Hackman's character reached the command of his ship by being the enthusiastic instrument of his nation's will, while uneasily aware that his executive officer's temproary replacement is the embodiment of the new Navy, a navy for which the old captain knows he was not trained. The cinematography, score, diialogue, and of course the stellar acting of Hackman and Williams combine to create a steadily building sense of tension between the two characters while an escalating series of incidents foreshadows the catastrophe which is the main action of the film - the double conflict between Alabama and Russian rebel subs trying to kill her before she can launch her load of missiles while her commanding officers battle for command over the sub and those same missiles. The conflict develops from verbal sparring in the wardroom between the captain and his executive officer to a series of disagreements between the two men - the central point of conflict being whether the officer's duty is to execute orders without question or allowance for human frailty and error or to weigh the need to follow orders against human concerns such as the crew's well being and ultimately the lives of everyone on Earth. After a thrilling, even harrowing struggle for control over the ship and ultimately the fate of the planet, deliverance comes but the conflict remains unresolved - and in the anticlimactic ending of the film the viewer comes away struggling with the same problem which beset the central characters of the film. Even though many viewers with a strong religious or moral background may find the swearing in the film unnecessary, even offensive, others may recognize that this was done to create a sense of realism.
Sailors do, in fact, swear and the coarseness of their humor is an historical fact.
Many Christian denominations are locked in conflict right now over this particular issue as it relates to ordination of women to various ministries, or the role of people with various lifestyles in the Church. And, as in the film Crimson Tide, havoc results when tension over different views of duty and proper worship is allowed to be more important than the worship and emulation of Jesus. Because the film leaves its viewers thinking about how to approach conflicts over obedience versus morality instead of giving them an easy answer, I can heartily recommend Crimson Tide to the mature Christian moviegoer who doesn't mind coarse language which is in context with the movie's plot. Christians should be thinking about these conflicts and prayerfully considering the proper way of resolving them. Samuel Jackson is fantastic as always.