Fantasy cinema usually occurs either in made-up worlds or in an altered, heightened version of our universe, typically one in which magic or monsters exist. Regardless of the stories they tell, war, like in real life, tends to be a huge part of their history and lore, shaping the events of their respective narratives and serving as a centrepiece for the stories they wish to tell. This approach is observable in some of the oldest fantasy stories, even those that began as books.
These conflicts not only look great on film, but they're meant to be climactic events to excite the audience, drawing them towards the big finish, when a conflict that has been simmering finally erupts into a proper battle. But just which of these fantasy movies boasts the best or most exciting war? Well, look no further, because here is the definitive list of the very best wars in fantasy movies, whether original stories or based on books.
10 War of the Pure Ones (Dates Unknown) 'Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole' (2010)
Based on the first three books of a novel series by Kathryn Lasky, The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a forgotten animated fantasy film that takes place in a magical world inhabited by talking owls. The movie occurs in a world in shambles following a devastating conflict orchestrated by a militant organization known as the Pure Ones, who are basically Barn Owl supremacists. It sounds ridiculous, but it's actually meant to be an allegory for the Nazis during World War II.
In any case, a watchful peace ensues following this first conflict, but slowly, things begin to happen, implying the Pure Ones have broken their truce and have started attacking the rest of the owls in secret. Desperate, a group of young owls enlists the help of the Guardians, who previously fought the Pure Ones, to rise once again and save the free world. Though it's not the most memorable movie ever made, a movie about a war between owls can be surprisingly entertaining at times, made better by Zack Snyder's signature flair and slow-mo shots.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole PG Animation Adventure Family Fantasy Release Date July 10, 2010 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming
Cast Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Essie Davis, Adrienne DeFaria, Joel Edgerton, Deborra-Lee Furness Runtime 97 minutes Director Zack Snyder Writers John Orloff, Emil Stern, Kathryn Lasky Powered by Expand Collapse 9 Unicorn Wars (Dates Unknown) 'Unicorn Wars' (2022)
Unicorn Wars is a movie that feels like a bad acid trip, taking cutesy characters like teddy bears and unicorns and utilizing them for an adult animated splatter film. The background to the eponymous conflict is that the bears find a book of knowledge which allows their society to rapidly advance, later turning to deforestation to build up their infrastructure. The unicorns, who dwell in the forest, aren't too thrilled with this, leading to a violent and bloody conflict.
Rotten Tomatoes describes the film as being "Bambi meets Apocalypse Now," but it even feels more unique than that. There's just something endlessly creative about depicting a war between such traditional symbols of innocence, and it's even better for the fact that it still harbors an anti-war message that very much applies to real life. It's not a movie for everyone, but it's worth watching just to experience a wild new take on fantasy involving a gore-filled armed conflict.
Unicorn Wars NR Action Animation Fantasy Horror War Release Date October 21, 2022 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH RENT BUY
Cast Jon Goiri, Jaione Insausti, Ramón Barea, Txema Regalado, Manu Heras, Gaizka Soria, Iker Diaz, Estívaliz Lizárraga, Pedro Arrieta, Alberto Vázquez, Rosa María Romay, Antón Palomar, Alberto Escobal García, Kepa Cueto, Juan Carlos Loriz, Eduardo Gorriño, Josu Varela, Álvaro Sánchez, Maribel Legarreta, Itxaso Quintana, Eba Ojanguren, Pilar Ferrero Runtime 93 minutes Director Alberto Vázquez Writers Alberto Vázquez Powered by Expand Collapse 8 Winter Revolution (Narnian-year 1000) 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' (2005)
The lore of The Chronicles of Narnia, as outlined by the original author of the novels, C. S. Lewis, is that in Narnian-year 900, the creator of the realm, a talking lion called Aslan (Liam Neeson), departed from the land, causing the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) to seize control of the land. With her affinity for all things cold and snowy, the land entered a period known as the Long Winter, where it was constantly snowy for an entire century, only easing up when Aslan returned to Narnia in the year 1000, causing the Great Thaw.
