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's a cop who believes no one is above the law.

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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:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry Silva also played the bad guy in Andrew Davis' Code of Silence (1985).

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Goofs

When Nico is backing up in the parking garage shootout near the end of the movie, the character Salvano is on the back of the car as it crashes through the building wall. As Salvano falls you can easily see it is a dummy falling.

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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 ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Chuck Norris vs. Communism (2015)

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."