''Above the Law'' (also known as ''Nico: Above the Law'', or simply ''Nico'') is a 1988 American

crime action film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

written, produced and directed by Andrew Davis. It marked the film debut of

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

, and stars

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distin ...

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

Ron Dean Ron Dean (born August 15, 1938) is an American film and television actor. He appeared in films including ''Rudy'', '' Risky Business'', ''The Breakfast Club'', '' Cocktail'', ''The Babe'', '' The Fugitive'', ''The Client'', and ''The Dark Knight ...

and

Henry Silva Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022) was an American actor. A prolific character actor, Silva was a regular staple of international genre cinema, usually playing criminals or gangsters. His notable film appearances include ...

. Seagal plays Nico Toscani, an ex-CIA agent,

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

specialist and a Chicago policeman who discovers a conspiracy upon investigating the mysterious shipment of military explosives seized from a narcotics dealer. The film originated after a successful screen test, financed by

Michael Ovitz Michael Steven Ovitz (born December 14, 1946) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was a talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as preside ...

, leading to Seagal being offered a contract by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

The film was set and filmed on location in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The film premiered in the United States on April 8, 1988.

Plot

Sergeant Nico Toscani, who traces his roots to

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, is a detective in the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

's vice squad. At an early age he had become interested in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

, and moved to Japan to study them. In 1969, Toscani was recruited to join the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

by Nelson Fox and was involved in covert operations on the Vietnamese-Cambodian border during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. There, he became disgusted with DCI Kurt Zagon, who tortured prisoners. A stand-off occurred when Toscani tried to stop a torture session, and he left the CIA. Toscani returned to Chicago, joined the police department, and got married. Toscani and his new partner Detective Delores "Jacks" Jackson are investigating a drug ring, and after busting two of the dealers, including Salvadorian drug lord Tony Salvano, Toscani finds C-4 explosive. Shortly afterward, the men that Toscani and Jackson arrested are released at the request of federal officials, and Toscani is ordered to stand down. Later, the priest of Toscani's parish is killed in an explosion during Mass. Fox calls Toscani and tells him to move his family to a safer location, saying that he is in danger. Under pressure from the feds, Toscani is asked to turn in his badge. He eventually discovers that the dealers he busted are linked to Zagon, who is still with the CIA, and who is being accused of human rights violations by a Central American priest who was being sheltered by Toscani's priest. While Zagon is torturing the priest, Toscani bursts in and a gun battle ensues. Detectives Lukich and Jackson are wounded during the shootout, and Toscani has to flee. Senator Ernest Harrison is investigating Zagon's group to reveal their covert operations and drug dealing. When Toscani finds out that Zagon killed the priest and is planning to kill Harrison, he goes after Zagon. Toscani confronts Fox, but they are interrupted by Zagon's men. Fox is killed and Toscani is captured. He is held in the kitchen of a hotel during a Harrison campaign rally. Before Zagon can kill Harrison, Toscani breaks free and kills Zagon and all of his remaining men. Afterwards, Toscani meets Harrison, who has been informed of everything. Harrison promises justice and Toscani says he is now willing to testify about his experiences with Zagon and covert operations in the CIA.

Cast

as Sergeant Nicolo "Nico" Toscani *

as Detective Delores "Jacks" Jackson *

as CIA Agent Kurt Zagon *

as Detective Lukich *

as Sara Toscani *

Gene Barge James Gene Barge (born August 9, 1926) is an American tenor and alto saxophonist, composer in several bands, and actor. Biography Born in Norfolk, Virginia in August 1926, he was a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, which ...

as Detective Henderson *

Chelcie Ross Chelcie Claude RossAccording to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records ...

as CIA Agent Nelson Fox *

Ronnie Barron Ronnie Barron (born Ronald Raymond Barrosse, October 9, 1943, in Algiers, New Orleans – March 20, 1997) was an American actor, keyboardist, organist, and blue-eyed soul singer during the 1970s. He was known for his work as a session music ...

