The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)

Professional mercenary Karl Thomasson arrives in Brooklyn to attend the funeral of his brother Randall, who was murdered while trying to stop a carjacking that has been blamed on the "... See full summary »

Director:

Steven Pearl

Writers:

Roy Frumkes (characters), Rocco Simonelli (characters)

Stars:

Owen Stadele, Edoardo Ballerini, Christopher Cousins

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Owen Stadele	...	Joel
Edoardo Ballerini	...	Danny Bramson
Christopher Cousins	...	Randall Thomasson
Chuck Jeffreys	...	Willy
Susan May Pratt	...	Anya Thomasson
Michael Michele	...	Kara Lavelle
Treat Williams	...	Karl Thomasson
Lawrence Gilliard Jr.	...	Dontae (as Larry Gilliard Jr.)
Camille Gaston	...	Keyshawn
Eugene Byrd	...	Mase
Angel David	...	Joey 6
BD Wong	...	Warren Drummond
Daryl Edwards	...	Johnny Bartee
Antonio David Lyons	...	Sodaboy (as Antonio Lyons)
Paul Lazar	...	Mack Weathers

Storyline

Professional mercenary Karl Thomasson arrives in Brooklyn to attend the funeral of his brother Randall, who was murdered while trying to stop a carjacking that has been blamed on the "Brotherhood", a vicious street gang led by "Little B." Karl, who believes there is something more to it, goes undercover as Randall's replacement at Lenthrop High School in Brooklyn, where Randall was a history teacher, so Karl can investigate the Brotherhood. Karl becomes the protector of Randall's daughter Anya when their lives are threatened by whoever is behind the recent string of carjackings, and the plot behind the carjackings runs a lot deeper than the Brotherhood, and the threat is a lot closer to Karl and Anya than they dare to think.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | high school | death of love interest | love interest | five word title | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Substitute 2: School's Out

Filming Locations:

Long Island City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dinamo Entertainment, Gun for Hire Films, Live Film & Mediaworks Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Joey 6 meets up with Karl Tomasson in the train yard early in the film, he references being in his military unit in the Army. This also would mean that Tomasson and his brother, Randall also served with Shale, Tom Berenger's character from the original film at some point in their career since Joey 6 and Tomasson have a strong connection to one another and possibly the other members of Shale's unit featured in the original film.

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Goofs

When Drummond shoots Kara he uses a silenced, semi-automatic pistol. He fires three times. There is no recoil and the slide never cycles. If the slide remains stationary the spent casing can't eject, a new round can't be chambered, and the pistol can't fire more than once.

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Quotes

Karl Thomasson: [holds up a yo-yo] what do you think this is?
Dontae: It's just a simple toy man
[starts drinking from a large bottle]
Karl Thomasson: To you it is. But back in 1500 in the Philippines it was a weapon
[lashes out with the yo-yo and smashes the bottle Dontae is drinking from]

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Connections

Referenced in Big Wolf on Campus: Frank Stein (2000)

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Soundtracks

Living In Brooklyn
Written and performed by Soothsayer
Courtesy of Trumystic Records and
Trumystic Music Publishing

User Reviews

Just the same thing all over again

Now, the first "Substitute" was reasonably fun - dumb, and schlock - but fun. If you've seen it, there's no reason to see "Substitute 2". It's more or less the same story, though more tired, mechanical and stupid. Treat Williams is miscast - he looks too "nice" to be believable as a mercenary. Easy to see why this never got a theatrical release.