stories behind each one. Memorial Day not only takes us on a journey into Bud's complicated wartime past, but also into Kyle's wartime future. As the two men share parallel experiences in combat, they come to realize how that magical day on the porch shaped both of their lives. .
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, sincere, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 85%
The Yellow Birds (2017)
Plot Summary:
Two young soldiers, Bartle and Murph, navigate the terrors of the Iraq war under the command of the older, troubled Sergeant Sterling. All the while, Bartle is tortured by a promise he made to Murph's mother before their deployment.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, realistic, disturbing, sad
Similar in 83%
Sand Castle (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set during the occupation of Iraq, a squad of U.S. soldiers try to protect a small village.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, psychological, tense, rough, captivating, suspense, melancholic, perverse
Similar in 89%
Jarhead 2: Field of Fire (2014)
Plot Summary:
Battle-scarred and disillusioned by the war, Corporal Chris Merrimette is put in charge of a unit whose next mission is to resupply a remote outpost on the edge of Taliban-controlled territory. While driving through the hostile Helmand province, a Navy SEAL flags down their convoy and enlists the unit on an operation of international importance: they must help an Afghan woman famous for her defiance of the Taliban escape the country. Without tanks or air support, Merrimette and his team will need all the courage and firepower they can muster to fight their way across the war-torn country and shepherd the woman to safety.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, exciting, rough, captivating, suspenseful, perverse, bleak
Similar in 86%
Over There (2005)
Plot Summary:
Gritty, intense, evocative and emotional, "Over There" takes you to the front lines of battle and explores the effects of war on a U.S. Army unit sent to Iraq on their first tour of duty, as well as the equally powerful effects felt at home by their families and loved ones.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, disturbing, sincere, rough, intellectual, realistic, serious, captivating, controversial
Similar in 90%
Stop-Loss (2008)
Plot Summary:
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: emotional, sad, harsh, serious, thought provoking, realistic, suspense, cult classic, edutainment, psychological
Similar in 78%
Boys of Abu Ghraib (2014)
Plot Summary:
An American soldier deployed at Abu Ghraib finds himself behind the walls of the infamous Hard Site, where he develops a secret friendship with an Iraqi detainee.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, serious, realistic, tense, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 75%
American Sniper (2014)
Plot Summary:
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 519000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: tense, emotional, factual, serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful, political, clever, sad