Bullet Points: The Substitute: Failure is Not an Option

When Tom Berenger opted not to return for The Substitute 2 in 1998, some could say that Treat Williams was nothing more than a substitute substitute. Three years later, after starring in all three The Substitute sequels as former mercenary turned substitute teacher Karl Thomasson, one could easily argue that Treat Williams was THE Substitute… sorry Berenger.

In this edition of Bullet Points, I will be taking a look at the fourth and final film in the franchise, 2001’s The Substitute: Failure is Not an Option…

• The Substitute Went Down to Georgia: This time out Karl Thomasson is about to find himself teaching American Military History at a military academy in Georgia, one that used to be near and dear to Karl’s old buddy Colonel Teague (J. Don Ferguson, although it would have been a role perfect for Marshall R. Teague). The Colonel has a different take on the academy ever since Commandant Brack took over the reigns and turned the prestigious academy into a cult… a cult that is recruiting the Colonel’s nephew, Ted Teague. The Colonel already has some men on the inside, but he needs Karl Thomasson to go in and be their commanding officer… Thomasson and the Colonel go way back to their days in Panama and he can’t turn down a friend in need… especially when that friend has a family member who may be in danger.
• Back to School: Karl Thomasson reports for duty at the military academy and his first encounter is with the attractive medical officer on campus, Jenny (Angie Everhart, Executive Target). Jenny escorts Thomasson to Commandant Brack’s office and this is where we get our first face to face meeting with Karl and Brack, who was played by the always imposing Patrick Kilpatrick of Death Warrant and Showdown fame. When Thomasson brings up his time in Haiti, Brack makes some racially charged comments that give Thomasson a clear indication of where Brack’s head is at and the kind of man that he is… Following his meeting with Brack, Thomasson happens upon a self defense class that is going on and ends up being called upon by the instructor, Devlin (Tim Abell, Sniper: Special Ops) to participate… Thomasson ends up showing Devlin up in front of his class and it looks like Thomasson is about to get his first taste of trouble… until we find out that Karl and Devlin are old friends from Panama… we also find out that Devlin is one of Teague’s men on the inside. So the two old friends meet up at a roadhouse for a few beers and a chance for Devlin to fill Karl in on everything he knows about Brack, his elite group the Werewolf Company, their private training compound and the secret training missions they go on.

• First Class: The next day, Captain Thomasson is starting his teaching gig and gets into a “spirited discussion” with Cadet Commander Buckner after he chimes in on a conversation Thomasson was having with Ted Teague. Buckner made the claims that the Holocaust never happened and said the Nazis ONLY killed 300,000 people during World War II, no wonder Buckner is Brack’s lap dog. This only adds fuel to Thomasson’s fire… he needs to check out this secret training compound and later that night that’s exactly what he and Devlin do. They find the cadets that have been selected for Werewolf Company having a bizarre celebration around a fire before Brack shows up and leads them in a chant of “Slash! Burn! Bomb! Kill! Die!” Before Thomasson and Devlin can slip out of the compound, they are encountered by the odd man out of Werewolf Company… military advisor Lim (Simon Rhee, Best of the Best II). The two manage to subdue Lim, but the cat is out of the bag now where Thomasson is concerned… which is perfect for some cat and mouse games with Werewolf Company as Brack wants to know who is going to recover Thomasson’s body before they give them a body to recover.
• Ups and Downs: Karl Thomasson is about to get busy… in more ways than one. First with Jenny (if you know what I mean), then when he finds himself in a trap set by Werewolf Company. Then there’s the annual officer’s ball where Thomasson has more quality time with Jenny, before covertly tagging along with Werewolf Company on one of their secret missions… this one involves blowing up a power plant! Then things get really bad when Thomasson finds out the truth about Jenny (it is not that her number was 867-5309), sees Ted Teague get branded against his will and officially made a member of Werewolf Company and worst of all is when Thomasson and Devlin find out their old buddy Colonel Teague has been paid a visit by Lim… but you know what they say, it is always darkest before the dawn and all this lays the groundwork for the fall of Brack and his pet project, Werewolf Company!

Substitute: Failure is Not an Option was a strong finish to The Substitute franchise and ended the series on a high note, Unless there was going to be some major trouble at a culinary school or they wanted to rehash some of the premises, I don’t think there was much further they could have gone. I like to imagine that Karl Thomasson ended up staying at the military academy full time where he would become Commandant Thomasson and imparting his knowledge and wisdom and guidance to cadets for years to come.

I am about to impart some Bonus Bullet Points on you…

• If You Ever: …wanted to see Treat Williams kill a guy with a bulldozer, then The Substitute: Failure is Not an Option is the movie for you.
• Worst Scene: The power plant “explosion”.
• Familiar Face: Bill Nunn of Spider-Man and Bulletproof fame played Luther, the gardener at the military academy. Luther is a guy who may have a screw or two loose, but he’s also another one of Teague’s men on the inside and becomes a valuable ally to Thomasson and Devlin.
• Best Scene: The discovery of what happened to Colonel Teague after Lim paid him a visit.
• Directed By: Robert Radler directed The Substitute: Failure is Not an Option, he had previously directed The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All, Showdown and Best of the Best.