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

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

In Japan, the Sicilian martial arts expert Nicolo "Nico" Toscani is recruited by the CIA Special Agent Nelson Fox to join the Special Operations Forces in the border of the Vietnam and Cambodia. In 1973, Nico witnesses the torturer Kurt Zagon interrogating prisoners of war and he is disgusted and quits the CIA, returning to Chicago. Fifteen years later, Nico is married with a baby with his wife Sarah and they live in the same house of his mother. Nico is a tough and incorruptible narcotics detective of the Chicago Police Department very close to his partner and friend Delores 'Jacks' Jackson and his friend Detective Lukich. When Nico and Jacks investigate a drug traffic operation, they arrest the gang of the drug dealer Tony Salvano but they find that they are smuggling the plastic explosive C4 instead. However there is an interference of the FBI and Salvano and his partner are released by FBI Agent Neeley (Nicholas Kusenko) and the detectives are forbidden of proceed with the ...

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Plot Keywords:

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

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

Release Date:

22 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nico

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$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 (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reportedly, some scenes had to be cut for an R rating.

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Goofs

When the mass ends, the priest and altar boys walk down a side aisle. In Catholic churches, the Recessional goes down the center aisle.

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Quotes

Salvano: This maniac should be wearing a number, not a badge.

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Alternate Versions

Although the UK cinema version was passed uncut, video versions were cut by 15 secs by the BBFC to edit shots of a man's nose being punched from a bar fight, drug use and an arm break during the final fight scene. The DVD features the same cut print. The uncut version was released on Blu-ray in the UK in 2009, but had not been officially classified by the BBFC, and was thus pulled from sale.

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Connections

Spoofed in Under the Law (1989)

User Reviews

Seagal's starter hit

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.