as CIA Bartender * Nicholas Kusenko as FBI Agent Neeley *

Gregory Alan Williams Gregory Alan Williams (born June 12, 1956) sometimes credited as Gregalan Williams, is an American actor and author. He is best known for portraying LAPD Officer Garner Ellerbee in ''Baywatch''. From 2011 until 2013, Williams portrayed the role ...

as FBI Agent Halloran * Jack Wallace as Uncle Branca * Metta Davis as Rosa Toscani * Toni Fleming as Grandma Zingaro * Michelle Hoard as Lucy, Nico's Cousin * Christopher Peditto as Alex, The Pimp * Cheryl Hamada as Watanabe *

Ralph Foody Ralph Wesley Foody (November 13, 1928 – November 21, 1999) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Johnny in ''Home Alone'' and '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York''. Early life Foody was born in Chicago, Illinois on Novem ...

as Federal Clerk * Joseph Kosala as Lieutenant Fred Strozah *

Thalmus Rasulala Thalmus Rasulala (born Jack Crowder; November 15, 1939October 9, 1991) was an American actor with a long career in theater, television, and films. Noted for starring roles in blaxploitation films, he was also an original cast member of ABC's soap ...

as Deputy Superintendent Crowder * Joe Greco as Father Joseph Gennaro * Henry Godinez as Father Tomasino * India Cooper as Sister Mary * Joe D. Lauck as Senator Ernest Harrison * Clare Peck as Judge Roberta Alspaugh * Danny Goldring as Zagon's Aide * Daniel Faraldo as Bautista "Tony" Salvano * Miguel Nino as "Chi-Chi" Ramon * Rafael Gonzalez as Carlos Abandano, Salvano's Lawyer * Juan Ramirez as Machete Man * Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Bomb Woman *

Lee de Broux Lee de Broux (born May 7, 1941) is an American character actor of film and television who is best known for his roles in such films and television series as '' Chinatown'', '' RoboCop'', '' The Gun'', '' Geronimo: An American Legend'', ''Norma ...

as CIA Interrogator * Patrick Gorman as CIA Interrogator *

Michael Rooker Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Henry in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), Chick Gandil in ''Eight Men Out'' (1988), Frank Baily in ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988), Terry Cruger in ''S ...

as Man In Bar #1 *

Rex Linn Rex Maynard Linn (born November 13, 1956) is an American film and television actor. He is best known domestically for playing the role of Sgt. Frank Tripp in the CBS drama ''CSI: Miami'' and more recently for playing Kevin Wachtell in the televi ...

as Man In Bar #2 * Gene Hartline as Man In Bar #3 *

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

as Thug In Bar (uncredited) *

Mark Boone Junior Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...

as Man In Window (uncredited)

Production

It has been reported that Seagal was asked to make the film by his former

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

pupil, agent Michael Ovitz, who believed that he could make anyone a movie star. It was set and filmed in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, over 60 days between April 27 and June 26, 1987.

Release

Home media

released the Region 1 DVD in the United States on January 28, 1998. The Region 2 DVD was released in the United Kingdom on April 26, 1999. The Region-free

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

was released on April 7, 2009.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $18,869,631 in the U.S.

Critical response

''Above the Law'' received mixed reviews.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film an approval rating of 50%, based on reviews from 20 critics, with an average rating of 5.2/10. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' stated "It contains 50 percent more plot than it needs, but that allows it room to grow in areas not ordinarily covered in action thrillers." In a negative review, Hal Hinson of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' criticized it as "woefully short on originality."

Legacy

''Above the Law'' is regarded as the first American film to feature

in fight sequences. Steven Seagal tweeted plans for ''Above The Law 2'' on August 1, 2016, but the project never came to fruition.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Above The Law (Film) 1988 films 1980s crime action films 1988 martial arts films American crime action films American martial arts films American police detective films 1980s English-language films Fictional portrayals of the Chicago Police Department Films directed by Andrew Davis Films scored by David Michael Frank Films set in 1973 Films set in 1988 Films set in Chicago Films with screenplays by Ronald Shusett Films with screenplays by Steven Pressfield Vietnam War films Warner Bros. films 1980s American films