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Visitors Review

stamper 2012-05-17 02:10:30

Mixture of the Principal and well uhm an action film

This is a film that reminded me a lot of The Principal (with JamesBelushi),for it is also about crimes at a high school. Nonetheless this film isdifferent than the Principal. It is not better I guess but it is quitesolid, still. The story is OK, for it is sometimes a bit obvious what isgoing to happen next. The acting is pretty good and the action is prettygood too. What this film lacks though is serious identification with acharacter. You are not really touched the deaths of several good guys andthat is a pity, for there are one or two elements of emotion in this one,that could have been developed more. Also you were not at the edge of yourseat during the film. What I really liked though was, that there were somefunny elements in this film too, that made it a bit lighter to theheart.Small 7 (like 6,5) out of 10

Stephen Bailey 2012-05-16 09:48:59

Not very good - though Berenger was excellent!

I have to agree with the majority. This film is not very good; badlydirected, sloppy script, tedious stereotypes, and cliched throughout. But inmy opinion Tom Berenger just about saved it. He is an EXCELLENT actor & Idon't understand why his career stalled. I guess that's just the nature ofHollywood. The scene where Berenger has just beaten up a pair of gangstersand the Principal asks him to apologise to them stands out in particular."Oh, that'll be the $@#%£$& day." This is what a GOOD actor can do with evena throwaway line. My own Drama teacher was fond of saying: "Don't just DOsomething. STAND there." Berenger's been unfairly criticised for a "leaden"performance, but I think it was intentional - and perfect! It showed thegravity of Shale's personality. He's a dark & serious guy. I was also amazedto see that Berenger was 47 when this movie was made. I'm 20 years youngerand in (much) worse shape. I was also glad to see Luis Guzman in this film,though he was completely wasted. Anyone who's seen him play "Pachanga" inCarlito's Way will know how fantastic he is in the hyperactive/psychoticsupporting role; yet he hardly had a single line. Crazy! My biggestcriticism of The Substitute is something I haven't noticed anyone elsemention; so here goes. Where the Hell were the Miami Police!!!!!! Here youhave a school absolutely awash with drugs and gangsters, assault rifles,unemployed kids driving BMW 735s, teachers being threatened, attacked andmurdered etc etc - yet not a cop in sight? So, mega-disappointing. Irecently saw Berenger in the latest series of Law & Order. He played anageing FBI Agent trying to take the blame for his teenage daughter whocommits a murder. Another stunning performance and it's a real shame hehasn't got the major roles he deserves.

2012-05-14 02:56:06

Above Average Berenger Just Barely

"FX" director Robert Mandel's urban crime thriller "The Substitute" fuses elements of "Blackboard Jungle" with "The Equalizer." In "Blackboard Jungle," a teacher (Glenn Ford) tangled with savage, inner-city youth. In the CBS-TV thriller series "The Equalizer," an urban security expert allowed his clients to resume life without fear from assailants.Tom Berenger stars as a covert operations specialist on holiday who finds himself back into the classroom to rumble with a drug czar and his killers. The action is as fast and as furious as one of the submachine guns fired in this larger-than-life, but exciting exercise in educational reform. Mandel and "Street Trash" scenarist Roy Frumkes, "Substitute 2" scribe Rocco Simonelli, and "Cat People" writer Alan Ormsby have created an entertaining, suspenseful, sometimes amusing, melodrama with a minor surprise or two. "Ghost Busters" star Ernie Hudson registers splendidly as a corrupt high school principal who abuses his authority by allowing sales of narcotics on his premises.An earnest, forthright teacher Jane Hetzko (Diane Venora of "True Crime") confronts high-ranking gang-banger Juan Lacas (Marc Anthony of "Hackers") during a campus brawl, and he doesn't like the way that she talks to him so he threatens her. Later, as Jane is jogging by herself along the beach, a thuggish Seminole confronts her and cracks one of her knee caps with a bat. Jane's off-again, on-again boyfriend Jonathan Shale (Tom Berenger of the "Sniper" movies)tangles briefly with the brute before the brute escapes. Jane lands in the hospital and Shale takes care of her. Shale calls for Jane's usual substitute, but the man isn't available. Instead, Shale gets one of his mercenary buddies, Rem (Luis Guzmán of "Anger Management"), to put him into the school's computer system as James Smith with three diplomas from prestigious Ivy League universities. Shale has the time to devote to Jane's problem, because his men and he have completed a mission that attracted too much international attention and he has to cool it for a while. Meantime, he keeps his surviving commandos in line and out of harm's way. A job to guard drug shipments comes up, but once our virtuous hero learns that he would be killing to ensure the safe passage of narcotics, he turns the job down cold and reprimands his comrade, Joey 6 (Raymond Cruz of "The Rock") for setting up the interview.Instead, Shale masquerades as a substitute school teacher when he cannot get an actual substitute for Jane. He assembles his team and tells them that where drugs are concerned, money can be found in large quantities. This serves as their inducement to mobilize their special skills. Along the way, another caring teacher, Mr. Darrell Sherman (Glenn Plummer of "Saw 2") gets in the way of the villains, particularly Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson of "Ghost Busters") and pays the ultimate price. The heroes and the villains turn the high school into a battlefield. The villains have stashed a lifetime's worth of cocaine in the school's maintenance garage and Hollan (William Forsythe of "Once Upon A Time in America") rigs it up with explosives so when the bad guys go to retrieve it, they are blown up. Not all of the good guys survive this bullet-riddled shoot'em up. Raymond Cruz is quite good and William Forsythe plays another one of his hot-tempered maniacs. He is fast becoming the American equivalent of Klaus Kinski. "The Substitute" ranks as an above-average thriller.

