Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

alexanderdavies-99382 I will never describe Steven Seagal as being an actor because he has no idea what that entails. He merely fits the bill regarding the requirements of being an action hero. He has the perfect knack for dozing his way through a film. However, in the early days of his movie career, Seagal successfully displayed his skills in the martial arts style of Akido. This was when he was in good shape, physically speaking. The opening scene in the dojo impressed me when Steven Seagal demonstrates his own style of martial arts in front of his students. His hand speed and his timing is on a par with that of Bruce Lee near enough. The story is very standard so I won't mention anything of what happens. Henry Silva makes for a creepy and sinister villain, he was always very good at playing those kinds of characters. The action scenes are capably handled and it helps that the lead is a professional martial artist. In my opinion, Steven Seagal made his best films from 1988 to about 1995 before weight gain cast a shadow over his career. The director of "Above the Law" was the same person who made Seagal's best film, "Under Siege."

Scott LeBrun Action genre star Steven Seagals' starring film debut is perfectly acceptable entertainment for fans. The real-life Aikido master plays Nico Toscani, a Chicago detective who has an interesting life. During the Vietnam war he became a CIA operative. Back home, he's a hard working cop with relatives in the local Mafia. The past comes back to haunt him when his efforts to take down a drug kingpin (Daniel Faraldo) reveal various nefarious schemes by his old CIA associates. Chief among them is Kurt Zagon (veteran film villain Henry Silva), a man with a fondness for torture.Seagal also takes a producer credit and co-authored the screen story with genre specialist filmmaker Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive"). It's a busy, convoluted tale, but it does serve to set up its well executed action set pieces. While it features some of the beautiful brutality of the early Seagal vehicles, it's never quite as sadistic as some of the ones that followed, like "Marked for Death" and "Out for Justice". It's fun to watch Seagal do his thing, and Davis even gets a better performance out of him than most directors have. "Above the Law" has a good music score by David M. Frank, and makes fine use of Windy City locations, but one of its biggest draws is its supporting cast. Sharon Stone is largely wasted in her role as Nicos' wife, but Pam Grier is terrific in what was something of a comeback vehicle for her. She plays Nicos' partner, a lady destined for bigger things. Faraldo is an entertaining weasel, and it's always a hoot to watch Silva. Some of the cast have been regulars in Davis' filmography, like Ron Dean, Joseph F. Kosala (a real life Chicago cop), Ronnie Barron, Gene Barge, Ralph Foody. Thalmus Rasulala, one of Pams' peers during the glory days of blaxploitation, here has a small role as one of Nicos' superiors. Keep a sharp eye out for Michael Rooker, who has one line in a bar.While not one of Seagals' best movies (in this viewers' humble opinion), he and Davis re- teamed for what is often considered to be one of Seagals' best, "Under Siege".Seven out of 10.

Benjamin Cox Having given a couple of Steven Seagal film a right good kicking recently, I felt kinda bad for him and sought out this, his debut feature film. My reasons? Well, I figured that he would be in the prime of his youthful exuberance and not the overweight has-been he is today. He also has a respected action director in Andrew Davis (who would later helm "The Fugitive" and Seagal's best film "Under Siege") and Blaxploitation legend Pam Grier as co-star. The signs were good that this might not be a total bust along the lines of "Hard To Kill" or "Half Past Dead". Sure enough, it's a refreshing change to see Seagal do what he was meant to do as he looks and sounds every inch the legitimate tough guy. Sadly, the film's overly complicated plot tends to get in the way of the action and makes the film strangely dull. This is the first time in ages I've seen a film to fail my patented Nokia test (ending up playing games on my phone halfway through) which isn't a good sign for any action film.I'm gonna have to refer to other sources for this synopsis because I simply couldn't follow the film well enough but Seagal plays Nico Toscani, a Sicilian living in Chicago with his wife Sara (Sharon Stone) and infant daughter. Nico was recruited into the CIA by agent Nelson Fox (Chelcie Ross) during Vietnam but quit upon witnessing a torturer named Kurt Zagon (Henry Silva). Fifteen years later in Chicago, Nico works as a cop alongside his partner Delores Jackson (Grier) and arrest local drug pusher Tony Salvano (Daniel Faraldo). To Nico's disgust, the Feds get involved and release Salvano, citing an existing investigation and warn them both to stay away. But Nico doesn't take no for an answer and soon begins his own independent pursuit of Salvano and those involved, especially when his family are threatened by dark forces...There is also something else about immigrants living below a church and Nico's friend and pastor Father Gennaro (Joe V. Greco) being blown up during Mass. In truth, "Above The Law" crams in far too much story for a film of this type that I reckon if they stretched it out a bit, you could have had enough for a trilogy. Thankfully, they kept it to just the one. It's not that the film is a bad one as action movies go. Seagal moves much faster and smoother than he does in his later work and for once, he is impressive in the film. His acting style and delivery aren't so much of a distraction here as they usually are and he works well along with Grier and Stone (who are both criminally underused). But for a movie about a go-it-along cop taking the baddies down, it loses its focus by introducing more and more elements into the story. For example, is it not a huge coincidence that the very man who made Nico distrust the CIA is the same man who is behind the numerous schemes happening around Chicago? And when some two-bit hoodlums are thrown in with the CIA, the FBI and the Mafia were probably in there as well (he's Sicilian, remember?) then what you end up with is a series of shoot-outs and fist fights that don't really seem to have any connection or cohesion with the plot. At some point, I completely lost track of whether Fox was a good guy or a baddie. To be honest, I still don't know and I have the film's Wikipedia page open as I write."Above The Law" might not change the world but like most of Seagal's back catalogue, it is a macho and meaty action flick that satisfies the undemanding fan but leaves most viewers wanting something more. In his debut picture, Seagal acquits himself far better than he normally does - he even throws in a nod to the story about how he broke Sean Connery's arm on the set of "Never Say Never Again" as a stuntman. But "Above The Law" is a largely unmoving experience, devoid of any real charm or substance but at least it has some ambition behind it instead. It isn't as dumb as many of Seagal's later films ("Half Past Dead" is a prime example) which seem to specialise in rounding up anonymous thugs so Seagal can do his martial arts on them or shoot them dramatically. Sadly, it simply isn't as engaging as an action film can be - take "Die Hard" where you cared about McClane's struggle against Hans Gruber or "Terminator 2" when the future of civilisation was at stake. You neither care about the story (even if you could follow it) or the characters who merely perform to genre stereotypes (the partner who needs protecting, the "Godfather" impersonator at the family gathering, the nun who doesn't say much, etc). "Above The Law" might be a faintly boring cop film and compared to his later films, one of Seagal's better efforts but it certainly isn't above the standards we have today.

Adam Sentiff Nico Toscani is a martial artist and ex CIA operative who served in Vietnam. Who now serving as a Chicago cop stumbles upon a drug ring run by a dangerous criminal with CIA ties that not only threatens the streets of Chicago but his very life as well.Steven Segals first film and a film with decent action a semi clichéd story with stunted pacing. The film while not the best action film or best of Segal's film has some witty dialog and some decent moments with its action. The pacing is a bit off as one may get confused with where the story is trying to take us and how certain plot points are just plainly forgotten. Segal does what he does best which is to deliver his hard hitting action style with charm and bravado, but seemingly as a whole this film is a bit of a let down compared to other action films from the era. Though worth a watch for its action and to see Segal in one of his better films compared to his later entries. A decent but not perfect action film that has its high points with its action and its intensity but lacks in other important areas such as story, characterization and pacing but what can one expect from a Segal film to begin with.