Above the Law poster

1988·99 min·Released

Above the Law

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

Action
Crime
Drama
Mystery
Thriller

Nico Toscani is 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.

6.1(806 votes)

Popularity4

Videos

Above the Law - Trailer (Upscaled HD) (1988)

Cast & Crew

Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal

Nico Toscani

Pam Grier

Pam Grier

Delores 'Jacks' Jackson

Henry Silva

Henry Silva

Kurt Zagon

Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone

Sara Toscani

Ron Dean

Ron Dean

Detective Lukich

Daniel Faraldo

Daniel Faraldo

Tony Salvano

Joe Greco

Joe Greco

Father Joseph Gennaro

Vince Viverito

Vince Viverito

Giuseppe

Chelcie Ross

Chelcie Ross

Nelson Fox

Jack Wallace

Jack Wallace

Uncle Branca

Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker

Man in Bar

Matt McColm

Matt McColm

Man with Gun in Bar (uncredited)

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Wuchak

Written on 3/29/2025

**_The next generation in Eastwood cop thrillers_** An ex-CIA martial artist, is now a vice squad detective in Chicago (Steven Seagal) where he and his new partner (Pam Grier) investigate a drug ring, but are shocked when the drug lord (Tony Salvano) is let go by the Feds, which can be traced to his nemesis in the CIA (Henry Silva). "Above the Law” (1988) was Seagal’s cinematic debut. He claimed he picked the movie from a pile of scripts that Warner Brothers had lying around for Clint Eastwood. I bring that up because the film is basically the next generation in Eastwood’s detective thrillers, just mixed with the martial arts and general plot of “Code of Silence” from three years earlier. That one had the same director, as well as the same actor in the villain role, Silva. Sharon Stone is on hand as the protagonist’s wife and she looks great, but her role is decidedly peripheral since she was still fairly unknown when the film was shot in the spring/early summer of 1987. Grier has a much bigger part and she said this is one of her personal favorites in her oeuvre because she actually got to act. Seagal proved right out of the gate that he had the masculine screen presence to star in an action thriller. His movies kept making more money until he achieved his greatest box office success with “Under Siege” four years later, followed by “Under Siege 2” and “Executive Decision” in the mid-90s. His career then took a downturn to mostly direct-to-video productions. The story gets a little convoluted, involving the assassination of a nosey Chicago Senator, but at least no one can say it’s a simpleminded action flick. It’s thought to be the first American film to feature Aikido in fight sequences. It runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in Chicago. The aerial scenes of the Southeast Asian jungle were filmed in O'ahu while the jungle scenes featuring the actors were done at Warner Brothers’ backlot in Burbank. GRADE: B/B-

Media

It's Goin' Down, Boys

It's Goin' Down, Boys

Above the Law - Trailer (Upscaled HD) (1988)

Above the Law - Trailer (Upscaled HD) (1988)