The Substitute
Directed by Robert MandelShale's Mercenary team is retired after a (not so) covert mission in Cuba. He becomes a substitute teacher at his teacher fiancee's Miami high school to get those behind kneecapping her. His team helps him.
- CMoreMoviesJanuary 18, 2026I can't imagine police, even corrupt police, waiting to respond until three hours after a bazooka goes off on school grounds, but hey, it's the 90s! A product of it's time, this movie had solid characters and acting, but suffered from a bipolar story that somehow combined a touch of the anti-war, dreamer, post-Vietnam sentiment, with a healthy helping of the militant, bad-ass righteousness present for the War on Drugs. I like that the film is trying to say something with it's patchwork morals. "Don't do drugs, kids," and "live by the sword, die by the sword" are good messages. Having the American military, rogue as Shale's possie is, roll into a minority-run, underprivileged high school and deliver said messages, in part at gunpoint, is a less-good, thoughtless way of getting these messages across. If you want to see a white, macho, leading man from the 80s or 90s blow away nameless villains watch Die Hard; the action is better, and so is the writing.
The Substitute Trivia
The Substitute was released on April 19, 1996.
The Substitute was directed by Robert Mandel.
The Substitute has a runtime of 1h 54m.
The Substitute was produced by Morrie Eisenman, Jim Steele, Don Carmody.
Shale's Mercenary team is retired after a (not so) covert mission in Cuba. He becomes a substitute teacher at his teacher fiancee's Miami high school to get those behind kneecapping her. His team helps him.
The key characters in The Substitute are Jonathan Shale (Tom Berenger), Joey Six (Raymond Cruz), Juan Lacas (Marc Anthony).
The Substitute is rated R.
The Substitute is an Action, Thriller, Crime film.
The Substitute has an audience rating of 4 out of 10.
The Substitute has made $14.8M at the box office.