--- title: "9 highest war movie body counts" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/9-highest-war-movie-body-counts/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "Movies and TV" --- # 9 highest war movie body counts ![]() Despite [Hot Shots Part Deux]()'s claim to be the [bloodiest]() movie ever, we actually did the math and found the top body counts for war films featuring the U.S. military. These counts are only for onscreen, confirmed dead. If they're still moving when the director cuts to the next shot, it doesn't count. The results are surprising. --- ### 9. Delta Force https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE0V-xhTF4s Despite his online reputation for ceaseless badassery, Chuck Norris' seminal work **Delta Force** only has 78 confirmed kills. Though admittedly, 43 of those are at the hands of Chuck Norris himself. ### 8. Rambo Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9prqreiB9Y **First Blood** (commonly known as "the Rambo movie") is the most surprising. With a body count of one confirmed kill, you wonder how John Rambo earned the reputation of being Hollywood's biggest military badass... until you see the rest of the Rambo films (lots of cops go through windows, though). Body counts rise at a near exponential rate after the commies kill Rambo's love interest, with 80 kills in **First Blood Part II**, 158 in **Rambo III**, and a whopping 273 in 2008's **Rambo**. At that rate, I imagine that **[Rambo: Last Blood]()** will maim more people than a movie starring [100 untamed lions](). ### 7. The Patriot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFpFHj4XfFg Another surprise is the number of onscreen deaths in **The Patriot**. Mel Gibson's Revolutionary War film, based on the Southern colonies' fight against brutal British Colonel Banastre Tarleton, only had 123 onscreen kills. ### 6. Black Hawk Down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq-dMbnoV4k **Black Hawk Down** is considered one of the most realistic portrayals of any military action ever depicted onscreen, but the 135 deaths (122 Somalis, 13 Americans) doesn't reflect the real-world body count of 1,500 Somalis, 18 Americans, 1 Malaysian and 1 Pakistani. ### 5. Saving Private Ryan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chzhf7gQxIg Steven Spielberg's WWII epic **Saving Private Ryan** defined the distinctive WWII onscreen look and feel, replicated again and again. Appropriately, the film starts with his vision of the intense D-Day landings at Normandy. The final tally, including the dog tags of the KIA, stands at 243. ### 4. Platoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKpQB3bEPbI **Platoon's** 277 kills are enough to give anyone a thousand-yard stare. ### 3. We Were Soldiers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuaSi-H0oGY The 305 total onscreen deaths between US forces and the North Vietnamese Army in **We Were Soldiers** gives Mel Gibson war film extras a higher mortality rate than Sean Bean in any film or TV show ever. ### 2. Inglourious Basterds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYYYAeSWOlI Quentin Tarantino's films have a reputation for violence and his WWII masterwork **Inglourious Basterds** delivers Lieutenant Aldo Raine's scalps and then some with a confirmed kill count of 315. ### 1. Windtalkers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygXyaFv9ub0 The all-time top body count of any movie featuring US troops in combat goes to Nicolas Cage's **Windtalkers** with a whopping 548 onscreen kills. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()