Overrated and overhyped

Just perfect...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

After a failed mission in Cuba with three casualties, the mercenary Jonathan Shale (Tom Berenger) and his team composed by Joey Six (Raymond Cruz), Rem (Luis Guzmán), Wellman (Richard Brooks) and Hollan (William Forsythe) return to Miami. Meanwhile, the history teacher at the Columbus High School Jane Hetzko (Diane Venora) is threatened by the gangster Juan Lacas (Marc Anthony), who is the leader of the dangerous street gang Kings of Destruction. She reports the menace with her colleague Darrell Sherman (Glenn Plummer) to the Principal Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson), but he does not take any attitude. When the scared Jane returns home, she meets he boyfriend Shale that was visiting her and they spend the night together. On the next morning, Shale has a meeting with the rogue lawyer Matt Wolfson (Cliff De Young) that offers a job to protect a shipment of drugs but Shale declines the offer. When he returns to Jane's apartment, he learns that she is jogging at the beach. He walks to meet her and save Jane from the attack of the strong punk Bull (Jim Warne) that breaks her kneecap and flees. She asks him to invite a substitute to replace her and Shale adopts the alias James Smith to replace Jane. Soon he learns that Lacas and Rolle are associated to the drug lord Johnny Glades (Rodney A. Grant) and using the school to store and distribute the drug in Miami. Shale summons his crew and decide to clean the school and eliminate the gangsters."The Substitute" is one of those action movies in the style of "Rambo" or "Death Wish" franchises that are brainless but in the same time highly attractive. The cast has Tom Berenger still in good shape in the role of the hero and many great villains. The story uses the violence of "Class of 1984", with a gang of delinquents threatening the teachers. For fans of this type of film, "The Substitute" does not disappoint. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Substituto" ("The Substitute")

This film came out three years after Sniper, and it suffers from a serious identity crisis.The film wants to be every good-teacher-cleans-up-bad-school movie you've ever seen. That pretty dominates the first 95% of the film. Great White Hope with some of Class of 1999 mixed in. Then, at the end of the film, it basically turns into Rambo/Sniper but set inside of a school.It's quite entertaining to watch Berenger discipline an unruly class. There are some references to race in the film relevant to its production year of 1996, including one of the black teachers asking Berenger as Mr Smith if he's trying to be some Great White Hope. The soundtrack is very engaging and the production values are convincing.The movie builds well, but wraps up very abruptly, despite being engaging and at least somewhat believable up until that point. A blond man (one of the anti-hero mercs) kicks white cocaine dust into the face of a Seminole Indian drug dealer, calling him Snow. This was strangely racist, but then that guy gets shot so I guess he gets his comeuppance. Then, three minutes later, he saves Mr Smith, his old friend, but we're supposed to feel empathy for his death. Chaotic to say the least. I think there's a good chance this film was wrecked in editing, possibly without the director's approval. At least the film has some surprises.I enjoyed the film, but it goes so seriously and inexplicably astray at the end that it ruined the entire film. There was already a major confrontation near the end, and they didn't need to turn it into Rambo Attends High School for yet another violent climax. This was especially annoying as Berenger starts to show a softer side as a teacher who makes progress relating the similarities of violent wars in American history to violence in American inner cities. Done properly, this film could've been a semi-landmark, but someone had to screw it up, and that in itself warrants investigation. It does compare warring countries to gangs, in a simplistic, but plausible way.This movie is a period museum piece because of its reflection of a time of excess in the USA and Hwood that the 21st Century has seen end. Now there are effects excesses that movies wallow in, this one was among the last from a period of combat choreography.gun battle excesses. Its not that a incoherent script couldn't get made today, but this premise would never get produced today.This film gets an 7 for acting, a 0 for ending, and an 8 for novelty and entertainment. Re-edited, it could be a 7 star film.

What strikes me as strange is that this film has a 5.5 star rating on IMDb - why?? Even more of a crime like Perfect Weapon, why hasn't this seen the time of day on DVD? Hell, I managed to obtain a legit DVD from Sweden(with a very cool menu by the way!) To me, (and would have to agree with another comment on this board), this is very much an unofficial Punisher movie. If anyone's read the War Journals, it echos a very similar storyline where Frank Castle goes undercover in a rundown school. With the way society is, this film has a strong message on how to deal with scumbag students who won't tow the line (yeah, call me Dirty Harry!) I love Ernie Hudson who plays a very unlikely principal, as well as Diane Venora and William Forsythe.In an age where action demands being either CGI or stylized choreography, the action here at least, kicks ass. Tom Berenger not only looks like Frank Castle, but handles action with gutso and relishes every opportunity. In my opinion, he is such a gifted actor and should've been given better roles after this.If you liked James Belushi in The Principal, you'll definitely love this - and trust me, it gets better with repeated viewing. Do yourself a favour and order a DVD from Sweden!

Tom Berenger stars as Shale, a mercenary who becomes the substitute teacher taking in for his girlfriend after she is temporarily crippled by the gangs that run the school, figuring out that the principal is in on it, Berenger and his crew of mercenaries (William Forsythe and Luiz Guzman among them) break up a drug ring while Berenger actually likes to teach. Tom Berenger is quite convincing in the mercenary role but not so convincing in the teacher sequences which ultimately leaves one chuckling at the situations. This movie is of course the ultimate teacher's wish fulfillment as Berenger sends students packing through the window and then even manages to engage in hand to hand combat with said students. It is a ridiculous movie but because the action sequences are handled with excitement we cave in and accept the movie on it's own terms. This isn't a great movie but it is a decent guilty pleasure and I for one loved the moment when Berenger said "Ssh no talking in the library!" right before he pushes a table into the students in question.* * out of 4-(Fair)