Seagal Double Feature [The Early Years]: Above the Law (1988) + Out for Justice (1991)

Director: Andrew Davis

Cast: Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Sharon Stone, Henry Silva

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 99 minutes

As part of my Seagal double feature review, I bring you Seagal's very first film: Above the Law. Seagal's debut film is a solid and fantastic action film. What makes it even more solid is that this was the very first film that Seagal ever appeared in and yet he was the star. No other action icon started off as the star. Stallone, Arnold, and Van Cleef all took several years before they found their break out films. But not Seagal, he found it with his very first film!

Of the three Seagal films that I have watched so far, this is definitely the best one. It shows exactly why Seagal became an action star. He's lean, aggressive, witty, and skilled with a gun. Directed by Andrew Davis (who also directed Seagal's biggest hit, Under Siege), Above the Law is a cop thriller in the vein of Dirty Harry (1971) and The French Connection (1971). Seagal plays Nico Toscani, a no nonsense cop who lives in Chicago. He and his partner Jacks (Pam Grier) discover that the CIA have connections with the rise in crime in the city. Nico eventually learns that an old CIA operative he once knew, Kurt Zagon (Henry Silva), is planning to assassinate the state senator and it's up to Nico to stop him.

I was caught off guard by just how complex the plot of this film was. This is not your average Dirty Harry crime film. Above the Law kicks butt and attacks the CIA and calls out their illegal methods. The film balances both this anti-CIA message and introducing Steven Seagal to the world at the same time. Director Andrew Davis crafts a fine action film that reminds the viewer why the age of the action icon was such a great time in cinema.

Seagal gives an excellent performance as Nico, the tough as nails cop that no one dare mess with. If you get in Nico's face, he'll punch your nose and snap your arm like nobody's business! We also witness Nico's kindness as he holds his crying wife, christens his new born child, and helps out friends and family. There are few action heroes who balance being both a realistic person and an ass kicker. Seagal's "Nico" is exactly that. It's also worth mentioning that Nico's name is mentioned maybe two hundred or so times it's ridiculous. If you are planning on playing a drinking game whenever Nico's name is called, you are most definitely going to get hammered.

I also loved the heck out of Henry Silva (Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai) and Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) in this film. Grier is an awesome actress to watch and I love the heck out of her. She is simply a blast of energy to watch in this film. Henry Silva is also one of my favorite character actors. Whenever Silva pops up as a seedy and devilish villain (Code of Silence, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai) you know you are in for a treat. He does a great job in this film as Zagon, a cruel and sadistic man with a love for torturing his victims with a truth serum. 

Many people make a mockery out of Steven Seagal and consider him to be one of the worst action stars of all time. I theorize that if Seagal had died after he had made his first five or so films, he would be hailed as one of the greatest action stars of all time like Bruce or Brandon Lee. Above the Law is the greatest debut of any action star and Seagal proves that he had the action chops all the way back in 1988. I wish Seagal and director Andrew Davis would reunite for a third film because they make for a great director/actor duo. 

Rating: 8/10 - An awesome action film packed with shootouts, fist fights, and car chases. Seagal's debut had it all.

Director: John Flynn

Cast: Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Gina Gershon, Jo Champa, Jerry Orbach

Country: United States
Rating: R
Run Time: 91 minutes

If Seagal's films have taught me anything, it is that Seagal's characters always have the best names! Look at some of these: Nico Toscani, Mason Storm, Casey Ryback, John Hatcher, and now Gino Felino. Dang, whoever was writing Seagal's early films knew how to name the guy's characters. The posters for his earliest films were also excellent. Look how awesome Seagal looks in that poster! All he has to do is hold a shotgun and stare at you as smoke billows around him to look menacing.

Even though Out for Justice lacks Above the Law's awesome amount of action, the film makes up for it with a far more basic plot. Gino Felino's (Steven Seagal) partner Bobby Lupo is gunned down by the drug crazed Richie Madano (William Forsythe). Detective Gino than sets out on a night long trip to find Richie, kill him, and avenge his partner's death. It's as simple as a Seagal film can come ladies and gentlemen.

