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The Substitute

The Substitute

Action · Crime · Drama · 1996

When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.

Movie details

The Substitute

“The most dangerous thing about school used to be the students.”

1996 Action · Crime · Drama 1h 54m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Substitute?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Mandel

Written by

Roy Frumkes · Rocco Simonelli · Alan Ormsby

Tom Berenger

Tom Berenger

Jonathan Shale

Raymond Cruz

Raymond Cruz

Joey Six

Marc Anthony

Marc Anthony

Juan Lacas

William Forsythe

William Forsythe

Hollan

Luis Guzmán

Luis Guzmán

Rem

Diane Venora

Diane Venora

Jane Hetzko

Ernie Hudson

Ernie Hudson

Claude Rolle

Court is in session

Put The Substitute on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.