Director – Robert Mandel (ABC Afterschool Specials, The X-Files)
Starring – Tom Berenger (Major League, Platoon), Raymond Cruz (Alien: Resurrection, Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires), and William Forsythe (Dick Tracy, The Devil’s Rejects)
Release Date – 1996
Rating – 4/5
UHD Release – 3/5
I pretty much lived at my local video store. Dewey’s Video was about a 15 or 20 minute ride from my home and I was there several times a week and always on Friday so I could get that extra day rental. I was always checking out movies regardless of their genre. Horror will always be my favorite genre but sometimes a movie from a different genre would catch my eye and I had to rent it. This was also the time of the premium channels like HBO and Cinemax. I loved movies and would often scour the TV guide looking for something to watch when I didn’t have a movie from Dewey’s to check out.
A few weeks back I received the press release for the crime action flick from 1996 called The Substitute. This is a film I’m very familiar with after watching it several times growing up. I can’t remember if it was because I rented the tape from Dewey’s or caught it on the premium channels. Regardless, it had been a long time and I couldn’t wait to check it out again. I shot them a message and they were kind enough to send over a copy of the UHD release for me to check out.
**Spoiler ALert** The film follows a former soldier turned mercenary who turns to teaching when his fiancée is attacked by a gang at the inner city school she teaches at. He goes undercover to get revenge on the gang only to learn that they are working with the principal and a known drug dealer to push their product onto the students of the school. He turns to his former team to infiltrate the group and put a stop to them. **Spoiler Alert**
The Substitute is one of those mid-90s action flicks that takes a simple action story and tosses it in an urban setting. These became extremely popular after films like New Jack City was released and I’ve always enjoyed them for the most part. The Substitute is not as dark and gritty as a lot of the others but it more than makes up for this with better writing.
The acting in this one is great. We have a fantastic cast that features some seriously heavy hitters. Major League is one of those films that I watched all the fucking time as a kid and I always thought Tom Berenger was fantastic in it. It wasn’t until I revisited The Substitute now that I realized how fucking fantastic he is. Honestly, he carries the film to me. His character is pretty cliched and not that original but he does an amazing job at bringing him to life. Ernie Hudson is great as the film’s antagonist. I don’t know of another film where he is the villain and I love seeing the charisma he brought to the role. We also have great performances from Luis Guzman, Raymond Cruz, William Forsythe, Glenn Plummer, and several more. This film does not have a weak link in regards to cast.
The story for this one is is bit more complicated than a lot of the other action flicks at the time. We have a school gang that is selling drugs provided by the principal while a mercenary and his team infiltrate the school to stop them. It is a bit goofy and busy but it works. We have characters that are well written and the scenes unfold perfectly.
Finally, we get a lot of gun fights and some minor explosions but those looking for a lot of fun deaths and fantastic gore will be very disappointed. Overall, The Substitute is one of those mid-90s action films that many people might look over but is actually pretty fucking fun. I genuinely love this movie and it was great revisiting it in 4K. I highly recommend checking out this release from Vestron Video.
Special Features:
The Substitute in 4K, with Dolby Vision®
Vestron Video Collector’s Series #37
Art by Vance Kelly
Power Achieved Is Power Perceived: Director Robert Mandel on The Substitute
Color Grade Is in Session
Bullet Points: Storyboard-to-Film Exploration
Theatrical Trailer
