In The East, you saw a soldier’s dilemma to choose between duty and conscience. War can do that to you! Here are 7 movies like The East, where various peacekeeping forces got a lot more than they bargained for. High strung action, suspense and drama coming your way! A fan of recently released thriller movies? Check out movies like The God Committee, a movie where a panel faces an intense moral dilemma deciding who gets organs that can save their lives.
7 Peacekeeping War Thriller Movies Like The East (2021)
1 Lone Survivor (2013)
IMDB 7.5 | 274K Ratings
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster
Director: Peter Berg
Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) and his comrades are Navy Seals in Afghanistan. Their mission is supposed to be one of peaceful surveillance. See and report is all they have to do. But, when they make a fatal mistake of letting two goatherds walk away after spotting them, a horrendous battle ensues between them and the Taliban. The SEALs are cornered in and outnumbered. But, can sheer courage see them through? The violence is very graphic. War is shown like how it actually happens on the battlefields. This is a movie that will have you appreciating your freedom. But, more than that, it is about the inspiring camaraderie between soldiers even when they are staring down death. And for that reason, we think Lone Survivor is the first movie you must watch after The East.
2 The Kingdom (2007)
IMDB 7.0 | 122K Ratings
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
Director: Peter Berg
Set in the middle east, The Kingdom features brilliant action scenes that will want you wanting more. And, there’s plenty on offer right till the very end. Jamie Foxx (Ron Fleury) is a federal agent who is assigned to deploy a terrorist outfit in Riyadh. They don’t have the luxury of time. They thankfully land an able ally in a local police captain who has a empathetic sentiment towards the goals and intentions of the special American tactical team. But, even with the local’s help, can they pull it off in enemy land?
A movie with several twists and turns.
3 Black Hawk Down (2001)
IMDB 7.7 | 375K Ratings
Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana
Director: Ridley Scott
U.S. Special forces are deployed in Somalia. The population is starving and American soldiers are trusted with the responsibility to destabilize and disrupt the corrupt and brutal regime, just so the general population can eat.
A key part of their mission is to use Black Hawks, tactical helicopters that will allow them to drop special forces in busy urban environments. The movie features many visceral scenes. Perhaps the one that will stay with you the most is the eerie silence after a Black Hawk goes down, with the words “Black Hawk Dawn” crackling across radios several times.
The movie is 2 hours 24 minutes long. But, every minute will mesmerize you. It won 2 Oscars, for Best Film Editing and Best Sound.
4 Hotel Rwanda (2004)
IMDB 8.1 | 342K Ratings
Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix
Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) is a hotel manager in Rwanda. His world is suddenly disrupted when military forces partake in radical and violent ethnic cleansing of a refugee minority. In desperate times, several refugees seek respite in his hotel. Paul obliges. The U.N. is long gone and it is up to Paul to on his own protect the refugees who seek life in his hotel. A movie that is a chilling revelation about the genocide in Rwanda, a true genocide that the world largely looked away from. The movie is rated #226 on IMDB’s greatest movies ever.
Don Cheadle delivers a stellar performance as Paul, the real life Rwandan hero.
5 Sergio (2020)
IMDB 6.1 | 8.9K Ratings
Stars: Wagner Moura, Ana de Armas, Brian F. O’Byrne
Looking for a Netflix movie like The East? Sergio is a biopic about Sergio Vieira de Mello, a UN diplomat whose life is in danger after an explosion. As he struggles to stay alive, the plot sweeps across many emotions he feels about his life; his ambition, his love and his desire to be with his family.
A movie that gives you a unique perspective into the minds of a single soldier, amidst a world of meaningless chaos that is war and terror.
6 The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
IMDB 7.2 | 35K Ratings
Stars: Richard Lukunku, Danny Sapani, Andrew Stock
Another Netflix film like The East! A commander from Ireland and 150 of his battalion’s men. They are up against more than 3,000 Congolese troops. The rogue troops aren’t protecting the nation’s interest but the evil interests of mining corporations out to strip the country’s natural riches.
This is a movie based on a true story, about the 35th Battalion – A Company. Just like in The East, watch fearless young soldiers willing to lay their life on the line for another nation’s wellbeing.
7 The Whistleblower (2010)
IMDB 7.1 | 33K Ratings
Stars: Rachel Weisz, Monica Bellucci, Vanessa Redgrave
The movie is a biopic about Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz). Kathryn is a cop from Nebraska. But, when she is appointed as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia, she spearheads the exposure of a sex scandal that the U.N tried to hush up. This movie gives you an insight into destruction that you can’t see in the form of bombed sites and overthrown governments. It takes you into visceral emotional damages suffered by human souls who were sexually exploited in the name of war.
Rachel Weisz is brilliant with her acting, as she almost always is. Monica Bellucci and Vanessa Redgrave deliver stunning supporting cast performances as well. A drama set in a post-war nation that was let down by U.N, a force it thought would be its peacekeeping savior.