Seagal is in full Seagal mode in this film. He's adopting abandoned dogs, rocking a ponytail, wearing sleeveless t-shirts, and breaking teeth with cue balls and cue sticks! Even though I'll never find Seagal's personal clothing style to be bad ass the way I find Clint Eastwood or Chow Yun Fat's personal style to be, I still find it entertaining to look at.

I have even less to say about this film than Above the Law. Seagal simply goes from action scene to action scene as he looks for the cruel bastard who gunned down his best friend. I do think that the dramatic scenes in between each action scene are quite boring. The scenes just drag on and on and become quite monontonous. The filmmakers were clearly trying to make a very Brooklyn, New York wise film but seemed to get bogged down with these slow portions of the film and the cornball montages (minus the awesome "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" montage, the Beastie Boys are always welcome).

William Forsythe is certifiably insane in this film! When a woman honks at him in her car, Forsythe steps out, grabs her head, and shoots her point blank! It's horrible! He deserves the beat down that he receives from Seagal at the film's end. There is no need to say spoiler alert people. You know Forsythe is gonna get it and Seagal most definitely messes him up.

Out for Justice can be summed up in one scene. Seagal holds a shotgun up and aims it at a thug. The thug turns and aims his pistol at Seagal. Seagal fires his shotgun and blows the guys leg clean off! As the poor guy screams and cries about his wound, Seagal shrugs the moment off and just walks away. Now that is what I call entertainment!

Rating: 7/10 - While a tad slow and boring during the second act, Out for Justice packs great action scenes and some truly gritty Seagal kills to boot.

Under Siege (1992)

Director: Andrew Davis

Cast: Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, Erika Eleniak, Colm Meaney

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 103 minutes

Alright. This blog is embarking into a whole new territory of action: Steven Seagal. To the average viewer, Seagal is synonymous with fat jokes and crappy DTV releases. The guy has starred in more DTV's than any other action star that I can think of. However, most people have never honestly seen a single one of his films. I'm not going to lie, I had never seen a single film of his from start to finish either. However, if I am going to be an action guy I have to dive into Steven Seagal films sooner or later. Therefore, I am choosing to start with his most successful film in order to give myself a taste of the best that the pony tailed man has to offer.

Casey Ryback. Akido master and ladies man.

Under Siege is as many critics have described as "Die Hard on a battleship." The film starts by telling us that a battleship is being transported to Hawaii in order to be disarmed so it can serve as a tourist attraction. During the transportation, Commander Krill (Gary Busey) plans a surprise birthday party for the captain of the ship. He chooses to fly in the party's entertainment in a helicopter consisting of a band led by Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones) and Miss July (Erika Eleniak). The battleship's head cook, Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal), is down in the kitchen cooking and preparing food for the ship. When he and Commander Krill get into a disagreement, Krill has him locked in the meat locker for insubordination. 

While Casey is trapped in the locker, Krill and Strannix take over the ship with the help of Strannix's men. They reveal their true intentions to be that they plan on stealing the ship's missiles and selling them off to the highest bidder. Unfortunately for them, they left Seagal down in the freezer and he is one pissed off ex-Navy Seal. The rest of the movie is Die Hard with Seagal snapping necks, breaking limbs, and shooting the crap out of some henchmen, all building up towards a final confrontation with Strannix himself.

Crazy Jones is in this movie.

Under Siege is probably the most widely recognized of all of Steven Seagal's films. Made on a $35 million budget, the film grossed a whopping $155 million, was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Sound and Sound Editing, and ranks fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. No other Seagal film has ever come close to being as successful as Under Siege did. With this in mind, I went into the film with high hopes. Unfortunately, I found myself pretty disappointed.