clay120 2012-05-14 01:44:52

just a complete stinker

I was up late flicking through the channels the other night, and stumbledacross The Substitute on HBO. Good grief in heaven this one is a stinker!There were several points during the movie where I wanted to turn the TVoff, but just couldn't - I was stuck in a kind of personal nightmare,unableto believe how bad this movie was.This is one of the worst written, worst directed, worst acted movies Ihaveever seen. Once again an inner city high school is portrayed sostereotypically. Once again Tom Berenger plays a mindless Van Dammewannabe. Once again the writing in an action movie is so bad that it isunintentionally funny. I suppose that's what kept me going: this moviewasso bad it was funny.From a pure action standpoint, the scene where Tom Berenger confronts thepunks in the library is telling. The punks are running with guns, helpedbythe principal's security guards, through a PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL.That is just the beginning of the absurdities present in this film.Not quite as bad as Child's Play 3: Chucky Gets Lucky, or Leprechaun (tiedfor worst movie ever made), but not far from it.

2012-05-09 17:04:04

If 187 had gone action instead of drama...

It would be much like this. I'm sure alot of people will think I'm an idiot for enjoying film, but I do not care. This has all the action of a great movie, complete with some comody. Wolfson's high-fiber bran and crapping his pants as Shale choked him was one of the more hilarious moments. And the way he kills Rolay at the end by smashing his nose into his face with his hand is something you have to rewind the tape and watch over to see clearly and completely. The class and school fit every stereo type of the at risk "gangsta" sorts. Rap, graffiti, attitudes, and attire make it so overblown it can almost make you laugh, at least if you like this sort of film. If not, go rent 187 and see a more serious version of the teacher-student war. It is such a shame that the sequal was rather a letdown.

2012-05-09 05:08:24

let me tell you

the only reason i saw this movie cause it was filmed at my high school miami senior high.i wasnt going there at the time but my sister was. so i saw it and didnt like it much but it was cool to see the school on film and know ive been there millions of times. p.s the school is not all f**ked up like they showed it they spray painted it and messed it up for filming.

Brian T. Whitlock 2012-05-07 05:33:41

GREAT MOVIE!

I liked this movie very well. It was intense, entertaining and fun towatch. The whole plot was great, but I didn't know Marc Anthony didsome acting as well. It's a shame that he played a villain. Oh well, hehad his just desserts. Tom Berenger is known for playing tough guyroles as he's always good at it. He is suave, in-control personalitygives the chemistry needed to make this a hit. I'm surprised that theprincipal at the school was the heavy in the movie. Principals likethat give discipline a bad name. Everything in the movie was well-made.The cast was great, the storyline was precise, just everything in therewas just great. What more do you want from a movie? Rating 3 out of 5stars. 8 out of 10!

2012-05-06 08:13:26

A movie worth watching

A very good movie, Substitute, brings to the screen the story of a professional mercenary who goes undercover posing as a substitute teacher in an effort to shed light on the kneecapping of his fiancee, a history teacher at a Miami-Dade drug-infested high school, by gang members. What he finds though might be a bit more than he had anticipated...There is obvious similarity between Substitute and Dangerous Minds starring Michelle Pfeifer (and which was released the previous year) in having teachers in classrooms with unruly students ending up winning them over. Tom Berenger, Marc Antony (!), Ernie Hudson and the rest of the cast, with the exception of Diane Venora who is not really that great in her role as Jane Hetzko, have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least! All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows allowing for a highly entertaining movie.The plot, the setting, and the music are all EXCELLENT. Overall, it is a movie definitely worth watching, as it will surely provide for an evening's entertainment!

