Above the Law

People miss the strong political message in this first of Seagal's movies: the Amnesty movement sponsored by religious leaders in the US especially in the Catholic church that is hiding refugees from death squads in Central America has learned of a plot to assassinate a US Senator investigating CIA involvement in drug-running and torture and assassinations in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua. Seagall learns that the same people who were involved in drug-running and torture in Vietnam are behind plot to assassinate the Senator during a speech in Chicago sponsored by groups against US involvement in Central American civil wars. The open anti-war position and critique of US policy by an honest cop gets ignored as is the tie-in between mafia drug dealers and the CIA.

This is my favorite Steven Segal movie. Some of the attributes portrayed are not that far from the truth with this guy. In a fight, I'd like to have him on my side, most definitely. As a martial artist myself, I know Mr. Segal " knows from where he speaks", unlike many of the run-of-the-mill action stars we see on TV and the movie screen. Segal can back it up. I actually have met Mr. Segal and his beautiful ex-wife ( then his co-star )and a few of the other cast while they were filming " Hard to Kill " in Ojai, California in the late 80's when I was employed by the State of California. My experience is remembered as Mr. Segal being gracious to us " cops " who were working the movie detail, and Kelly Lebrock...she was a knockout!

Trailer—Above the Law

Better than Hard To Kill but not Steve's best! Another tough cop character with a bad memories of his bad past military experience. I never believe in corrupt government, agency's and black flag operations. But I get older the unbelievable becomes more believable. The story is easy to follow. There is a few martial art fights. Not the best, but good! The acting was mmm adequate! Sharon Stone was okay. The old Miami Vice style problems with F B I and C I A is more believable now of days. Is there people involved with criminals like in the movie Black Mass or American Made well Above the Law asks these questions? The second part of Above the Law is the redemption of the Steagall's character for past injustices and faces yhe man from the past DR Feelgood. Great character. 7 stars.

This movie obviously isn't deep, but it is fun. The plot moves along quite nicely, there's plenty of humor, and the martial arts scenes are very well done. Seagal actually does have a presence on screen (as opposed to say, Chuck Norris or Claude Van Damme). The movie is low budget, but it has the virtue of recognizing the fact and not attempting effects shots that don't work (as opposed to "Under Siege 2"). --------

Nico Toscani (Steven Seagal) is a Chicago cop. As a young man, he went to Japan to learn martial arts. He's recruit by the CIA to go to Vietnam, but he quits when he's supposed to work with the sadistic drug smuggler Zagon. Now with his present day partner Delores Jackson (Pam Grier), his investigation into the drug dealer Salvano runs smack into a conflict with the CIA and a face from the past. This has Steven Seagal's three favorite things. There's the eastern influences that he loves so much. And also there's the drug infested underbelly that he finds fascinating. The biggest thing is that he is undoubtedly the big hero fighting against a corrupt system. If you love these three things, you'll like this movie. The action is pretty good and the story has enough bite. The pacing do slack off for big stretches of time. However it still works enough as an action thriller.

"Above the Law" was Seagal's debut film. It wasn't the best, but we got to see martial arts on display that was for maiming and dismembering instead of marathon fighting like most. His disabling moves weren't for the faint of heart. Seagal played Nico Toscani, a Chicago P.D. detective that caught on to a plot to kill a senator. He and his partner Delores Jackson (Pam Grier) shot and fought their way to discover the culprits (OK, so it was mostly Toscani). Toscani, like just about every action hero, fearlessly went up against incredible odds, danger, and death knowing that even if he didn't have a gun he was always armed and dangerous. You can look at this as heroic or unfathomably stupid. I'm sure it comes down to whether or not you like Seagal.

It's near the end of the 80's, and this movie "Above the Law" will be one of Steven Seagal's starter hit. It was not a sleeper from the beginning. The action there was almost non-stop, I liked the part where one of the thugs had a machete, that was used against him, that person ended up sliced and diced Seagal style. Unlike those thugs there, the real deal were inside law enforcement, and that's where the fun begins. Pam Grier as Jacks maintains her toughness in this movie as she did in other blaxportaion films. Gregory Alan Williams was there way before "Baywatch", Sharon Stone, way, way, way, before "Total Recall" and "Basic Instinct". Seagal character was just as a juggernaut in this movie as he was in "Hard to Kill". He was still driving the car with its front wheels shot out, and he shrugs off the cocaine murder attempt by one of the rogues. Everything turns out well in this movie, and the reviews should go well with the fans as well. Rating 3 out of 5 stars.

This was Steven Seagal's first movie and pretty much summed up the way his films were going to go: marital arts-crime stories with overly despicable villains and our hero saving the women by out-fighting everyone. Jean Van Damme and others followed with the same recipe which, by and large, has been pretty successful. Before I saw this, I had read national critics blasting Seagal's acting talents but that was unfair; he's not a bad actor. It was also a surprise to see Sharon Stone playing a nice role and without makeup! That certainly changed quickly with her Basic Instinct-type persona. It was fun to see Henry Silva again. As a kid growing up in the '50s and '60s, I used to see Silva on television a lot. He always played a bad guy, and played the part well....as he still does. Overall, a decent action flick but not one of Segal's more memorable films. He make a big upgrade with his next film, "Hard To Kill."