ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604230049
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
"The Substitute" is a straightforward contemporary shoot-'em-up that's unusually well-acted and well-cast. It also benefits from a wry sense of humor that rises to the surface at unexpected moments.
When one character describes the situation as "a joint CIA-PTA operation," he's on the mark.
Shale (Tom Berenger) is a tough mercenary whose most recent work in Cuba has been officially denied by the U.S. government. Between jobs, he looks up his old girlfriend Jane (Diane Venora), a Miami high school history teacher. After she's attacked and crippled, he takes over her class, and before the closing credits roll, he'll try to get rid of the drug dealers and the school administration. Talk about a tall order!
Filling out the cast are Ernie Hudson as Rolle, the Rolex-wearing, Lexus-driving principal; Glenn Plummer as the sympathetic English teacher; and familiar character actors Rodney Grant, Cliff DeYoung and William Forsythe as bad guys.
Director of photography Bruce Surtees, best known for his long association with Clint Eastwood, gives the proceedings a grimy look filled with dark, inky colors. Director Robert Mandel has made such cult favorites as "Independence Day" and "F/X" and he gives this film that same combination of off-beat characters and strong action.
No, the pyrotechnics and stuntwork don't rival the big-budget excesses of Arnold or Bruce, but "The Substitute" still rises well above the general level of the genre.
The Substitute **1/2
A LIVE Entertainment release playing at the Salem Valley 8, Valley View 6. 114 minutes. Rated R for strong language, violence, brief nudity.
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Glenn Plummer (left) and Tom Berenger star in "Theby CNBSubstitute."