Dianna Trent 2012-05-05 09:07:47

'Unbelievable' Action in Local High School!!

In some ways, you'd WANT a guy like Shale - A.K.A. Smith (Tom Berenger) - tosub at your local high school if the school is THIS dangerous! Most of thekids look like adults & they 'play' with guns like they were toys whiletrying to protect their 'drugstore', the school! But the story goes likethis -Shale's an ex-mercenary seeking out whoever it was who beat up histeacher-girlfriend (who BTW, looks MUCH too young for the craggy yeteternally handsome Berenger! I thought she was his daughter when he went toher home until they began trying to get romantic on the couch while herbroken leg kept getting in the way!) So he fakes all the right credentialsto get into the school by substituting. He finds her attacker, impresses thestudents with his 'don't mess with me' attitude, discovers a huge drug ringthat the principal (Ernie Hudson) is running inside the school & calls for'back-up' from his other ex-mercenary pals when this unbelievable actionfilm is almost at its end. How much death can a high schoolstand?!I kept wondering all thru this film how come no one ever called the cops!Until I realized they were also on the take. Teens will like this film &will remember Berenger by it. If they see him in nothing else (& he's donefilms MUCH better than this in terms of storyline), they'll remember him inthis. Oh, one memorable scene - When Shale helps the librarian lady to her feet,that killer smile of his lights up the screen! The camera stays on him longenough for you to keep in mind that this guy really does have a more humanside! All throughout, he's quite the stone-faced 'non-expressionist'. But inthis one scene, his smile is the scene STEALER! Watch for it!

atlantismedia 2012-05-04 18:43:53

Realistic 90's High School Action without any cheap clichés.

This movie, set in South Florida, incorporates history and realisticaction to weave an entertaining story of South Florida crime. TomBerringer is believable as a mercenary who seeks to find out why hisgirlfriend is attacked by a high school gang by becoming a substituteteacher. The acting, across the board, is excellent. The schoolprincipal, Glenn Plummer, provides a believable ringleader of theschool gang with a powerful acting role. Mark Anthony is outstanding ashis top henchman and provides one of the best acting jobs of anysinging entertainer since Mark Walberg. MA is a natural! The action isnever static, the fights are believable in comparison to standardHollywood fare, the locations are real and the overall dialog andcinematography is outstanding. No cheap tricks like unnecessaryexplosions or animation matting needed to cement this action inreality. I highly recommend this movie (even on standard TV having towait through the ads is not a problem). It is entertaining, credibleand keeps you hooked to see how they wrap it up. If you like gritty,real, down-to-earth action with high school kids who are more thancardboard characters, this is a movie you'll love. If you're from SouthFlorida, it is a major bonus seeing SF locations although jumping fromFort Lauderdale to Miami stretches the reality of living in this area.Rent it, buy it, love it.

2012-05-02 04:55:51

Very entertaining! Cathartic!

I watched this movie with my sweet, grandmotherly, grey-haired mother. We both loved it. Something about it struck a chord with both of us. I guess maybe because both of us (yes, even sweet grey-haired mom) have experienced somewhat miserable school experiences--I don't know why, exactly, but something about this film was cathartic. I think we both wished we'd had a school teacher who was a little like the Tom Berenger character in this film. Berenger plays a tough merecenary type who ends up infiltrating a very rough high school, after his teacher-girlfriend is injured by school thugs. We both enjoyed seeing this take-no-BS fellow handle his unruly classes. We *really* enjoyed seeing this.The supporting cast (including Berenger's eclectic collection of mercenary buddies) are excellent. Ernie Hudson as the villan is very effective. A very entertaining film! Recommended.

fukko123 2012-05-01 21:07:34

Could have been good

Spoilers *****************************I cannot believe this film got 5.3, i think it should have 2.0 at themost.This film is bad but also very funny(because of the badness) and as iwatched this "masterpiece" i felt sorry for Tom Berenger and how his careerhas gone downhill since Platoon.Its like this, Tom berenger is an ex U.SMarine who becomes a Subsitute at a high school,whos Principal(Big ErnieHudson)is a drug dealer(!!!!).From then on we see Berengers charactermakingenemies of some of the rather old looking "kids" who are also armed to theteeth with guns.But this isnt a problem for Tom,when they confront him inthe school libary he throws them all out of a window to the ground which isabout 30ft below, but they all just get up brush themselves down and walkaway(!?).This film then gets worse and some things happen, and isntinteresting again until the last scenes.One of the scenes involves ateacherwho has rumbled Ernies operation and gets caught.To try and escape the Drugdealers,he climbs up a rope in the school hall/gym and gets shot.I couldntquite work that scene out, maybe he was looking for a door in the ceilingbut either way he gets killed.Then Berenger and his gang of ex US marinesassault the school to get at Ernie Hudson and his nasty friends and it goeson until, Bad guys dead, Berengers gang alive.Thats it all over.One lastthing though,One of Berengers friends(the mexican with the bobble on hishead)gets killed and im certain of this about 5 minutes before the end,butat the end of the film he greets Berenger and walks away with alimp!?If anyone is thinking of making a sequel,heres some advise Hire Actors anddont make the same mistake as the first Director.2.0/10 V E R Y B A D

