Above the Law (1988)

Nico Toscani is a martial arts expert who was recruited by the CIA when he was in Japan, he would be sent to Vietnam. While there he witness the sadistic treatment of prisoners by Zagon, an... See full summary »

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers:

Andrew Davis (story), Steven Seagal (story),

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Henry Silva

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Seagal	...	Nico Toscani
Pam Grier	...	Delores 'Jacks' Jackson
Henry Silva	...	Kurt Zagon
Ron Dean	...	Detective Lukich
Daniel Faraldo	...	Tony Salvano
Sharon Stone	...	Sara Toscani
Miguel Nino	...	Chi Chi Ramon
Nicholas Kusenko	...	FBI Agent Neeley
Joe Greco	...	Father Joseph Gennaro (as Joe V. Greco)
Chelcie Ross	...	Nelson Fox
Gregory Alan Williams	...	FBI Agent Halloran (as Gregory Alan-Williams)
Jack Wallace	...	Uncle Branca
Metta Davis	...	Rosa Toscani
Joseph F. Kosala	...	Lieutenant Strozah (as Joseph Kosala)
Ronnie Barron	...	CIA Bartender

Storyline

Nico Toscani is a martial arts expert who was recruited by the CIA when he was in Japan, he would be sent to Vietnam. While there he witness the sadistic treatment of prisoners by Zagon, an interrogator, when he clashes with him, Nelson Fox, his friend tells him to get away. Nico goes home to Chicago and becomes a cop. 15 years later, when he busts a drug dealer, he tells Nico of a major deal going down, when he busts them, he discovers a cache of plastic explosives. And before he knows it everyone he arrested is released and when Nico tries to find out what's going on, a brick wall thrown in front of him. But Nico isn't about to let that stop him. And before long Fox calls Nico to warn him to back off and it's not long after that he is arrested and suspended from the force. And when a bomb is set at his church, which kills the parish priest, Nico wages an all-out war on whoever's doing this.

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Plot Keywords:

cia | drugs | vietnam | martial arts | explosive | 

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Taglines:

He was a covert agent trained in Vietnam. He has a master 6th degree black belt in Aikido... and family in the Mafia. He's a cop with an attitude.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nico

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$18,869,631 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pictures in the opening credits (including the one of the baby Nico) are actually real pictures of Steven Seagal in his youth.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the market gunfight we could see Nico taking his white coat off in two shots.

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Quotes

Kurt Zagon: [about to kill Nico] You were too fucking dumb, you asshole!

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Connections

References The Shining (1980)

User Reviews

Pretty entertaining

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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