Above the Law (1988)

I was watching television the other day, just flipping through the channels when I came upon 'Above the Law'. I hadn't seen this movie in years, and was anxious to watch it again. I must say that I was impressed. I believe it deserves no less than a 9/10. Why? The martial arts in superb as well as the action in general. Moreover, this movie operates on many different levels of meaning.

M.A. Rogers, in his commentary believes that Seagal's behavior contradicts his affirmation that nobody is above the law. This is not so. I believe that his actions are morally justified, inasmuch as there exists in the plot-line no other way for justice to be done. If the police force is corrupt and the C.I.A. are up to no good (not to mention the usually scum), what is one to do? It is therefore up to Toscani (Seagal) to take on a 'poetic license' of sorts and bring the transgressors back to justice.

M.A. Rogers, however, cogently points out in his commentary, that Seagal portrays a double-edged character. On the one hand he is easily angered, while on the other he puts out this "Mr. Cool" who is rife with obnoxious comments. This is why the film does so well. Important also is the scene in which his wife (Sharon Stone) pleads with him. She asks him to put down his 'pride'. She loves him because he is not like other men, but begs him to think of his family and back down. One cannot help, upon viewing this scene, to think of book six of "The Iliad" by Homer, where Andromache pleads with Hektor to stay in Troy for her sake and for the sake of his new-born son Astyanax. The emotion of the scene in Above the Law is heightened because of Seagal's show of restrained emotion: one isn't convinced that he is a 'family man'. He is. His stern face shows that he is a hard man, with a burden on his shoulders and an obligation to save his society as well as his family from an ailment that abounds everywhere. There is lots more to say on the matter, but I will leave that to another commentary. If you are at all a fan of the genre, than you must see it, even if you care only for the action. But I must make it clear that this movie is just as deep and sophisticated as any current drama. One just has to look beyond the surface.

Michael W. Helfield

Fmovies: 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").

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Steven Seagal made his debut with this lean and mean actioner filmed on location in Chicago(My Hometown)Illinois.

Seagal is Nico a Chicago-Cop with a bad past.Once a CIA operative in Vietnam who quit over a torture loving Boss Zagon(Henry Silva)from hell.Cut to the present where his past rears up to bite him in the ass In the form of a Drug Dealer he is trying to put away with Ties to Zagon.As a mini war erupts on the Streets of Chi-Town.

This is Seagal at his best.He starts with the pain right away in a nifty scene that recalls 1985's Underatted Chuck Norris Actioner Code of Silence.(also Filmed in Chi Town)From there on its shoot outs,Bone-breaking's,Heady car chases,and Intrigue.Just when you think its gonna let up it starts roaring again.

Seagal actually does a neat Job channeling Dirty Harry.He's engaging,intimidating,and funny.Veteran actress Pam Grier is along for the ride as his partner.What more can I say?She's Pam Grier!Sharon Stone Pops up as his wife displaying some early acting chops.The always fine Henry Silva adds the slimy menace needed.He very cool.The rest of the supporting cast is just as good.Michael Rooker pops up for a blink and you'll miss him cameo.

Andrew Davis(Code of Silence,The Fugitive) gives the movie style,pace,and gets the best acting out of Seagal yet.At least until they re-teamed for the even-better Under Siege.

8/10

Above the Law fmovies. Above The Law is the first and one of the best Steven Seagal films.Steven Seagal is a man who is now releasing direct to video films but back in the early-mid 90's, he was a very big action star.I would say he is actually one of my favorites from that era.I just love his movies. I love how he never gets scared and just beats on baddies by breaking their bones.His older films such as this, Out For Justice, Marked For Death and Under Siege are classic action films.Exit Wounds was his last very good film.I have seen a handful of his "straight to video" fare.They are alright but nowhere near as good as his older films.Urban Justice and Pistol Whipped come fairly close though.Any Seagal fan owes himself to watch this movie! It's one of his better ones!

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."