Baby Pictures, Bad Qi, and Above the Law: Steven Seagal’s Debut Under the Microscope
Welcome to this episode of The Most Excellent 80s Movies Show. Hosts Krissy Lenz and Nathan Blackwell welcome special guest Dorian Lenz of the Neighborhood Comedy Theatre to dig into Above the Law (1988), the film that introduced the world to Steven Seagal’s particular blend of aikido, righteous fury, and remarkable hair choices. Expect origin-story skepticism, mullet taxonomy, and a genuinely heated debate about who runs worse on camera.
The trio wrestles with what it takes to launch a brand-new action hero from scratch, sizing Seagal’s debut up against the star-making runs of Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, and Chuck Norris, and questioning whether a movie this tangled holds any weight beyond nostalgia. They also can’t quite agree on whether the hero is really upholding the law, or just the character most openly ignoring it.
Conversation fuel includes a full ranking of the film’s mullet hierarchy, a surprisingly serious debate about aikido’s limitations against firearms, growing admiration for a scene-stealing supporting performance, and very specific opinions about Seagal’s uniquely awkward running form.
It’s a chat that stays at the premise level, sidestepping the film’s late reveals in favor of curiosity about how this particular action star got built, one bone-crushing choice at a time.
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Which 80s action star do you think nailed their very first movie the hardest?