2012-04-29 03:02:57

THE BEST MOVIE TOM BERENGER HAD BEEN IN IN A WHILE

A TOUGH MERCENARY [TOM BERENGER] BECOMES A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER FOR A CRIME INFESTED SCHOOL. VERY INTERESTING. THIS IS PROBABLY AS GOOD AS A RECENT TOM BERENGER MOVIE IS GONNA GET. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MARC ANTHONY [WHO'S BEST REMEMBERED FOR 1998'S ''I NEED TO KNOW''] ACTUALLY HAS A ROLE IN THIS MOVIE AS A GANG LEADER. THIS IS DEFINITELY WORTH WATCHING. FOLLOWED BY THREE DIRECT-TO-VIDEO SEQUELS.

Van Roberts 2012-04-28 21:07:45

One of Berenger's Better Thrillers

"FX" director Robert Mandel's urban crime thriller "The Substitute"fuses elements of "Blackboard Jungle" with "The Equalizer." In"Blackboard Jungle," a teacher (Glenn Ford) tangled with savage,inner-city youth. In the CBS-TV thriller series "The Equalizer," anurban security expert allowed his clients to resume life without fearfrom assailants.Tom Berenger stars as a covert operations specialist on holiday whofinds himself back into the classroom to rumble with a drug czar andhis killers. The action is as fast and as furious as one of thesubmachine guns fired in this larger-than-life, but exciting exercisein educational reform. Mandel and "Street Trash" scenarist Roy Frumkes,"Substitute 2" scribe Rocco Simonelli, and "Cat People" writer AlanOrmsby have created an entertaining, suspenseful, sometimes amusing,melodrama with a minor surprise or two. "Ghost Busters" star ErnieHudson registers splendidly as a corrupt high school principal whoabuses his authority by allowing sales of narcotics on his premises.An earnest, forthright teacher Jane Hetzko (Diane Venora of "TrueCrime") confronts high-ranking gang-banger Juan Lacas (Marc Anthony of"Hackers") during a campus brawl, and he doesn't like the way that shetalks to him so he threatens her. Later, as Jane is jogging by herselfalong the beach, a thuggish Seminole confronts her and cracks one ofher knee caps with a bat. Jane's off-again, on-again boyfriend JonathanShale (Tom Berenger of the "Sniper" movies)tangles briefly with thebrute before the brute escapes. Jane lands in the hospital and Shaletakes care of her. Shale calls for Jane's usual substitute, but the manisn't available. Instead, Shale gets one of his mercenary buddies, Rem(Luis Guzmán of "Anger Management"), to put him into the school'scomputer system as James Smith with three diplomas from prestigious IvyLeague universities. Shale has the time to devote to Jane's problem, because his men and hehave completed a mission that attracted too much internationalattention and he has to cool it for a while. Meantime, he keeps hissurviving commandos in line and out of harm's way. A job to guard drugshipments comes up, but once our virtuous hero learns that he would bekilling to ensure the safe passage of narcotics, he turns the job downcold and reprimands his comrade, Joey 6 (Raymond Cruz of "The Rock")for setting up the interview.Instead, Shale masquerades as a substitute school teacher when hecannot get an actual substitute for Jane. He assembles his team andtells them that where drugs are concerned, money can be found in largequantities. This serves as their inducement to mobilize their specialskills. Along the way, another caring teacher, Mr. Darrell Sherman(Glenn Plummer of "Saw 2") gets in the way of the villains,particularly Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson of "Ghost Busters") and paysthe ultimate price. The heroes and the villains turn the high schoolinto a battlefield. The villains have stashed a lifetime's worth ofcocaine in the school's maintenance garage and Hollan (William Forsytheof "Once Upon A Time in America") rigs it up with explosives so whenthe bad guys go to retrieve it, they are blown up. Not all of the goodguys survive this bullet-riddled shoot'em up. "The Substitute" ranks asan above-average thriller.

