Above the Law (1988) My Ex Girlfriend Pam Grier & Cop Steven Seagal Smash Faces In Chicago

Difficult doing a film review which featured an ex girlfriend. Yeah this here Mikey Wolf and Pam Grier were tight. We went everywhere together. Forever laughing and smiling. Oh I miss that smile of hers! Damn I miss that body more! Oh the fun we had. She’d dress up in that revealing red dress she wore in Foxy Brown and I’d be in my pimp style leather jacket. Walking through the streets of Harlem, hand in hand, with one thing on our minds, well two but I’ll keep it clean here, we were there to dish out cold hard justice.

Me and my Pam Grier patrolling the streets

We made a formidable double act. She’d use distraction with her ample charms before unleashing a barrage of kicks and punches. Oh that sweet grin she’d give me as she pounded down on some poor thugs mug. With a cheeky wink we were an unstoppable tag team. Taking out the trash on the streets. Cleaning up the neighborhood as I’d rip through a mountain of bad guys with an almighty roar. Beautiful memories. Well all good things have to come to an end. The love was strong, too strong I guess. We had to part ways. Still think of her every day. Yep I miss her…… Oh sorry I completely forgot I’m meant to be writing about that Steven Seagal fella? OK If I have to? Look I’ll get Steven to start us of with his back story. Steven plays Chicago Cop Nico Toscani.

Tagline – He’s a cop who believes no one is above the law.

Nico – “I was born in Palermo, Sicily. We come to this country when I was seven. We immigrated to Chicago. I was always raised to be very patriotic, to love our country. And we did. When I was a little boy my father took me to a baseball game. They had a martial arts demonstration and I saw this old Japanese man doing things that I thought were magical and I developed a crazy dream to go to the Far East. By the time I was 17 I was there studying with the masters.

In 1969 I was invited by a friend of mine to an American Embassy party in Tokyo. While I was there, I met a crazy drunk guy named Nelson Fox. He recruited me into the CIA. I was 22 at the time. My eyes were about to be opened.”

Dropped into Vietnam during the brutal carnage of the war. Nico was soon to see unimaginable things. Then in 1973 he’s on a mission in Cambodia.  One such act was to witness the savage torture carried out by his superior, a vicious freakasaurus looking psychopath called Kurt Zagon (Henry Silva). Nico was always the man to stand up against such barbarous bloody acts of violence. This unfortunately meant leaving the CIA in a manner that would upset a few people. Flash forward to Chicago 1988 we catch up with Nico and his wife Sharon Stone at the christening of his ridiculously cute little daughter.

Nico is now a detective within the Chicago Police Department’s vice squad. He’s tough, forever vigilant, has a strong moral code but is always ready to smash some idiot felons face in. Anything bad going down, Nico sees it. Action ready at all times. Ready to unleash his masterful skills of Aikido on anyone stupid enough to try to get smart with him. Lucky he has his side kick Delores ‘Jacks’ Jackson (Pam Grier) and Detective Lukich (Ron Dean) to try and reel him in when he goes into full super smash Seagal mode.

With intel on a big cartel drug drop, Nico and the vice squad are poised to take down the criminals. This will be swift and efficient. Well that’s the plan. Soon things are gonna turn into a steaming log floating fast down shit creak. Before we know it we can add priests, dodgy CIA agents, bombs, more torturing, truth drugs, C-4 plastic explosives, South American immigrants, smuggling, shoot outs and revenge. All whilst Nico beats bad guys heads in. Before you know it the plot is full of inconceivable amount of stuff happening on the screen. So just sit back and let it all wash over you as you enjoy the action packed nonsense reveal itself. I was happy to sit back and reminisce back to my super hot Pammy looking gorgeous.

Tagline – He was a covert agent trained in Vietnam. He has a master 6th degree black belt in Aikido… and family in the Mafia. He’s a cop with an attitude.

A Few Things To Add

• This is Steven Seagal’s debut film. He also co-writes the script and produces too. Not a bad way to start his career.
• Sounds like Steven was happily teaching the rich and famous Aikido at his LA dojo where he met talent agent Michael Ovitz who pushed him in the right direction.
• Above The Law is also known as just Nico in some countries.
• Directed and co-written by Andrew Davis. He has some great action films under his belt like. Code Of Silence with Chuck Norris which also starred the unique looking Henry Silva. Another Steven Seagal one with Under Siege and probably his biggest hit, The Fugitive with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.
• Look out for a appearance in the police lock up from that machine gun gangster Ralph Foody so lovingly remembered for his Angels With Filthy Souls bit in both the Home Alone films.

Ralph Foody best known for his Angels With Filthy Soul gangster

• It’s neat to see all the original family photos of Steven Seagal used in the opening intro.
• Poor Sharon Stone doesn’t do anything in this film. Which must of been weird after coming of the back of the two King Solomon’s Mines films with Richard Chamberlain.
• Pam Grier is excellent. Obviously I’d liked to have seen more of her but she gets some good screen time. There’s been a rumor that I had the supplied the line for the jiving black guy who leans in to say “Excuse me, I just had to stop and tell you, you look like the sun setting on a waterfall in the springtime, baby!” Hey man I’ll assure you my lines aren’t that cheesy!

Above The Law is a pretty great 80s action film and debatably one of Steven Seagal’s best? What you think? 1992s Under Siege has to be in top position? Then all the rest can slot in somewhere in the back row. I have to admit to not having seen all of them. I’ve seen about half of them on VHS. Still there’s a few that slipped through the cracks. Hard To Kill appeals because of (whispers so Pam doesn’t hear) Kelly LeBrock. Also Out For Justice sounds pretty good. To be honest every one sounds like the next adventure of Nico.

Nico – “You guys think you’re above the law… well you ain’t above mine!“

Feel free to let me know if you liked any of Seagal’s films. Yeah they not the greatest films in the world but they served my action needs back in the day of video rental.

Keep it filmy. And remember to have fun.

Mikey Wolf