Above the Law (1988 film)


Above the Law, also known as Nico: Above the Law, is a 1988 American action film written, produced and directed by Andrew Davis. It marks the acting debut of Steven Seagal, who co-produced and co-wrote the film also starring Pam Grier, Sharon Stone, Daniel Faraldo and Henry Silva. Seagal plays Nico Toscani, an ex-CIA agent, Aikido 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, leading to Seagal being offered a contract by Warner Bros. The film was set and filmed on location in Chicago. It was released in the United States on April 8, 1988.

Plot

Nico Toscani is a respected sergeant of the Chicago police, before joining the force he was raised in the city of Palermo, Sicily and was interested in Aikido who traveled to Japan to study them, in 1969 he was recruited by the CIA agent Nelson Fox to participate in top-secret operations on the borders of Vietnam with Cambodia. In 1973, Toscani disliked his supervisor Kurt Zagon for the torture he and his men did to the Vietnamese, confronted Zagon and ended up leaving the CIA. By 1988, he immigrated to the city of Chicago with his mother Rosa Toscani and met his wife Sara
Toscani along with his partner Delores "Jacks" Jackson and Detectives Lukich and Henderson stop the shipment of alleged alkaloids to Salvadoran drug traffickers Tony Salvano and Chi Chi Ramon and discover in their contraband C-4 explosive charges.The federals take the matter to the command of Agents Neeley and Halloran, but they are ordered to set the Salvadorans free, which makes Toscani angry. After discovering through Father Joseph Gennero that he has refugees in the church under the care of Father Tomasino and Sister Mary, Toscani and Jackson begin to have suspicions
The next morning, a bomb explodes during mass and manages to kill and injure the people who attended, the bomb also
Kills Father Gennero, Toscani concludes that it was Salvano and Chi Chi who planted the bomb, Toscani tries to tell the FBI but they do not believe him. At night, Toscani is contacted by Fox, who tells him that he is in danger and that if he wants to keep his family alive, he has to take them to a safe place, the police and the FBI arrive and take Toscani. Deputy Crowder and the agents
Neeley and Halloran decide to forcefully remove Toscani for meddling averse in Tony Salvano's affairs. Jackson tells them
Toscani and Lukich that one of the victims turned out to be an assistant to Senator Ernest Harrison, who is investigating the drug trafficking network at the CIA, Toscani sends Lukich to take care of Sara and Rosa with Uncle Branca while he and Jackson decide Nico and Jacks discover through sister Mary that Father Tomasino knew about the drug trade at the CIA and that he was going to hand over documents to the assistant
from Harrison
Toscani takes Neeley pistol-point to the weapons store and discover C-4's shipment, the employee tells them that it was the CIA under the command of Nelson Fox. Toscani decides to speak to an old intelligence friend named Watanabe so that Informing him, Toscani and Watanabe discover that Fox is involved of Kurt Zagon.Jackson is contacted by Sister Mary to come to Father Tomasino and Jackson's apartment. alerts Toscani and Lukich
At night, Zagon's assistant and the rest of his thugs arrive at Father Tomasino's apartment and Zagon, Salvano and Chi Chi decide to interrogate him.The team arrives and Toscani and Lukich enter Father Tomasino's room, there, they have a fight With the CIA thugs and the Salvadorans, Chi Chi hurts Lukich but Jackosn enters and kills him, Zagon shoots Jackson and Toscani has to flee but is chased by Zagon, Salvano and Zagon's assistant
up to the subway
Jackson survives thanks to his bulletproof vest and this information reaches the ears of Branca, who informs Nico. Toscani decides to watch the CIA offices but is caught by Fox. Toscani tells Fox that no CIA agent has ever They've been caught, much less tried, and they think they are Above the Law. The conversation between Toscani and Fox is interrupted when Zagon, Salvano, Zagon's assistant and the bar bartender arrive at the scene. There is a shooting in which Fox is assassinated, Toscani kills Salvano by taking him behind the car and he falls from the trunk to the subway tracks, getting electrocuted and dying instantly, Nico tries to escape but Zagon and the rest of his men are caught.
Toscani is taken to the hotel kitchen where Zagon will kill Senator Harrison.Zagon tortures Toscani but he manages to free himself and kills Zagon's assistant, the bar waiter and the rest of his men, Toscani confronts Zagon but Nico grabs him by the neck and breaks it, with all the CIA assassins dead, Nico meets with Jacks, Lukich and Neeley
Harrison and his entire commission arrive at Toscani's house and the senator promises that justice will be done for what happened. The film ends with Toscani saying in his clarifications that there will be agents who are doing illegal things behind their supervisors and they believe that they will they will have gotten away with it
and that they are above the law

Cast

It has been reported that Seagal was asked to make the film by his former aikido pupil, agent Michael Ovitz, who believed that he could make anyone a movie star. It was set and filmed in Chicago, Illinois, over 60 days between April 27 and June 26, 1987.

Reception

Critical response

Above the Law received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 53%, based on reviews from 17 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times 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 criticized it as "woefully short on originality."

Box office

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

Legacy

Above the Law is regarded as the first American film to feature Aikido in fight sequences.

Home media

released the Region 1 DVD in the United States on 28 January 1998. The Region 2 DVD was released in the United Kingdom on 26 April 1999. The Region-free Blu-ray Disc was released on 7 April 2009.