10 Best Navy SEAL Movies, Ranked

Exploring and honoring the sacrifices and exploits of those involved in the most dangerous job in the world, the best Navy SEAL movies tell some of the most compelling military-centric stories. From inspiring feats of bravery to heart-pounding depictions of real-life military missions, Navy SEAL movies explore it all. Many of these movies also delve deeper into the personal lives of their central Navy SEAL characters, including those based on real people, highlighting how their high-stakes jobs impact their day-to-day off-duty lives.

Some of these films even dig into important didactic themes surrounding the traumas, extreme perils, and moral dilemmas the Navy SEALs face during their immensely challenging military operations, making for some of the best military movies. Meanwhile, there are a few others that walk viewers through the intense training and mental fortitude it takes to become as calloused as a Navy SEAL. With so many prospective narratives surrounding the lives of Navy SEALs, it is not surprising that there are many riveting movies about the people involved in the special operations force.

10 Act Of Valor (2012)

A Group Of SEALs Lead A Rescue Mission

Act of Valor does not try too hard to stand out and elevate itself above the regular fare of military movies. Instead, it presents a conventional narrative where it shows how a group of Navy SEALs go on a mission to save lives during a terrorist threat. The plot sees a terrorist assassinate a U.S. Ambassador and several children at a school. SEAL Team 7 is then sent to Costa Rica to save a CIA officer captured by a drug smuggler. It is there that they learn that the drug smuggler and terrorist are working together.

Despite being predictable, Act of Valor is entertaining because it conforms to some of the best conventions of the genre and fills its runtime with crowd-pleasing twists, action scenes, and training sequences. Act of Valor was also highly realistic, with actual SEALs and SWCC signed to star in the film and the Navy SEALs on board as advisors.

9 G.I. Jane (1997)

A Female SEAL Overcomes Adversary In The Training Program

Directed by Ridley Scott, G.I. Jane follows Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil (Demi Moore), who becomes a trial candidate for a U.S. Navy program that eventually intends to integrate women into the services. The challenging training program pushes Jordan to her limits, and the program’s commander, John James Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen), intentionally makes it even more grueling for her. However, she eventually proves everyone wrong by defying all odds and clearing the program.

G.I. Jane is best when it focuses primarily on O’Neil’s struggles and strong will to survive her training. However, the movie’s empowering themes get weighed down by its nationalist tropes and uneven pace. Despite this, G.I. Jane was popular, sitting at number one for two straight weeks and finishing its run with a $48.2 million box office take, which ended up as a loss. It also received mixed reviews, with a 53% Rotten Tomatoes score.

8 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi (2016)

The True Story Of The Annex Security Team

Based on Mitchell Zuckoff’s 2014 book of the same name, the true story of13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi focuses on the Annex Security Team’s six members, which included two US Navy SEALs, Jack Silva (John Krasinski) and Tyrone S. “Rone” Woods (James Badge Dale). Set in Benghazi, Libya, the movie shows how the team defended the American diplomatic compound on September 11, 2012, when militant attacks erupted in the region.

Since 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a Michael Bay vehicle, it was ensured to have giant action scenes, making it an exciting movie at least. However, it ended up as one of Bay’s worst-performing films at the box office amidst mixed reviews. Part of the problem came with questions about its historical accuracy, with the “stand down” order hotly debated (via Politico).

7 Without Remorse (2021)

A Rogue SEAL Seeks Revenge

Stefano Sollima’s Without Remorse adapts Tom Clancy’s 1983 book in which a U.S. Navy SEAL, John Kelly, walks down the path of vengeance when Russian hitmen murder his pregnant wife and former unit members. The movie is based on a book spinoff from the Jack Ryan series, as John Kelly also appeared in two films, with Willem Dafoe playing him in Clear and Present Danger and Liev Schreiber in The Sum of All Fears. Without Remorse presents Kelly’s basic origin story.

Before releasing in 2021, Without Remorse had been in development hell since the novel was first published, and many actors like Keanu Reeves and Tom Hardy were considered to play John Kelly. Michael B. Jordan won the role and delivered as both a compelling action hero and overall leading man. Unfortunately, the Tom Clancy adaptation mostly received negative reviews from critics because of its formulaic approach to the genre.

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6 Tears Of The Sun (2003)

Bruce Willis Leads A Rescue Mission

Antoine Fuqua is an acclaimed action director behind movies like Training Day and The Equalizer movies, so it was a thrill to see him team up with one of the biggest action stars of all time for an intense Navy SEALs movie. Bruce Willis stars in Tears of the Sun as the leader of a group of SEALs who are tasked with entering Nigeria during a coup to extract a doctor serving at a hospital.

