1/5 a boring movie
  by L. hassell (new york)
i found this movie to be boring and no meaning to it.the actors were terrible and the fight scenes were so corny.

4/5 Nothing about this movie makes any sense. Except for the stunts and fights.
  by Scott Baboyian (Washington, DC)
This is classic 80's Hong Kong action cinema: take a paper thin premise, barely sketch out a coherent plot, recruit some incredible fighters, then get your friends, the stunt guys, and members of the crew to play any other needed roles, scrape up a bare minimum of cash, and start shooting! This film practically redefines low budget-- The costuming is so minimal, it looks like most of the actors were just shot in the clothes they came to work in. Cynthia Rothrock, the lead female, appears in a ludicrous procession of color-coordinated, shoulder-padded outfits that look like she discovered the softer side of Sears. The makeup and grooming of the actors is horrible- in some close-ups you can see a couple big zits on Yuen Biao's face, just begging to be popped!

The premise is a throw away: a disillusioned lawyer takes the law into his own hands, coming up against gangsters and a crooked cop. The characters lack any and all coherent motivation or consistent behavior. The narrative is so sloppy and disjointed, in many places, you'll be scratching your head wondering how one event even connects to another. For example, by the end of the movie, our heroes, Cynthia Rothrock and Yuen Biao, are pursuing a crooked police captain. How and why they find this police captain suddenly moonlighting as an airplane mechanic, in a hanger where his coworkers are apparently also his paid henchmen, is never explained in any way. Clearly there was no thought whatsoever behind it, except it sets up the showpiece stunt in which the guy takes off in a plane as Biao is dragged down the runway and 4,000 feet into the air on the end of a rope!

But that stunt, among the zillions of others, is truly amazing. And so are the fights. Cynthia Rothrock is unbelievable in this movie, showing so much power and determination in her fight scenes. The battle between her and Biao inside a small apartment is jaw dropping, and it is only one of several equally impressive throw-downs. Yuen Biao is just as compelling, at least physically speaking, as Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung, bringing an incredibly lithe, limber, and whip-like power to his movements.

Those stunts and fights are clearly the reason this film was made, the only thing the creators put any effort into, and the only reasons to see this movie. If you really love wacky HK humor, you might also get a kick out of the antics of Corey Yuen-Kwai who plays Rothrock's Pigpen-like parter on the police force. (Yuen-Kwai also directed this movie, and also directed some of the Transporter movies--films similarly lacking coherent plot or characters!) But the weird thing is, so many people are killed in this movie, in such merciless ways, that all the wacky humor totally undermines any sense of drama or pathos. The actors certainly don't help, as they are incapable of expressing any true grief, as one-by-one, every character in the film is killed off! (and their family and friends too!)

Rated against other movies in the genre, this film really doesn't deserve 4 stars. But I'm giving extra points for the historical importance of the Biao/Rothrock match-up, as well as the presence of a couple other American fighters playing villians in the movie. Point as well are due for the simple, gleeful cheesiness and innocent exuberance that infuses this mess with a energy that makes American actioners of the same period look flaccid by comparison.

3/5 Above Average: Biao, Rothrock, and Yuen
  by Mike Schorn (APO, AE United States)
As far as Cynthia Rothrock goes, "Above the Law" is the best film she ever appeared in, period. I cannot speak so certainly for Yuen Biao, but seeing as this movie earned him his most recent nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Action Choreography, I can't imagine it being one of his worst. Plainly, the film is an action spectacle that's sure to drop the jaws of all but the most weathered fans of Hong Kong cinema...but beyond that, it's not much of a movie. "Above the Law" personifies the stereotypical oriental film that focuses entirely on martial arts scenes but flat-lines dramatically in light of poor acting performances and some iffy technical issues. Fans of Biao, Rothrock, and director Corey Yuen (The Transporter) should definitely pick it up, but new fans of Dragon Dynasty ought to start somewhere else.

Hsia Ling-Cheng (Biao, The Prodigal Son) is a Hong Kong prosecutor who's become disgusted at how the law seems to always favor the criminal. In light of series of murders that leave key witnesses of a gangster trial dead, he takes justice into his own hands as a lethal vigilante...but hot on his heels is Cindy Si (Rothrock, No Retreat No Surrender 2 [VHS]), a detective willing to fight violence with violence who believes him to be behind a gruesome underworld killing.

