The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All

I really like Treat Williams and I think he did very well in The Substitute 3. The movie itself was B-grade but that didnt matter it was still a very good film and I would suggest it to anyone, If you havent already seen it then hurry up and rent it on video, its worth it.

8/10

It's always a slippery slope with sequels especially after they've gone dtv. 'The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All' is a step down from previous entries. It keeps the same basic formula up until a point. Still has the series brand of action, but takes a wrong turn in the latter half. If you enjoy dtv sequels with low expectations and appreciate Treat Williams there's still fun tidbits here.

Karl Thomasson (Williams) loses a friend and fellow mercenary while on a mission in Kosovo. Asked to bring a medal back to his daughter who's a college professor. After she's targeted by the winning football team and put in the hospital, Karl goes undercover as a substitute once more again. He & some new associates go to work getting to the bottom of things and dispensing justice.

This entry isn't badly shot, but the premise doesn't deliver the same impact. In the last one, there was a bond with his niece and feelings because it was his brother. Also the football team could have been decent villains all on their own. The film opts to shift gears and the focus becomes some routine gangsters.

Treat gets to handout another lecture and display smarts in a few hand-to-hand fights. The heavy gunplay is left until the finale in your typical warehouse shootout. One of Karl's fellow mercenaries Andy (Claudia Christian) supplies laughs & good acting posing undercover as a ditzy waitress in a titty bar. Gracious enough to supply two bits of gratuitous female nudity, 'Winner Takes All' at least knows it's audience.

Having enjoyed the first two and recognizing the director of the great BEST OF THE BEST II at the helm (along with fight choreographer, Simon Rhee who played De Han in THE BEST OF THE BEST series), I had high expectations going into this. WOW were they met. Treat Williams returns in the title role this time substituting as a college English professor replacing the daughter of an old mercenary buddy beaten up by some steroid crazed college football players. I won't give it away but the the villains go far deeper than the corrupt football program and the action moves at a brisk pace. Treat Williams, teaming with some old military buddies, take on the baddies in ultra violent fashion. Following in the same style as THE SUBSTITUTE I and II, this film continues to provide great gunplay and fight sequences(the fight between Treat and "BO" in the classroom is a classic). Treat is especially fun to watch as an even more refined teacher and 'bad ass' pursuing "truth, justice and the American way." (Is his character really that educated?) "Sub" fans and action fans will not be disappointed. Catch this on video tonight. And ARTISAN FILMS, please keep this series alive and entertaining.

It seems that every other movie in this series is bad, I guess that means we will have to wait for a fourth outing to get any entertainment. Treat Williams returns in the third installment of the series that again has nothing to do with the previous two. It's the same basic story except this time Williams discovers that the school is giving their athletes steroids. Again there is lots of unnecessary violence and this time filmmakers are throwing in some gratutious nudity to go along with it. I sure hope the next one is better.

This film was ok, but not quite as good as #2. Still worth a look though. Treat Williams does quite nicely in his role. And Claudia Christian does great as a back-up.