With the rebel forces closing in, the doctor (played by Monica Bellucci) insists the SEALs help get the patients to safety as well. The movie derives much of its great drama from the moral dilemma that the soldiers face on their mission. Though they have strict orders not to interfere with the actual fighting, the brutality of what they see pushes them to act. Though it is not as deep as it make itself out to be, in the hands of Fuqua, Tears of the Sun is a stylish and thrilling action movie.

5 The Abyss (1989)

James Cameron’s Sci-Fi Drama

While most other Navy SEALs-focused films have patriotic themes, James Cameron’s The Abyss is a science fiction movie with Lovecraftian underpinnings. It focuses on Navy SEAL Lieutenant Hiram Coffey (Michael Biehn), who accompanies formerly married petroleum engineers Bud (Ed Harris) and Lindsey (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) on a mission to recover a mysteriously sunken nuclear sub. However, what they find in the deep is far more terrifying and eerie than anticipated.

Like most James Cameron films, The Abyss is visually spectacular and was shot using groundbreaking techniques and technology. It was also the movie that helped Cameron fall in love with deep ocean cinematography, which led to him making Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) and Aliens of the Deep (2005). As for the SEALs in The Abyss, they are mostly there to interfere and keep Bud and Lindsey from making contact with the aliens.

4 Under Siege (1992)

A Steven Seagal Action Movie

Often touted as Steven Seagal’s best movie, Under Seige received immense critical acclaim after its release in 1992 and even earned two Academy Award nominations (both for sound). Even from a commercial standpoint, the movie was a success, grossing over $150 million internationally with a $35 million budget (via Black Belt) Under Seige introduces the legendary U.S. battleship, the U.S.S. Missouri, which is about to get decommissioned. However, chaos breaks loose when terrorists take over the ship with the plan of selling it abroad.

Little do they realize that former Navy SEAL captain Casey Ryback (Seagal) is on board, and he will stop at nothing to end their mission. A solid Die Hard ripoff, the movie is elevated by memorable villains played by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, both actors stealing every scene they appear in.

3 Lone Survivor (2013)

The True Story Of A SEAL Tragedy

Set in Afghanistan in 2005, Lone Survivor tells the true story of Navy SEALs Marcus Luttrell, Michael Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matthew “Axe” Axelson, who get deployed on a mission to kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. However, their mission takes a dangerous turn when an Afghan goatherd reports their arrival to the opposition. The four men find themselves outnumbered by the enemy forces with nowhere left to go.

Lone Survivor ingeniously utilizes the military movie subgenre’s best conventions by brewing an awe-inspiring and heartbreaking tale of heroism. It is a brutal and harrowing fight for survival with some gut-wrenching twists, though the film’s title slightly spoils the ending. However, thanks to great performances by Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster, the film was both a box office hit ($154.8 million on a $40 million budget, via Box Office Mojo) and critical success (75% on Rotten Tomatoes). It also earned two Oscar nominations, both for sound.

2 American Sniper (2014)

A Navy SEAL Biopic

Directed by Clint Eastwood, American Sniper is a biopic loosely based on Chris Kyle’s memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. Featuring Bradley Cooper as Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle, the movie shows how, despite being a legend on the battlefield, Kyle struggles to adapt and live with his family when he returns home after four tours of duty.

While American Sniper was initially a subject of intense debate due to its portrayal of the Iraq War, it was showered with praise from viewers and critics for Bradley Cooper’s brilliant performance and Clint Eastwood’s directorial abilities. The movie was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Actor (for Cooper) and Best Picture (it only won for Best Sound Editing). It was also a huge box office success, making over $547 million on an almost $59 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).

1 Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

The Hunt For Bin Laden

Although Zero Dark Thirty primarily focuses on a group of C.I.A. operatives who set out on a decade-long hunt to track Osama bin Laden, the movie features some of the most realistic Navy SEAL scenes in its closing arc. Its ending is predictable in the sense that the world already knows that the Navy SEAL Team 6 killed the al-Qaeda terrorist leader in May 2011. Zero Dark Thirty‘s story leads up to showing that exact moment in history.

However, what still makes it compelling is how Zero Dark Thirty meticulously walks through the protocol the SEALs follow to enter the compound and kill the terrorist. With no background scores or unnecessary dramatization, the Zero Dark Thirty scene highlights how reality can often be more captivating than fiction. It was devastating and frightening as they meticulously moved in and assassinated bin Laden. Zero Dark Thirty received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Jessica Chastain).