The plot (penned by Chuek-Hon Szeto and Barry Wong, Mr. Vampire) sounds pretty straight-forward, but gets a bit more complicated and sophisticated than you'd expect the typical action storyline to be. In addition, Dragon Dynasty has done a good job with the DVD package: apart from remastering the video, three language tracks are included (the original Cantonese dubbing, a more recent and polished Cantonese version, and the original English dub), as well as insightful interviews with Yuen Biao, Cynthia Rothrock, and Peter Cunningham (No Retreat No Surrender [VHS]) and an alternate ending filmed subsequent to production by audience demand.

The fighting, I must stress, really is first-rate and continues to top everything that's ever been produced this side of the Pacific. To name each encounter chronologically, there's Rothrock vs. four mahjong players who she ties up with one pair of cuffs, Biao vs. Rothrock in what may be the best fight of the movie and of Rothrock's career, Biao vs. Cunningham in a destructive brawl in the former's home, Rothrock vs. the underrated & underutilized Karen Shepard (Cyborg 2), Rothrock vs. a hangar full of weapon-wielding cronies, and Biao vs. Melvin Wong (Heart of Dragon) which features Biao delivering the most impressive windmill kick I've ever seen. With the exception of a couple of blows that clearly don't connect and a few blatantly-obvious stunt doubles, each and every fight is a wonder to behold, with no weak offerings or even anybody particularly outdoing anybody else. Weapons, flips, and liberal use of the environment (walls, furniture, scaffolding, etc.) as a means of leverage make these encounters as cinematically appealing as they are technical genius. In addition, there are some pretty cool stunts involving Biao and cars.

At times, however, the pauses between the action seem a bit too long, especially if they're filled with the godawful dramatic exchanges between Siu-Wong Fon (Riki-Oh - The Story of Ricky) and Yuen Biao or the one between Biao and Rothrock in the hospital: mediocre acting skills are further offset by flowery dialogue that most western audiences will be unable to relate to and humor that only Hong Kong fans will understand. Almost the entire cast - including Biao and Rothrock, Siu-Wong, Wong, Cunningham, Corey Yuen as Rothrock's goofball partner, and Ma Wu (Chinese Ghost Story) as his father - are in trouble as thespians to an alarming extent, and look nothing short of mediocre when compared to the film's only acceptable performance-giver: Roy Chiao ("Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom") as the magistrate. Granted, drama is not the focus of action movies and shouldn't detract too much from overall quality, but seeing as the film relies on dramatics to a beyond-casual extent, it's a bit more damaging than it would usually be.

In short, "Above the Law" is awesome as an action feature but terrible as anything else. Those familiar with the work of Yuen Biao should feel free to watch it, but newcomers of just about everybody involved ought to make their first impression somewhere else.

4/5 Do they sell those bulletproof books at Walden's?
  by Mantis Lake (Detroit, MI USA)
I put off buying this movie for quite awhile after reading some harsh reviews of it. Had I known it was this enjoyable I would've snagged it a long time ago. I'm not going to tell you that it's a great flick... cuz it ain't. But if you're a fan of martial arts movies there's absolutely no reason why you wouldn't enjoy it.

Yuen Biao ("The Prodigal Son") plays an idealistic prosecutor living and working in Hong Kong. He has grown a little... ummm... "impatient" with the system's inability to punish hardened criminals, especially the rich ones. He then puts it upon himself to take out the trash. Cynthia Rothrock ("China O'Brien") plays a detective who suspects Biao of being a vigilante but needs more proof. She catches him at the house of a (very) recently deceased suspect and attempts to arrest him. There is a witness (Fan Siu Wong, "Ip Man") who could clear Biao, but he's being blackmailed by the real killer.

I can live with the lame story and I've liked movies with far worse ones. The dialogue isn't that bad, nor the music, but during dramatic moments, both are hilarious. The film is also a bit darker than I expected. No matter: The fights are where this is at. Cynthia Rothrock is great in this. Her fight against multiple attackers in an airplane hangar is pretty stinkin' sweet. Plus her fight with Karen Sheperd. While on the subject I can't forget to mention Biao's scrap with Kickboxing champion Peter Cunningham.

This was an early release for Dragon Dynasty and, as usual, their version is right on. Great widescreen picture, Cantonese or English language, and subtitle options (including Spanish). Many have complained about the dub, so I took the reading railroad and avoided some of the problems. The special features include the obligatory Bey Logan commentary, plus interviews with Biao, Rothrock, and Cunningham. Recommended.

1986. aka: Righting Wrongs

3/5 Dont get me wrong
  by Eric N. Lester
Prime fighting action. Great stunt work,but the voice overs are not bad but could have been better. Only for the hardcore fan.