Above the Law (1988)

As an actor Steven Seagal is a force to be reckoned with. He may not be in the same league as Tom Hanks or Russell Crowe, but few actors today can say they started their career on top and in control, Steven Seagal can. Before Seagal mastered the low budget action genre, he mastered the martial art of Aikido. At the age of seven Seagal began his martial arts training and eventually moved to Japan in 1974 where he received his first dan accreditation, one of seven that he would ultimately achieve. That lead Seagal to begin instructing wealthy individuals in Los Angeles an avenue which jump started his Hollywood film career which has been going strong ever since. Even though Seagal hasn't had a blockbuster or legit feature film in years he still cranks out multiple direct to DVD films on a yearly basis for an ever growing loyal fan base.

Above the Law marks Seagal's first film; a starring role which he also produced and co-wrote. Playing the role Nico Toscani, a former CIA agent now Chicago cop, Nico finds some of the darker areas of his past catching up with him when a routine drug bust ends up leading him into a plot to kill a US Senator by local drug lords and an old CIA acquaintance. It's all part of a plan to continue to cover up the truth behind the mass killings of innocent Vietnamese orchestrated by CIA operatives during the Vietnam war, and their involvement in drug trafficking.

For a typical Steven Seagal action experience Above the Law definitely has some worthy examples of beyond belief action sequences, whether it be Seagal hanging on the roof of a speeding car whilst choking the guy in the passenger seat or miraculously surviving a barrage of gunfire from five guys with machine guns. As any self respecting Seagal fan knows Seagal rarely, if ever, takes a hit in a film and that invincibility begins here. Sadly the classic action scenes are about as good as Above the Law ever gets, as the majority of the films 99 minutes seem to be slowly drug down in a story that's so convoluted and sloppy it's hard to keep straight. Being Seagal's first film endeavor I can overlook some of the films glaring rough spots (mainly the script) but if your looking for an Undersiege type thriller, look elsewhere.

6/10