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Above The Law (1988)
Released By: Warner Home Video   Rating: R   In Theaters: N/A
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Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Action-Adventure
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Andrew Davis
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Daniel Faraldo, Henry Silva, Pam Grier, Sharon Stone, Steven Seagal
Published ID: 763
UPC: 085391178620, 012569816619, 012569816626, 883929051083,
Plot: Martial arts hero Steven Seagal developed, co-wrote, co-produced, choreographed, and debuted in this thrill ride -- a cop film with more attitude, and more plot, than its star had duties on the set. Seagal is Nico Toscani, an Italian immigrant, American patriot, ex-CIA agent, aikido specialist, and unorthodox Chicago policeman. He is as committed to his job as he is to his personalized brand of justice: expert and thorough bone-crushing. When the FBI orders his squad to ignore the mysterious shipment of military explosives they seized from a notorious narcotics dealer, Nico defiantly pursues his own investigation. With the help of his partner Jax (Pam Grier), he sifts through a tangled web of Catholic priests, illegal immigrants, and trained assassins to uncover a drug cartel run directly out of the CIA by an official named Zagon Henry Silva. Nico remembers the man from his CIA days in Vietnam, when Zagon used the agency (and the war) as a front for smuggling opium. At the time, Nico was too outranked to thwart him, but he will no longer let Zagon abuse his position to remain immune from prosecution -- especially now that the official has plans to murder a U.S. senator. Zagon may be above the law of most men, but he is certainly not above Nico's. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
Great seller but movie not working...
Added 11/19/2009

Great seller, very understanding. Refundable my money immediately. I will buy again from this seller. Very nice and friendly.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
This and the 1st. Under Seige are the Most Horrible Blu-Ray Transfers Ever
Added 8/22/2009

Stick with the standard DVD. The Blu-Ray has much more grain on it than the standard DVD. It's a great movie, but the worst excuse for a Blu-Ray I've ever seen.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
Seagal Unfairly Criticized As Actor
Added 7/13/2009

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.
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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."

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Excellent Action DVD
Added 7/10/2009

Despite S. Seagal's full of himself persona, he does a great job in his action based movies. I have all of the Blu-Ray DVD's he has made so far and I watch them on a regular basis. Every time I feel like watching a kick a-- dvd. I put one of them into the player and at times, run the action scenes in Slo-Mo for effect..haha
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
SEAGAL'S FIRST & BEST STILL AN UNDERAPPRECIATED GENRE CLASSIC
Added 5/23/2009

ABOVE THE LAW is one of my favorite of those great late 80's cop films along with LETHAL WEAPON [1987] & THE UNTOUCHABLES [1987]. Considering it was Seagal's first film it was surprisingly well done. He plays a pony-tailed maverick Chicago cop with a great name [Nico Toscani] and an unconventional way of doing his job--using martial arts to batter the truth out of suspected criminals. Early on it's an F-word festival with bars, bartenders and bar patrons getting wrecked and a young druggie--who has corrupted his neice--getting slapped around mercilessly by the on-a-mission Toscani [the actor who played the young druggie was marvelous--he shoulda gone places]. Toscani's partner is played by the looking-better-with-age vet Pam Grier. They are after a gang of LETHAL WEAPON-like ex military sociopaths who deal in drugs. The bad guys are led by Henry Silva who early in his career was amazing as a young psychotic cowpoke in the great but underrated Western THE TALL T [1957]. Silva has a great quote early on in the film as he responds to Seagal questioning the torture of an innocent prisoner---ya gotta look this one up yourself; it had me rolling in my seat. Silva's steely-eyed ruthlessness is aptly summed up in his "... I can make you disappear ..." line to Toscani--fun stuff here. A young Sharon Stone is here--her natural talent was evident even then as she gives a sharp performance despite little screen time. Raw Chicago locations give this movie an authentic sense of realism. Everybody seemed to be on their game for this one probably due to Andrew Davis' direction--he also directed Seagal's only other very good film the greatly entertaining but underachieving UNDER SEIGE [1992] as well as THE FUGITIVE [1993]. As we all know the promising Seagal subsequently went on to suffer from that Hollywood disease called "Sylvester Stallonization"--cranking out self-produced, self-serving, egoistic, pretentious, awful flicks on his own. Just gotta love Toscani's crusty older [ex-cop?] pal who provides him with firearms and bodyguards his family when the force suspends him and takes away his gun & badge. How about Toscani getting ambushed by a carload of local thugs, sent by Silva, in broad daylight. Great scene here as he takes them all on and methodically puts each of them out of service. In another memorable scene a friend of one of the ambushers whom Toscani has battered confronts him only to be clocked with a fist to the chest--the burly guy goes down like a chopped redwood. And in another memorable scene Toscani, who has just been confronted in a convenience store by another party of thugs sent by Silva, destroys both [the guys and the store] but is subsequently confronted outside by some real armed pros. One of the gangsters steps out and claims "you can't take us all on"--Toscani, without hesitation, puts him out with a gunshot to the chest. Overall, a great 'vent' flick, lots of fun lines & scenes, fine acting, very entertaining, although not for everyone's taste. I feel Seagal's best UNDER SEIGE notwithstanding.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Great seller but movie not working...
Added 11/19/2009

Great seller, very understanding. Refundable my money immediately. I will buy again from this seller. Very nice and friendly.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
This and the 1st. Under Seige are the Most Horrible Blu-Ray Transfers Ever
Added 8/22/2009

Stick with the standard DVD. The Blu-Ray has much more grain on it than the standard DVD. It's a great movie, but the worst excuse for a Blu-Ray I've ever seen.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
Seagal Unfairly Criticized As Actor
Added 7/13/2009

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."

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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