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The Substitute 2: School's Out

R 1998 1h 30m Action List
0% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 28% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings
A mercenary with a chip on his shoulder, Karl Thomasson (Treat Williams) poses as a teacher at an inner-city school to exact revenge on the gang members who murdered his brother. As Thomasson investigates the killing and tries to keep his estranged niece, Anya (Susan Pratt), safe, he begins to realize how dysfunctional and violent the urban school environment has become. Even with support from fellow soldier Joey Six (Angel David), Thomasson is seriously outnumbered as he seeks vengeance. Read More Read Less
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The Substitute 2: School's Out

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Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Sep 13, 2005 Full Review Linda Cook Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) Rated: 2/5 Aug 4, 2004 Full Review Daniel M. Kimmel Worcester Telegram & Gazette Rated: 2/5 Mar 5, 2004 Full Review Fred Topel About.com None of the thrill of the original Rated: 1/5 Dec 17, 2003 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Rated: 1/5 Jul 29, 2002 Full Review Scott Weinberg eFilmCritic.com Rated: 2/5 Jul 26, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (65) audience reviews
Jason A A ok movie to pass the time. Not has good has the first one. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Hahaha. Transplanted the lead actor, added a yoyo, re-used the story from the first movie, and inserted a mediocre adversary... Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Come on this movie is zero percent? This movie gets a zero percent but you guys like shitty movies like Twilight and Trolls? This movie has heart for shit's sake its not a mindless action movie with nothing but explosions and tits. Wish i could say the same for the third movie Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review adam b A complete downgrade from the original. Probably best to avoid Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member good movie you should watch it Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/04/19 Full Review Audience Member Treat Williams takes over as the titular substitute teacher for Tom Berenger in this enjoyable sequel to the surpassingly good original. The first film is something of a guilty pleasure of mine, with it's odd combination of inner city high school drama (i.e. "Lean on Me" or "Dangerous Minds") and 80s style action films (i.e. Walter Hill or Michael Mann). This film continues that formula without changing much. The only real change seem to be that Williams adds more charm to the new mercenary (who was friends with the Tom Berenger character from the first film) turned substitute teach to root out bad guys for a friend. Also, the film here tells the same story on a much smaller budget. The original film's screenwriters return, Roy Frumkes & Rocco Simonelli, so the film is pretty consistent in tone to the first film, though the inclusion of a custodian who's a Vietnam vet tunnel rat who now crawls through the walls of the school to spy on the drug dealing ways of the students and corrupt school staff may have crossed a line in becoming too silly, but I kind of enjoyed it and it seemed to fit with the gonzo genre mashup. Overall, if you enjoyed the first film, you'll probably enjoy this sequel. BD Wong and Schooly-D also appear in the film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Substitute 2: School's Out

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Cast & Crew

The Glimmer Man 11% 38% The Glimmer Man The Substitute 42% 41% The Substitute Original Gangstas 53% 48% Original Gangstas Lethal Weapon 4 52% 64% Lethal Weapon 4 The Replacement Killers 37% 47% The Replacement Killers Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A mercenary with a chip on his shoulder, Karl Thomasson (Treat Williams) poses as a teacher at an inner-city school to exact revenge on the gang members who murdered his brother. As Thomasson investigates the killing and tries to keep his estranged niece, Anya (Susan Pratt), safe, he begins to realize how dysfunctional and violent the urban school environment has become. Even with support from fellow soldier Joey Six (Angel David), Thomasson is seriously outnumbered as he seeks vengeance.
Director
Steven Pearl
Producer
Robert Salerno, Morrie Eisenman
Screenwriter
Roy Frumkes, Rocco Simonelli
Production Co
Gun for Hire Films
Rating
R
Genre
Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 1, 2008
Runtime
1h 30m
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