Plot: What’s it about?
There are movies that I’ve never seen. Some of those are by choice and others by circumstance. Case in point, I can vividly recall seeing the VHS box for The Substitute at video stores while in college. I’d pick up the box, look at the back, recognize Tom Berenger (from one of my favorite films, Major League) but something never really made me say “Ok, I’ll watch this.” Flash forward a few decades and, well, lo and behold I’ve got the 4K in hand. I guess I’m out of excuses, eh? I didn’t know much about the movie other than the film’s title and that it inspired three direct-to-video sequels, though none starred Berenger – they all had Treat Williams in the role (not Berenger’s role, but the gist was the same). Add to that, I was a fan of a few of director Robert Mandel’s earlier films: F/X and School Ties (a guilty early 90’s pleasure, for sure). So there had to be something there, right?
Berenger plays Jonathan Shale, an out-of-work mercenary (I didn’t know they could be unemployed) who’s back home after a mission goes worse than expected. His fiancé, Hane (Diane Venora), a schoolteacher at a rough Miami high school, is attacked due to a gang-related accident. Shale pulls some strings, fabricates his resume and manages to get a job as her replacement at the same school. You guessed it, he’s “the substitute.” From there we meet an array of students which are a veritable “who’s who” of latino actors including a pre J-Lo Marc Anthony, Luis Guzman and Raymond Cruz (“Tuco” from Breaking Bad, for reference). Not helping matters is the school’s principal (Ernie Hudson) who’s allowing the school to be used as a drug storage unit. He’s got the local authorities on his payroll and this, of course, doesn’t sit well with Shale and his team. I don’t think we need to connect too many dots to figure out how things will pan out.
Well…I did it. I watched a film that I’ve had in hand on countless occasions and was never able to make myself dedicate the 114 minutes of my life to seeing it. Now that I have, I can say that the film is good…but not great. I can see it as more of a mid 90’s action flick and the cast is good, the story is so so, but it’s not something that I’m going to sit down and watch again and again. I’ve often wondered if there’s some magical formula as to how much a movie has to gross for it to green light a sequel (let alone three). Evidently this one passes muster as three more sequels followed. Hey, good for them. I don’t see myself checking out the entire franchise, though. For those that like it, The Substitute has never looked or sounded better and well worth an addition to your collection – if that’s your thing.
Video: How’s it look?
Having never seen the film in any format, I have no direct antecedent as to a comparison, but I’ve seen enough films from the era to get a pretty good indication as to what it looked like. But let’s focus on the present, not the past – shall we? There’s a supplement, detailed below, that gives us a bit more information as to how this finalized 4K look was accomplished but looking at the film itself, the 1.85:1 HEVC image is certainly striking to say the least. Colors seem warm, detail has been improved and any and all grain seems to have gone the way of the dodo. For a moderately low budget film from the mid 90’s to look this good is certainly praise for the format, to be sure.
Audio: How’s it sound?
In much the same vein as the film’s video presentation, the new Dolby Atmos mix is certainly no slouch. Again, having not seen the film in any form, I don’t really have a basis of comparison but watching the film with this Atmos mix does give it more of a modern sense, for lack of a better term. Vocals are rich, pure and crisp, surrounds aren’t used a whole lot but when they are – they’re certainly effective and the front stage handles the remainder with relative ease. It’s a good-sounding mix and the Atmos is the icing on the cake.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Power is Achieved is Power Perceived: Director Robert Mandel on The Substitute – The film’s director gives us some background on the project as well as a little reflection. It’s clear this one is special to him.
- Color Grade is in Session – If you’ve ever wondered how some of these films from the 80’s and 90’s (and beyond) are actually made into modern-day 4K transfers, this one might be of interest. Stephanie El-Mei Schwartz from Lionsgate gives a tour to the film’s director and I have to say that this was an eye-opening experience.
- Bullet Points: Storyboard to Film Exploration – Pretty much that. A few storyboards are shown as is the “final product” in the film.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
There’s a lot of praise for this film, not necessarily from a critical standpoint. I’m not sure I share in that. I found it entertaining, but often I’ve found that it’s nearly as important as when I saw a film correlates to how I enjoyed it. Nevertheless, The Substitute does have its fan base and it did inspire three sequels, so they did something right. Lionsgate’s new 4K offering gives fans what they want and more.
