Comeuppance Reviews The great Yuen Biao plays Hsia, a prosecutor who is tired of seeing the bad guys go free and the justice system constantly protecting villains and ignoring the victims of their crimes. Some seriously bad dudes are out there annihilating entire families to keep them quiet. So Hsia decides to go after the baddies in his off time, which works out well because this lawyer is also an incredibly skilled martial artist. Cynthia Rothrock plays Cindy, a CID agent who is constantly on Hsia's tail. Their conflict is about the nature of justice and law in society. Her partner is Bad Egg, a slovenly cop played by the director, Corey Yuen. But will Hsia or Cindy triumph in the final battle with the super-evil bad guy (who I can't reveal because it is too close to a spoiler)? Above the law is simply awesome. It delivers the goods to the audience in spades with slam-bang action right from the first minute. The pedigree of the film is impressive, with not just familiar names such as the amazing Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock (who also delivers one of the better performances we've seen from her), but the producers got some American fighters to fly to Hong Kong such as Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham and Karen Sheperd, who have both gone on to good careers since.As you may know, Yuen Biao came from the same Opera School that produced Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. His skills in fighting and stunts are at least equal to his classmates. But for some reason, outside of action circles, he never reached their level of fame. Notably, an uncredited Sammo choreographed the final fight. Siu-Wong Fan, who plays the character of Wen, a teenage witness, went on to play the title role in Story of Ricky. The reason Melvin Wong looks so muscular and pumped up here is because he trained under Bolo Yeung.Above the Law features, on top of the ace fighting and stunt work, the same crowd-pleasing wacky comedy and lovable characters known in Hong Kong productions. (Interestingly, some scenes were shot in Auckland, New Zealand). Also featuring some killer music, the movie is just a blast, an incredibly fun rush of fast-paced action setpieces.For an over-the-top 80's HK action film, it's hard to top the first-rate Above the Law.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Judexdot1 "Righting Wrongs" is a great showcase for all involved, with solid martial arts action throughout. Yuen Biao shines, and I've never seen Cynthia Rothrock, and Richard Norton do better. But, I have to point out that there are 2 quite different versions available. The original HK version is available subtitled as "Righting Wrongs". but, there is an English-dubbed UK version, known as "Above The Law". This is not just the usual re-dubbing. Most of the film remains extremely similar, but the conclusion has been extensively restructured, and ends quite differently from the original! either film is just amazing, an early showcase for Corey Yuen's skill, exploited so well by Hollywood, now.

tonganet@pacbell.net After 20 some odd years of watching HK action films, I have come to idolize the work of Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung. Since all three emerged from the Peking Opera, they have turned out some GREAT films. Keep in mind that HK action films are all about the ACTION, with little or no regard to plot, dubbing, etc...always have been, always will be (in my humble opinion). Yuen Biao turns in a solid performance as always, but if you want a Yuen Biao "showcase", it's got to be "Dragons Forever" (1987, similar story, except Jackie is the lawyer). The real show here is Karen Shepard and Cyndy Rothrock in a GREAT action sequence...every bit as good as Michelle Yeoh (Khan) vs. Zhang Ziyi in the opening fight sequence of Crouching Tiger, HD. Karen and Cyndy have made some mediocre films (Terminator Woman, Tiger Claws, China O'Brien, etc.) but NONE of those were even close to the performance turned in by both women in Righting Wrongs...a direct result of HK choreography. You will need to turn off your "believability" switch for some of it, but all in all, a fun time.

Dave Thomas This Corey Yuen Kuei-directed actioner stars Yuen Biao as a gifted young prosecution lawyer. Disillusioned with a system that allows crime lords to buy their way out of trouble, Yuen becomes a vigilante and starts to hunt down the bad guys. On his trail is tough Gweilo cop Cynthia Rothrock, determined that nobody should take the law into their own hands. The plot for this movie is fairly formulaic, but it remains one of the best HK action films of the 80s. The reasons for this are some strong performances from the leads (Yuen has often been unfairly dismissed as a poor relation of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, while Rothrock must have been sick of playing the same part over and over) and some electric action sequences. The most memorable scenes are; an attempt on Yuen's life by black American karate expert Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham; a bout between Cynthia Rothrock and her fellow US Forms champion Karen Shepherd; the inevitable showdown between Yuen and Rothrock; and the final confrontation between Yuen, Rothrock and the mysterious villain.