Above the Law (1988)

A former Special Operations Vietnam vet works as a Chicago cop, and uncovers C.I.A. wrongdoing.

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers:

Andrew Davis (story), Steven Seagal (story)

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Henry Silva

1 nomination.

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 learned martial arts in Japan, and was in Vietnam for the CIA, and now is a cop in the vice squad of Chicago. A junkie tells him about a big drug deal; However it turns out that the deal was about C4 explosives and that one of the parties was the CIA. Nico gets ordered to keep out of it, but can't imagine why the CIA would sell C4, so he investigates further. While risking his and his young family's life, he discovers that the CIA tries to cover it's connections to drug dealers in Middle America and wouldn't even stop from murder.

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Plot Keywords:

forced to strip | sadist | police brutality | drugs | vietnam | 

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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 | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andrew Davis: [cast] Ron Dean and Joseph F. Kosala also appeared in Code of Silence (1985), The Fugitive (1993), and Chain Reaction (1996).

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Goofs

When Nico jumps out of the store window, his footwear changes from leather boots to tennis shoes.

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Quotes

Nico Toscani: Is that what Zagon is; one of your basement boys?
Nelson Fox: Zagon's a rancher. 4000 acres in Costa Rica. Beautiful place.
Nico Toscani: Beautiful place, huh? And tell me, was that bought with opium money from the triangle?
Nelson Fox: And a ton of coke a week from other places.
Nico Toscani: Which he funnels here through Salvano, The Company getting it's cut, of course.
Nelson Fox: Legal tender.
Nico Toscani: Yeah. So war is still the greatest business, huh Nelson? I mean, these guys have financed & started every war we've ever fought. But you know something, nobody would ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Although the film got a 16-rating, all German Versions are cut for violence.

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Connections

Featured in Sharon Stone - Una mujer de 100 caras (1998)

User Reviews

Seagal Unfairly Criticized As Actor

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."

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

Release Date:

22 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Above the Law

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,037,938, 10 April 1988

Gross USA:

$18,869,631

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,869,631

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 94 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1