Don't get me wrong. This is still an entertaining and solid action film. However, I never once felt any tension concerning whether or not Seagal would be able to stop the terrorists aboard the ship. He simply goes from set piece to set piece with no trouble whatsoever. The film really is a poor man's Die Hard. The lead hero and villain aren't as memorable as John McClane or Hans Gruber, the action is solid yet lacks the punch of Die Hard's set pieces, and the humor can't match up to Die Hard's many hilarious moments.

I know I am comparing this film to Die Hard and that some people find that unfair. But if you are going to rip off Die Hard, at least try to deliver a suspenseful thrill ride with actual tension. Seagal just wanders around the ship and slaughters bad guy after bad guy with no problem. Unlike the very human McClane, Ryback feels like an unstoppable killing machine. The film I watched did not feel like the most successful Steven Seagal film I have always heard of.

Oh yeah, Crazy Busey is in this movie too.

Seagal makes for an interesting action lead. I don't know why, but Seagal loves to whisper and talk softly when he delivers his lines. He also shows very little emotion or charisma beyond a smile here and a laugh there. It's just a Seagal thing I guess. I think I need to watch more Seagal films before I can give you an official opinion on the guy. He seems like a capable action star from the film I watched though. Seagal truly is an action movie fan's dream come true. He's an unstoppable killing machine and there is never a doubt in your mind that a film of his is going to deliver the goods.

I miss the days when Tommy Lee Jones was a crazed and energetic actor and when Gary Busey was actually in wide release films. If anything dates Under Siege (besides it starring a non-fat Steven Seagal), it's that Gary Busey and Tommy Lee Jones are the lead villains. The two basically try to out crazy each other throughout the film. Busey dances in drag in one scene and Jones literally snaps and mumbles nonsense in another. The two make for some extremely entertaining villains.

Miss July's (Erika Eleniak) hair style and presence also help date this film's 90's nature. She is found by Seagal knocked out on the ship. She than joins Seagal on his quest to wander around the ship and kill every terrorist he can find. Her character truly adds nothing to the film except sex appeal. There is a scene where the filmmakers unecessarily show off her breasts in a large close up and even have her and Seagal kiss at the end of the film. Like I said, sex appeal.

Miss July saves the day.

Under Siege at least has Seagal and his action prowress going for the film. Seagal's films are notorious for containing some of the most violent henchman dispatches in all of movie-dom. In the film's one hour and forty minute run time, Seagal hurls a knife into a henchman's neck, rips out a guy's throat, shoots numerous henchies in the head and chest, stabs a guy in the arm pit, kicks a guy into a saw blade, and drops a steel rod right through a guy's stomach. Talk about bang for your buck. Seagal puts on a real variety show if you ask me.

Of all of the action scenes in the film, there is a particularly great one around the middle of the film. Seagal crosses two sub-machine guns and rushes down a hallway filled with opened doors. As Seagal blind fires, he blasts all of the henchman standing in each door way. Pretty cool technique if you ask me.

There is unfortunately a very disappointing knife fight in the film. I'm sorry, but the editing and choreography of the final knife fight is just laughable. Nothing about it is exciting or visually cohesive. For a film filled with solid and entertaining action, it was quite disappointing to find a knife fight so poor.

Akimbo Seagal

Under Siege is my first official Steven Seagal action film. I think if you are willing to lower your standards, you'll have a real blast with this film. It's a load of dumb fun featuring an actor at the top of his game. After Under Siege, Seagal would never retain the same level of success. Therefore, the film literally marks Seagal at the top of his commercial game. Seagal is also an interesting action star. I'm not completely in love with the guy but I can see why others might like him alot. With some well paced action and some hilarious villains, Under Siege is good in my book.

Rating: 7/10 - This Die Hard rip-off is a flawed but solid action film. Recommended to action fans and general audiences alike.

Franchise:

Under Siege (1992, dir. Andrew Davis)

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995, dir. Geoff Murphy)