n_imdb-913-899173 2012-04-23 00:16:26

Perfect hero movie

This is like the ultimate "everyday" action movie. It's pulp fictionwith a human touch. Tom Berenger is a beautiful warm hearted humanactor. He makes roles seem human. I guess the weakness in that, is thatsince it's so human and less flashy, it may very well be the reason henever became a huge star - just human. He's so underrated. Anyway he isa big part in making this movie your ultimate take it easy and enjoyflick. This movie knows right from wrong and it gives us thesatisfaction in a non cheesy way of supporting our belief that goodwill win in the end. Maybe I should have given it a 10. Cause it's aclassic and perfect in it's genre. I guess it's a "B" movie that getsan A big time..

ebert_jr 2012-04-22 06:35:20

I agree with Strauss....Forsythe is great

Forsythe is my favorite supporting actor out there, even roles like this onehe just shines through. He's so good, it's almost funny given the context. Whether it's this, or his bad guy role in Out For Justice, the man is justtotally into his work and energized, a real pleasure to watch. I love thescene where he tells the bad guy that he looks like "a little snow angel"when he's covered in cocaine, or when Forsythe is downstairs in the basementwaiting for the bad guys and he's doing the Indian war dance around thedrugs. Berrigner is ok for this, but plays it too straight. What workswell are the guys that know how to have fun with the role, likeForsythe.

2012-04-16 00:16:40

"Blackboard Jungle" with grenades and tec-10s!

This formula action film starts with the ho-hum premise of a CIA man Berenger undergoing the task of becoming a substitute teacher in a tough school, where he wonderfully repays the thuggish students in kind. After that, the plot takes a turn for the ludicrous as he uncovers a drug operation and smashes a posse of gangbangers. Strictly for action junkies, though the gun battles and fist fights have a sharper edge than usual. The treatment is fairly realistic as well, and, as one reviewer has pointed out below, the embarrassing PC treatment, which constantly rears its head into almost every film nowadays, is largely absent here. Tom Berenger convinces as the agent-cum-educator with a highly heterodox approach to school discipline. An entertaining actioner of quite some appeal.

tenten76 2012-04-15 17:33:17

Class movie.

Although a b-movie, I thoroughly enjoyed this. You know when you're justabout to roll over and go to sleep, and a late movie catches your eye.. and90 minutes later you know you're gonna be tired tomorrow, but that's okaybecause you got to see a cool movie?It's a pretty 'A-Team' sort of plot - a MERC becomes a substitute teacher tocrack a drug-distribution ring (and there was some sort of personal vendettatoo, involving an attack on his teacher girlfriend - but I missed thebeginning). You can imagine Patrick Swayze, even Steven Segal in this sortof "quiet, big-hearted, kicker-of-ass" role - but they wouldn't be as good. You can't help but grin in anticipation when he calls in his MERC buddiesfor help (including a nicely deranged turn from William Forsyth, who is thedetective in Deuce Bigalow).Very enjoyable, with a slightly harder edge than you'd expect from a movieof this type.

Banky-4 2012-04-15 13:23:36

Behold the Power of Cheese!

I actually liked this movie. Good action, good hero, and good actionsequences. Ernie Hudson makes a mean villan and Tom Berenger is a decenthero. Good movie to watch when you're not in the mood to think aboutit.

HaemovoreRex 2012-04-14 19:24:20

Tremendously satisfying!

Here's one of those immensely satisfying albeit somewhat unlikelyflicks in which the scumbags really get their just deserts. ThinkDangerous Minds crossed with Death Wish and you'll have a pretty goodgist of things here.The ever excellent Tom Berenger stars as a tough as nails mercenary whoseeks retribution after his teacher girlfriend is viciously assaultedon the orders of a high school gang calling themselves the Kings OfDestruction. And what better way for our hero to get up close andpersonal with his quarry than to take the now vacant teaching positionhis girl friend has left at school and to pose as a substitute. In thisassumed role our man quickly weeds out the problem students with someno nonsense discipline which will be sure to raise a smile on mostviewers faces. Matters turn out to be a bit more complex however whenit is revealed that the school principle is not quite such a genialchap as he at first appears.....in fact far from it as he isorchestrating the gang within his school and trafficking drugs viathem. Subsequently our hero enlists the aid of his mercenary buddies tolend a hand and all merry hell subsequently breaks out including in onehilarious scene, one of our boys firing off a rocket launcher down aschool corridor(!!!!!) Yes, whilst realism this may be woefullylacking, in fun it more than makes up for! Go on, treat yourself to this wonderful slice of carefree and highlysatisfying escapism - you know you want to.