A fine debut by Steven Seagal and the start of a five year period of box-office success, which culminated in the blockbuster UNDER SIEGE, also directed as it is here, by Andrew Davis (CODE OF SILENCE, THE FUGITIVE big-screen remake) in which he plays Nico Toscani, a Chicago cop and former CIA operative who has to deal with bad elements from the Vietnam war, notably Kurt Zagon (Henry Silva, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, SHARKY’S MACHINE) who tortured POWs back in the day and now runs operations in Chicago. He has a supportive wife (Sharon Stone) and a kid to support as well.
Toscani, with help from partner ‘Jacks’ Jackson (Pam Grier, JACKIE BROWN, COFFY), goes below the line to investigate Zagon and his organisation, leading to some violent conflict throughout.
Some good action sequences and a cracking score by David Michael Frank make this a worthy addition to the police action genre.