War in real life is terrifying, even for veterans(So I hear).
War from a paper/screen point of view is fascinating. Strip the fear, worry, and hate away, it could even be entertaining. Frightening thought.
It is also deeply ingrained in our nature. We may never go beyond a fist fight, but combat is now a form of entertainment. It could be fictional Marines fighting aliens, or super-heroes. There are movies made about war, books written about it, plays containing it. Whether we want to or not, we are exposed to it in some form or other almost every day.
Personally, I enjoy the fictional side. I don't know enough about real-life experience to have an opinion.