Above The Law - Why We Once Took Steven Seagal Seriously

Feb

14

Above The Law - Why We Once Took Steven Seagal Seriously

≡ Category: Action, Movie Reviews By Country, Recommended, United States |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: United States
Genre: Action
Director: Andrew Davis
Year: 1988

Rating:

TRASH CINEMA RECOMMENDED MOVIE

After the last 10 years of a pathetic and obese Steven Seagal staggering around pretending to be an action hero, it was kind of a shock to revisit Above The Law, Seagal’s coming out party, which generated excitement with fans, and even the admiration of some critics.

The flick begins with baby pictures of Seagal and the plot, up to a point, has similarities to Seagal’s own background. For example, Seagal really did go to Japan to study Aikido. Of course, Seagal wasn’t recruited by the CIA, nor does he have a Special Forces background, like his character, Nico Toscani in Above The Law.

Anyway, when a drug dealer gets busted with C4 plastique on him and the Feds come out of the woodwork, Nico, now a cop, gets an inkling that his old employers might be involved. How this turns out, I will not tell, but the story Seagal and director Andrew Davis came up with is actually pretty creative. Unlike later films, the villains aren’t conveniently morons, and Nico never does anything that would be impossible, given his Special Forces and martial arts background.

Thanks to veteran screenwriter Ronald Shusett, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Andrew Davis and Steven Pressfield, even the dialog is perfectly adequate, in that 80s action movie way.

Another nice thing: Steven Seagal can actually move. His martial arts moves are clean and fast, and he was only starting to work on a belly, which is barely discernible. Even more surprising, his acting isn’t all that bad. As usual, he’s playing a soft spoken character who can turn deadly if necessary, but here, I actually bought it.

Director Andrew Davis gets the tone just right. Above the Law is stylized 80s cop movie stuff, so because the other actors in the movie, such as the great Henry Silva and Pam Grier, are playing slightly larger than life, Seagal’s acting style fits right in.

Davis directs the action sequences without fuss. They’re simple, direct, and effective, much like Steven Seagal’s martial arts moves.

What you have in Above the Law is an interesting and timely story, told in an energetic and straightforward manner.

There’s nothing in Above the Law which will blow you away, but there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, either. And considering Steven Seagal’s creative output these days, that’s nothing to sneeze at.