Aslan's return prompted the free peoples of Narnia to violently rise against the tyrannical White Witch in an event known as the Winter Revolution, which ended when the Witch was overthrown at the First Battle of Beruna. The events of this revolutionary conflict are depicted in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with the Pevensie children from Earth stepping in to help after reaching Narnia through a magical wardrobe. The Battle of Beruna is one of the most thrilling fantasy battles in movies, and is easily the best part of the three Narnia films, featuring both humans and mythological creatures duking it out over a picturesque open field.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe PG Adventure Fantasy 9.5/10 Release Date December 9, 2005
Cast William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Liam Neeson Runtime 143 Minutes Director Andrew Adamson Writers Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely Powered by Expand Collapse 7 War of the Nine Realms (2010-November 11, 2013) 'Thor' Series (2011-2022)
Generally, superhero films are widely considered to be sci-fi, but the Thor series mainly consists of figures from Norse mythology and has a more fantastical vibe, so it can totally be considered a fantasy film, too. The War of the Nine Realms can be glimpsed in the first two films that came out in 2011 and 2013, respectively, and is fought between numerous factions following Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) destruction of the Bifrost Bridge, which allows travel between the nine dimensions in Norse mythos. Thor does this to stop his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from conquering Jotunheim, but the consequences are far worse.
Realizing that the gods of Asgard now had no presence in the other realms and no means of maintaining the fragile peace between opposing factions, truces were shattered, and various realms began to fight each other. While only a small part of the MCU, it's still pretty exciting, what with a war transcending numerous dimensions and all, and it's neat that there's more than one side to the conflict. Plus, it's cool that all sorts of mythological creatures and deities become involved in it, so it's very unique in that sense.
Thor: The Dark World PG-13 Action Adventure Fantasy Superhero 5.0/10 Release Date November 8, 2013
Cast Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, Alice Krige, Clive Russell, Jonathan Howard, Ramone Morgan, Obada Alassadi, Imaan Chentouf, Claire Brown, Henry Calcutt, Ava Caton, Abbie McCann, Thomas Arnold Runtime 112 minutes Director Alan Taylor Writers Christopher Markus, Christopher L. Yost, Stephen McFeely Powered by Expand Collapse 6 War Against Piracy (1728-August 1729) 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Series (2001-2019)
The War Against Piracy in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films begins when the British commander of the East India Trading Company, Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), declares war on all pirates, cracking down on executions and imprisonment for the crime. Teaming up with the undead pirate captain Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), waging war against the Pirate Conclave (also known as the Brethren Court), consisting of nine Pirate Lords from all over the world.
Since this is largely a war fought at sea, this results in numerous naval battles between the two opposing factions, with the pirates putting aside their differences and feuds with each other to fight for what they believe is right. Of course, it's a fantasy film because there are quite a lot of magical aspects mixed into it, from cursed treasures to dormant goddesses. Still, it's a really exciting event, giving viewers an alternate version of the Golden Age of Piracy in which pirates actually form an alliance and go to war for the first time.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End PG-13 Action Adventure Fantasy Release Date May 19, 2007 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY
Cast Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy Runtime 169 Minutes Director Gore Verbinski Writers Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert Powered by Expand Collapse 5 Dragon War (Dates Unknown) 'How to Train Your Dragon' (2010)
It's unknown when exactly in time How to Train Your Dragon takes place, other than sometime in the Viking Age. Prior to the film's events, the Vikings along the coast have found themselves constantly besieged by various species and subspecies of dragons, who come to burn their villages and steal their livestock on a consistent basis. Valuing their existence, the Vikings fight back against the dragons, leading to the centuries-long conflict known in-universe as the Dragon War.
The Dragon War comes to an end during the events of the film, when the Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) befriends a Night Fury named Toothless and uses his bond with the dragons to take down the Red Death, the monstrous leader of the dragons who was secretly orchestrating the war for approximately 300 years. Once the Red Death is dealt with, humans and dragons find peace with each other and begin to live together in relative harmony. It's not the most violent conflict in cinema since it's in a kid-friendly movie, but the fact that it ends with a mutual peace agreement and looks stunning on film, too, makes it a pretty memorable war to watch unfold.
How to Train Your Dragon PG Fantasy Adventure Animation Family 8.2/10 Release Date March 18, 2010
Cast Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill Runtime 98 Minutes Director Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders Writers Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois, William Davies Powered by Expand Collapse 4 Assassin-Templar War (75,000 BCE-) 'Assassin's Creed' (2016)
The Assassin's Creed movie wasn't all that great, but it certainly wasn't as bad as critics insist it is. For a video game-to-film adaptation, it actually embodied the spirit of the hit video game series quite well and presented an original story that fits nicely into the series' canon. Set during the end of the Spanish Reconquista, the movie follows Aguilar (Michael Fassbender), who belongs to the ancient order of the Assassin Brotherhood, as he wages war against the Knights Templar.
The lore of the Assassin's Creed series is that the war between Assassins and Templars has been going on for tens of thousands of years, with the Assassins fighting for individual freedom and the Templars fighting for complete control. They race each other to get hold of ancient artifacts known as pieces of Eden, which are magical in nature, using ancient technology from a primordial race called the Isu. It's a war that never ends, and that has been carrying on behind the scenes of human society since its inception, and even longer than that. The war is more fleshed out in the games, but the movie adds another piece to the large puzzle that is the Assassin-Templar War, fleshing it out more and giving audiences a bigger glimpse into the culture of these two secret societies.
