Above the Law 4K 1988 Ultra HD 2160p

Segal made his debut as Nico Toscani, a Chicago police officer and Vietnam War veteran who is hot on the trail of a major criminal.
Corruption has seeped into the ranks of the CIA. And Nico draws on all his experience and skill to take on a formidable, cunning, and multifaceted adversary.

User Review

This is the first feature film starring Steven Seagal, and right from the start we’re introduced to his iconic character, Nico Toscani, a Chicago police officer. I remember those golden days when the pirated copies that made their way to us were simply named after the protagonist. And then came a whole string of such titles, because Seagal’s characters were all alike—they all practiced martial arts and displayed exactly the same level of emotion. That’s why we later got a videotape titled “Nico 2,” followed by “Nico 3,” and so on, all the way up to “Nico 10: From the Underworld.”

Before the release of this film, Steven Seagal was known only as an aikido master, holding a 7th dan and the title of shihan, a leading martial arts instructor. He even opened his own dojo in Japan, which was a very rare achievement for an American. However, thanks to his incredible skill in aikido and a 10-minute demonstration for Warner Brothers, he landed the lead role in the film “Above the Law.” It should be noted that Seagal also contributed to the screenplay and took on a producing role.

Today, the film itself comes across as a typical police action movie. It sheds light on the activities of the CIA, which tries to operate outside the law, often engaging in drug trafficking, arms dealing, and even political assassinations. These organizations often act not in the interests of the state, but in the interests of specific individuals at the top, and can become so powerful that they are beyond control. And as long as such an uncontrolled group exists, there will always be people who stand above the law

Director Andrew Davis was in high demand back then. After this film, he teamed up with Seagal again on “Under Siege,” followed by “The Fugitive” starring Harrison Ford. Oh, and he made a graceful exit from the film industry by directing a memorable film about the work of rescue workers—*The Lifeguard*—in which Ashton Kutcher was once again able to showcase his acting talent in serious roles. As with the director’s other works, I believe the credit once again lies with him, despite the lead actor’s charisma.

The film “Above the Law” is exactly the kind of action movie made in the late ’80s, and as such, it’s still steeped in that era and conveys the atmosphere of that time in all its glory. In the ’90s, movies became completely different—that’s a fact. This was achieved in part thanks to a well-curated soundtrack, parts of which have definitely made their way into my collection. This isn’t just an action movie with shootouts and car chases; it features a skillfully crafted plot with political undertones. It’s a real shame that the antagonist isn’t particularly intimidating with his torture methods; I wish his character had been revealed to us a bit more. Otherwise, in my opinion, everything worked out well—at the very least, the film has clearly found its fans, who still speak warmly of the characters and the plot.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (80.2 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: FLAC 2.0
#English: FLAC 2.0
#English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by director Andrew Davis and actress Pam Grier)

Info Subtitles

English SDH (PGS), Arabic, Danish (PGS), Dutch (PGS), Finnish, French (Metropolitan) (PGS), German SDH (PGS), Greek, Italian (PGS), Italian SDH (PGS), Japanese (PGS), Norwegian, Polish (PGS), Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (European) (PGS), Russian, Spanish (Castilian) (PGS), Spanish (Latin American) (PGS), Swedish (PGS).