Wing Commander (1999). There are a few things I like about this movie, but one of my favorites is "Angel" Deveraux's character development. She's the CO of the fighter wing the main characters get assigned to, and characterized as "just another hard-ass CO."

That's not correct. She isn't an asshole CO. If you paid attention to the plot, she was field-promoted after her highly respected former CO died in action. Not only does she have a big role to suddenly fill, Angel now has to lead her former friends and teammates and maybe send them to their deaths. She's under a lot of stress and overcompensating by being distant and harsh. By the end of the film she's swung just enough in the other direction to become a real CO the way her former boss was.

Very few other war movies featuring a character in a similar position do such a subtle job at it.