Assassin's Creed PG-13 Action Adventure Science Fiction Release Date December 21, 2016 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming
Cast Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling Runtime 116 Minutes Director Justin Kurzel Writers Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper, Bill Collage Powered by Expand Collapse 3 Second Wizarding War (June 24, 1995 - May 2, 1998) 'Harry Potter' Series (2001-2011)
The Second Wizarding War in the world of Harry Potter begins roughly 14 years after the First, which ended when Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) succumbed to his rebounding killing curse, ending his crusade for pureblood supremacy. However, Voldemort doesn't fully die thanks to the numerous Horcruxes he created, ensuring his immortality. It only takes a well-constructed plot involving capturing Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), the Boy Who Lived, in order to bring the Dark Lord back.
Once Voldemort does return, he resumes his quest for pureblood supremacy, causing chaos across Britain and Ireland and exterminating as many Muggles, half-bloods, and Muggle-born wizards and witches as he can. Harry Potter and his allies, consisting of the Order of the Phoenix and the teen group known as Dumbledore's Army, resist the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, resulting in a massive conflict in the magical world. Though it's not the most widespread or deadly war in all of cinema, the Second Wizarding War and the iconic conclusion at the Battle of Hogwarts became a piece of cinematic and literary history and are still remembered fondly by the millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 PG-13 Fantasy Adventure 9.2/10 Release Date July 12, 2011
Cast Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Warwick Davis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ciarán Hinds, Matthew Lewis, John Hurt, Evanna Lynch, Robbie Coltrane, Kelly Macdonald, Tom Felton, Helen McCrory, Jason Isaacs, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, David Bradley, Julie Walters, Gemma Jones, Dave Legeno, Miriam Margolyes Runtime 130 minutes Director David Yates Writers Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling Powered by Expand Collapse 2 Clone Wars (22-19 BBY) 'Star Wars' Series (1977-)
So, a lot of people don't really consider Star Wars fantasy, instead considering it to be a sci-fi film. However, Star Wars isn't sci-fi at all, or at least according to its creator, George Lucas, because he feels it is much more in tune with mythology, princesses, and heroic legends, which honestly makes a lot of sense. That and the fact that it occurs in a totally different universe, whereas sci-fi generally occurs in an advanced version of our universe. As such, Star Wars can easily be attributed to the space fantasy genre.
With the word "wars" being in the title, there are a lot of conflicts that take place throughout the films. While the Galactic Civil War at the heart of the original trilogy is brilliant, something about the Clone Wars just hits different. With more advanced film technology, the conflict proves to be more visually impressive and is shown on a wide scale, ending in one of the most iconic mass betrayals in film history. This three-year-long conflict is absolutely brilliant, fought between the Galactic Republic and its army of cloned soldiers and the Separatist Alliance with its army of battle droids. It's extremely entertaining to watch from start to finish, so entertaining, in fact, that the franchise has a whole TV series dedicated to it.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith PG-13 Adventure Action Science Fiction 11 10.0/10 Release Date May 19, 2005
Cast Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Silas Carson, Jay Laga'aia, Bruce Spence, Wayne Pygram, Temuera Morrison, David Bowers, Oliver Ford Davies, Ahmed Best, Rohan Nichol, Jeremy Bulloch, Amanda Lucas, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Rebecca Jackson Mendoza, Joel Edgerton Runtime 140 Minutes Director George Lucas Writers George Lucas, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema Powered by Expand Collapse 1 War of the Ring (February-November, TA 3019) 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy (2001-2003)
The War of the Ring is the main conflict that occurs in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but in truth, it is only a diversion. After the hobbits Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) agree to take Sauron's malevolent One Ring and destroy it by tossing it into the fires from whence they came, the wizard Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) realizes that they will need to distract Sauron so Frodo and Sam can sneak into Mordor undetected. Thus, he begins to wage war on Sauron to keep him busy.
What results is an enormous conflict involving most of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, from elves to humans, and even to dwarves, who team up against Sauron's alliance of orcs and other humans from the lands of Rhûn and Far Harad. Culminating in numerous thrilling battle sequences like the Battle of Helm's Deep, the War of the Ring is not only the most exciting conflict in fantasy, but it's also one of the largest and deadliest, which is what makes it undisputably the best one in fantasy cinema, hands down.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring PG-13 Action Fantasy Adventure 14 9.8/10 Release Date December 19, 2001
Cast Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis Runtime 178 Minutes Director Peter Jackson Writers Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson Powered by Expand Collapse
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