Above the Law

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Above the Law

R,

1988,

1h 39m,

Action

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Watchlist

50%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

48%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

50%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A martial-arts expert and former CIA agent, Nico Toscani (Steven Seagal) is working as a Chicago cop when a relatively routine drug-trafficking investigation leads to an international conspiracy. Soon Nico and his partner, Delores "Jax" Jackson (Pam Grier), are the targets of mysterious and powerful criminals, but he refuses to back down. As Nico gets deeper into the case, he must contend with an old adversary: corrupt CIA operative Kurt Zagon (Henry Silva).

Alexander Walker

London Evening Standard

Aug 16, 2021

It's yet another variant on the theme of the rogue cop (martial arts division) who abandons his badge to clean up some dirty work in the neighbourhood.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

3/4

It contains 50 percent more plot than it needs, but that allows it room to grow in areas not ordinarily covered in action thrillers.

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Hal Hinson

Washington Post

Jan 1, 2000

Woefully short on originality, intelligibility and anything resembling taste.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Aug 31, 2022

B

As usual in Davis films, the Chicago locations are convincing and lived-in.

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Philip French

Observer (UK)

Aug 16, 2021

Fortunately for democracy, nothing can stop Nico, who looks like Sylvester Stallone poured into the mould that produced Robert Valentino.

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Cathy Burke

United Press International

Oct 9, 2016

Above the Law has enough off-beat updates on the cops-and-robbers theme to at least make the film visually interesting most of the time.

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Luke P

Nov 18, 2018

Dumb action but one of the better Seagal flicks as they are usually even worse.

Han M

Jan 2, 2018

A pretty convincing debut from Seagal. He is lean and mean and proves to be a capable action star. Oddly he shows some charisma in this movie which has him exchanging jokes with Pam Grier as his (i got 5 days to retirement) partner. Sharon Stone in an early role plays his wife.

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Ron S

Sep 10, 2017

Considering that this is one of Steven Seagal's first films, many people think this movie is predictable despite that Steven being in it. I like it for what it is. It has some good fight scenes and there are most of Steven Seagal's fight scenes in the Early 90's made by Warner Bros, don't get me wrong. There is one scene that made me laugh is that after Steven fights the bad guys, he chases after the baddie and the baddie just runs from him and what makes me laugh is that Steven couldn't stop chasing him and then stops him. Now considering this a debut for Steven Seagal, I think I saw some of the photo's of where Steven was a kid and learns how to do karate. Despite how forgettable his films are, it's still enjoyable for what they're are and that is why Nico aka Above The Law is the example of Steven Seagal's debut. Oh, and, uh, he brakes all the bad guys bones so beware.

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Albus G

Jul 3, 2017

This cool, early entry from director Andrew Davis is effective on a couple of levels: Seagal's persistence as the cop who won't stop in order to catch drug-dealing CIA agents, and for its realistic dynamics between Chicago cops. It's interesting how Davis was able to put Chicago cops to good use while hamming it up with his villains. Still, Henry Silva is always a joy to watch, even though I didn't understand his lingo a lot of the time.

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Harry W

Jun 2, 2017

Above average flick that puts the CIA to task. Seagal actually had a bit of potential here, and maybe with some acting classes could have gone on to be less of a joke. Man, does he look goofy when he runs though...

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Leia W

Jun 9, 2010

This was Steven Seagal's first major film, and I really didn't like it very much. The story was very boring and hard to follow, the acting was atrocious, and it was just horrible overall.

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Andrew Davis

Director

Steven Seagal

Nico Toscani

Pam Grier

Delores "Jacks" Jackson

Henry Silva

Kurt Zagon

Sharon Stone

Sara Toscani

Ron Dean

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Synopsis

A martial-arts expert and former CIA agent, Nico Toscani (Steven Seagal) is working as a Chicago cop when a relatively routine drug-trafficking investigation leads to an international conspiracy. Soon Nico and his partner, Delores "Jax" Jackson (Pam Grier), are the targets of mysterious and powerful criminals, but he refuses to back down. As Nico gets deeper into the case, he must contend with an old adversary: corrupt CIA operative Kurt Zagon (Henry Silva).

Director: Andrew Davis
Producer: Andrew Davis, Steven Seagal, John G. Wilson
Screenwriter: Steven Pressfield, Ronald Shusett, Andrew Davis
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 8, 1988, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.6M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Surround

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