The Substitute 4: Failure Is Not an Option

R

2000

1 hr. 32 min.

Action

List

17%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

33%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In order to uncover a white supremacist group at a Southern military academy, former commando Karl Thomasson joins the faculty of the school. As Thomasson determines which cadets are involved in the racist organization, he falls for Jenny, who also works at the academy. When Thomasson realizes that the school's violent racist streak extends to its administration, the tough teacher is forced to take action.

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Jason A

Was a improve over the last one.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

These movies are hated by alot of people, but they are not THAT bad.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

First, allow me to say I am a big Treat Williams fan and I did like the Substitute film series. However, this film should have never been made. The first one borders on the cult classic level, the second one rode the wave of success but was not as good as the first, and the third one reached way too much. This fourth version was just not good at all. Sure, it helped that Williams played the role of Karl Thomasson well and this did not cost too much money to produce, but give me a break. The only good thing about this film was the taking down of Neo-Nazi skinheads and Angie Everhart, although I have never seen any teacher look like her before. Not very good but fast paced, which is one of the few things good with this film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

THE SUBSTITUTE 4: FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION (2000)

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Substitute franchise finally comes to a close and who would of thought it would make it four entries? I can see one, maybe two but four? I knew the series was doomed to end when I saw this DVD as a new release at our local blockbuster and they only carried one copy. One copy! They carried at least four of Substitute 3. Artisan Entertainment itself seemed to be embarrassed they made four entries and they removed the number "4" on the original DVD box art making the title "The Substitute: Failure is Not an Option." Also what's with the subtitle? Actually all the subtitles in the Substitute franchise sound like taglines as opposed to titles: School's Out, Winner Takes All, Failure is Not an Option... Okay enough of me going off about how long the franchise went and the silly subtitles, lets dig into the plot of Substitute 4. Treat Williams returns for a third time as the mercenary Karl Thomasson. This time he is hired by a prestigious retired soldier to go undercover as a history teacher into a military school to discover why his son has changed for the worse. It seems the school is run by a white supremist (Patrick Kilpatrick, my favorite killer cyborg teacher from Class of 1999) who is recruiting young skinheads in order to do terrorist activities. The writers again try to breathe new life into the overlong franchise by switching the environment yet again this time to a military school, further distancing the film from its origin about the problem with gangs in urban environments. The problem with moving the setting to a military school is that Treat Williams' character is more in his element and less like a fish out of water which the substitute were in the previous films. Since he is a military character the audience feels that his character isn't as in much danger since he is in an environment he is use to. The look of this film has the same cheap look of the last entry no doubt to another low budget and the same director returning from part 3. The action is rather low key and the special effects are embarrassing (the exploding building brought a tear to my eye). Other than Williams and KilPatrick, the rest of the cast is again stock direct-to-video fodder that just do good enough to get the film by. This is easily the least of the Substitute franchise but one could do worse to kill and hour-and-a-half. Treat Williams still has enough charm left in him to keep people from turning the film off but unless you're a diehard fan of the franchise I would recommend finding some action kicks someplace else. The substitute finally retired after this entry and it was due time as the franchise did overstay it's welcome by a hair.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Here's another film rating.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

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Robert Radler

Director

Treat Williams

Karl Thomasson

Angie Everhart

Jenny

Tim Abell

Devlin

Scott Miles

Buckner

Bill Nunn

Luther

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Rated: 1/5

Oct 28, 2004

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Definitely worth a rental if you're in the mood for some decent hand-to-hand combat...

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 9, 2002

Full Review

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

Rated: 1/5

Jul 26, 2002

Full Review

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

Everhart is admirably uninhibited about taking her shirt off yet unintentionally disquieting in not only her stunningly wooden elocution, but the dimensions of her cranium

Rated: 1.5/4

Oct 28, 2001

Full Review

Patrick Marcigliano

Apollo Guide

Rated: 45/100

Jul 19, 2001

Full Review

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

wholly ridiculous, and its silly tagline invites far too many obvious jokes at its expense

Rated: 2/5

Apr 8, 2001

Full Review

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Synopsis

In order to uncover a white supremacist group at a Southern military academy, former commando Karl Thomasson joins the faculty of the school. As Thomasson determines which cadets are involved in the racist organization, he falls for Jenny, who also works at the academy. When Thomasson realizes that the school's violent racist streak extends to its administration, the tough teacher is forced to take action.

Director: Robert Radler
Executive Producer: Thomas J. Busch
Screenwriter: Dan Gurskis
Production Co: Artisan Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2012

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