This movie deserves a revisiting for its deep themes.

First of all, who acted correctly, Gene Hackman's captain character in carrying out the launch orders or Denzel's trying to stop him? Doesn't the former have to be true from a military justice standpoint?

I wonder, too, whether race has a deeper significance in this movie. Was the black man's challenge of the white captain's rule of law done on purpose or does race not play a part in the film?

If you would like to see Lipizzaner horses there is a farm near the Wisconsin border where they perform every Sunday during the summer. Worth the effort

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

It's a movie I could never take seriously as the entire idea of a nuclear launch order being canceled once it is given is preposterous. One of the most important things they drill into the crews of boomers is that once you are given the launch order, you carry it out and treat all other orders which follow as an enemy ruse. It's the same for air/missile crews. This is one of the reasons I respect FailSafe as a better film. It was distressingly accurate in terms of what happens once those orders are given.

With that in mind, no member of the crew would've listened to Denzel's objections and they would've launched the missiles. This is why it is so damn important for the command authority to be certain you are under attack before issuing the orders as once those orders to launch have been issued by the highest levels, there is no turning back. Once that launch order has been received and authenticated, any contradictory order is to be treated as enemy interference.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I don't think most movies are to be taken seriously.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Films about nuclear war tend to be films intended to be taken seriously. Even the darkly comedic Dr. Strangelove is ultimately a film that is meant to be chilling and serious.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Plus,I think they have these security guys on board. Denzel would have been in handcuffs or shot real fast.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

I can recall once seeing that exorcism movie about Emily Rose. If you know me, you'll know that I'm known to say that that film was the most realistic of any of the possession films I've taken in.

Even with all it's faults, I love this movie. Can't explain why.

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Team Cutler.

that's what my BIL says about "hurt locker". and "stop loss" which he found to be an unintentional comedy.

it's not special security guards but rather guys in other rates (such as mess specialists) who take on that role on the missile boats, but yes Denzel's character would be the one put in handcuffs and the boat would've carried out its 10 missile strike package.

Hollywood had to invent procedures for the film as there is little drama if the XO's attempted revolt against the orders lasts all of 30 seconds.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I can....Gene Hackman yelling, "Now give me the fucking keys!"

While unrealistic, I great, entertaining film.

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I finally got around to watching this again. It truly is an excellent movie.

And to answer my own question, yes, it is full of racial and social overtones. Gene Hackman was portrayed as the bad guy, when he was right all along. They even made him look brutal, like some slave master, by striking Denzel's character. Submarine captains aren't put in their positions to second-guess orders, and certainly not in a nuclear warfare situation. There was no one better to play Gandolfini's part as a strong-man and loyal soul to his captain. I forgot Ricky Schroeder was in this movie. He did a good job in that emotional scene in having to seal the bilge, when his crew-members drowned.

While I don't blame Denzel's character for acting the way he did, he was still wrong. The way he acted was personal in refusing to follow the chain of command.

My one problem with the movie is that if they used a Star Trek reference, they should at least get the context right. Needing more power from the warp drive and restoring radio communications are not the same thing.

At least, that's my interpretation anyway.

Wasn't the point that things in the "orders" were garbled and couldn't be confirmed?

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

They were not able to authenticate the garbled message, so it had to be ignored. The last confirmed message was to launch ten nuclear missiles against a Ruskie missile installation. Therefore, that was the only valid order. No interpretation to the message that came after was permitted, which Denzel's character did.

Here's a user review of the movie from someone who is former military. It comes from IMDB.

"Nothing like this would ever happen on a nuclear submarine without dire consequences. The Captain of a ship has that position for a reason. He is the Commanding Officer of that ship, and that is a powerful, and sacred thing. To simply take over command by force because you don't "agree" with how he's doing things is behavior that used to bring the penalty of death. Basically, that's all Washington's character did. Whether he thinks the right thing is being done or not, the Captain is the Captain, and you cannot pull a stunt like this because you think you can out-think him. This was not a good example of a circumstance when a forcible take-over would be permissible. This was an example of new-age "self-esteem, assertiveness-training" hogwash. With Denzel Washington smoldering and strutting right through the middle of it."