Movies usually attempt to mimic real-life but some, especially war films, will replace facts with special effects. Because many of us have never experienced war or being in the midst of a war, it’s easy to assume that the film is getting everything right— but that’s not always the case.

Over the years though, several movies have come out of Hollywood that pay their respects and depict war and battle as it truly is. Most of the movies on this list have done an excellent job of sticking to the truth. No movie will ever truly represent the reality of war one hundred percent, but these movies do a very good job of showing us what war is really like.

See the most accurate—and least accurate—war movies of all time.

Pearl Harbor (2001)

We’re going to start off with a film that isn’t the most accurate representation of a real historical event. The 2001 film Pearl Harbor directed by Michael Bay depicts one of the worst terror attacks on American soil. Ironically, this movie was released in the same year as perhaps the most famous terrorist attack on American soil, 9/11.

Pearl Harbor focuses more on a love story. The war in the background of the film serves as a plot device. Also, Michael Bay used modern ships in the film instead of ships that would have been used in 1941.