I've seen hundreds of these actioners and while they may all seem the same, I still love them more than anything. I don't look for a smart and original script, good acting or "a deep and emotional story that needs to be told". In fact, those are the things I _don't_ want in an action-film. What I look for is gratuitous violence with a little gratuitous nudity thrown in. I look for a good, strong hero who's goal is to make things right by any means necessary.
I was a fan of the first Substitute-film. Tom Berenger was a good hero, the story moved fast enough, the action-scenes were good and the music score was excellent. However, I was slightly disappointed with the second film. While Treat Williams might be a reasonably good actor, I didn't think he was a very good action hero. He looked kinda goofy with a gun. Also, the action-scenes were quite poor and the level of violence was surprisingly low. The music score wasn't good either.
Treat Williams is again the hero in The Substitute 3 so my expectations were a little low. However, I loved director Robert Radler's earlier work (especially Best of the Best 2) so of course I had to see it. And I'm happy to say that this film rocked! I think this is the best Substitute-film yet.
The Substitute 3 was filmed in just 16 days and the budget was probably quite modest. Still, this looks like a surprisingly big film. The technical details are excellent, the camera keeps moving and the editing is done very well. I also liked the score a lot.
Treat Williams still looks goofy with a gun but this time he's quite competent in the martial arts-fights. The fights are choreographed with skill and are really fun to watch. I liked the supporting characters. James Black as the sidekick with a sword could have a bright future in action-films, Claudia Christian looked good and handled her own action-scenes well and the fat surveillance guy had some good lines.
And speaking of dialogue, I liked the writing of this film. There's a relaxed atmosphere and Williams' oneliners work well. The only significant flaw with the film was that unlike the first film, this doesn't have a strong villain. Fortunately there's still a good, big action-scene in the end.
So, The Substitute 3 doesn't offer anything new (and thankfully it doesn't even try) but what it does, it does very, very well. It's of course apparent that this film isn't everyone's cup of tea. It doesn't give you anything to think about and it can be summarised as cardboard characters fighting each other. But then again, that's my precise definition of good entertainment, so this one gets a full 10. See it if you are a fan of the genre and like mindless violence. But if you didn't fall asleep during The English Patient or Shakespeare In Love and didn't like the first two Substitute-films, this one isn't worth watching either.
I was a fan of the first Substitute-film. Tom Berenger was a good hero, the story moved fast enough, the action-scenes were good and the music score was excellent. However, I was slightly disappointed with the second film. While Treat Williams might be a reasonably good actor, I didn't think he was a very good action hero. He looked kinda goofy with a gun. Also, the action-scenes were quite poor and the level of violence was surprisingly low. The music score wasn't good either.
Treat Williams is again the hero in The Substitute 3 so my expectations were a little low. However, I loved director Robert Radler's earlier work (especially Best of the Best 2) so of course I had to see it. And I'm happy to say that this film rocked! I think this is the best Substitute-film yet.
The Substitute 3 was filmed in just 16 days and the budget was probably quite modest. Still, this looks like a surprisingly big film. The technical details are excellent, the camera keeps moving and the editing is done very well. I also liked the score a lot.
Treat Williams still looks goofy with a gun but this time he's quite competent in the martial arts-fights. The fights are choreographed with skill and are really fun to watch. I liked the supporting characters. James Black as the sidekick with a sword could have a bright future in action-films, Claudia Christian looked good and handled her own action-scenes well and the fat surveillance guy had some good lines.
And speaking of dialogue, I liked the writing of this film. There's a relaxed atmosphere and Williams' oneliners work well. The only significant flaw with the film was that unlike the first film, this doesn't have a strong villain. Fortunately there's still a good, big action-scene in the end.
So, The Substitute 3 doesn't offer anything new (and thankfully it doesn't even try) but what it does, it does very, very well. It's of course apparent that this film isn't everyone's cup of tea. It doesn't give you anything to think about and it can be summarised as cardboard characters fighting each other. But then again, that's my precise definition of good entertainment, so this one gets a full 10. See it if you are a fan of the genre and like mindless violence. But if you didn't fall asleep during The English Patient or Shakespeare In Love and didn't like the first two Substitute-films, this one isn't worth watching either.