Above the Law: Andrew Davis

Do you know why I love early Steven Seagal movies? It's not because they're full of action and great fight scenes. It's because they are some of the only films of its kind from the late 80s, early 90s that prominently feature minorities as more than just villains or love interests. These films dive into the American immigrant experience of the late 20th century. Seagal and his co-stars delve into ethnic slums, ghettos, and neighborhoods even when there aren't action beats planned. Seagal is frequently multilingual, speaking both English and a handful of other languages used by immigrant communities. It's a fascinating development in the action film hero archetype: foreign villains (particularly from Europe) were everywhere, but they always spoke English and interacted with American culture, at least to a certain extent. But the Seagal persona realized that to truly bring justice to foreign communities, he needed to approach them on their terms: learn their language, learn their customs, learn their struggles. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in Andrew Davis' Above the Law, Seagal's debut film. Sergeant plays Nicolo "Nico" Toscani, an ex-CIA agent who now works for the Chicago Police Department. When a drug ring (led by one of his former CIA superiors) starts bombing Catholic churches to kill priests and congressmen who could harm their business, Toscani snaps into action. There are two scenes in particular that really drive home the progressive nature of Above the Law: when Toscani and his partner, Detective Jackson (Pam Grier in a chameleon-esque performance), are asked by a local Catholic priest to help a group of illegal South American refugees living in their church's basement, they agree and don't turn them in to the authorities. They recognize the struggle these (illegal) immigrants are facing. The second is when Detective Jackson is inevitably shot by a criminal near the end. In a regular film, the ethnic partner would be dead meat. But Jackson reveals that she was wearing a vest and will be alright. Let me re-iterate that: in an 80s action movie, the ethnic partner isn't killed to create dramatic tension. Don't let the presence of Seagal confuse you: Above the Law is more than just a great action film.

8/10

Out for Justice: John Flynn

Three things make John Flynn's Out for Justice the best Steven Seagal film that I have ever seen. First, this is easily Seagal's best performance. He's never been the most talented actor. In fact, there is a rumor that he was only hired by his agent because of a bet that he could make a movie star out of anybody, regardless of how uncharismatic they may be. But Seagal turns in a legitimately good performance as Gino Felino, an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who is on the warpath after his partner is brutally murdered in front of his family by Riche Madano, a cocaine-crazed mafioso with a desperate death-wish. The second reason why this is the best Seagal film that I've ever seen is because of William Forsythe's performance as Madano. He turns what could have been a very generic villain role into one of the most memorable performances of his career, growling and stalking like a possessed jungle cat. And the third reason is the infamous bar-room interrogation/fight scene. Seeking out information on his partner's killer, Felino walks into the toughest bar around and begins to antagonize the muscle-bound patrons. When he finally succeeds in egging them into a fight, he strikes out with a pool cue-ball wrapped in a cloth, unleashing a series of the most brutal ass-whoppings this side of Hong Kong. While I had certainly enjoyed some of Seagal's films in the past, I had never understood his monstrous appeal as either a martial artist or an action hero until seeing Out for Justice. What a film!

7/10

Marked for Death: Dwight H. Little

The best part of Dwight H. Little's Marked for Death is its villain, the maniacal Jamaican drug-dealer and Obeah practitioner Screwface. Basil Wallace's performance transforms Screwface from just another generic action movie villain into a force to be reckoned with. There's one scene in particular that blew me away: after learning that Steven Seagal's character, Chicago DEA agent John Hatcher, had thwarted his men and embarrassed his organization, he howls, "I want Hatcher dead. I want his family dead. And if you can't kill him, I go kill him, and then I'm gonna kill you." Now, that line by itself isn't very special. In fact, it seems like an inferior version of Robert De Niro's famous line in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987). But Wallace's performance is so spot-on that it comes across as genuinely terrifying. The rest of the film is standard Steven Seagal fare: after his family is attacked by Screwface's men, Hatcher sets out to bring down their organization by any means necessary. But honestly, I don't care about Seagal's character in this film very much. I want more Screwface. He is almost too good of a villain for this movie.

6/10