Zhi fa xian feng
Tags: violence, murder

Plot synopsis:
Sergeant Nico Toscani, a native of Palermo, is a detective in the Chicago Police Department’s vice squad. At an early age he became interested in martial arts, and moved to Japan to study.
In 1969, Nico was recruited into the CIA by Special Agent Nelson Fox and was involved in covert operations on the Vietnamese-Cambodian border during the Vietnam War. There, he became disgusted with station chief Kurt Zagon, who tortured prisoners. A stand-off occurred when Nico tried to stop a torture session, and he left the CIA. Nico returned to Chicago, joined the CPD, and got married.
Nico and his new partner Detective Delores "Jacks" Jackson, are now investigating a drug ring, and after busting two of the dealers, including Salvadorian drug dealer Tony Salvano, Nico finds C4 explosives. Shortly afterward, the men that Nico and Jacks arrested are released at the request of Federal officials, and Nico is asked to stand down. Later, the priest of Nico’s parish is killed in an explosion during Mass. Fox calls Nico and tells him to move his family to a safer location, saying that Nico is in danger.
Under pressure from the Feds, Nico is asked to turn in his badge. Nico eventually finds that the dealers he busted are linked to Zagon, who is still with the CIA, and who is accused of human rights violations by a Central American priest who was being sheltered by Nico's priest. While Zagon is torturing the priest, Nico bursts in and a gun battle ensues. Detective Lukich and Jacks are wounded during the shoot-out, and Nico has to flee.
Senator Ernest Harrison is investigating Zagon's group to reveal their covert operations and drug dealing. When Nico finds out that Zagon killed the priest and is planning to kill Harrison, he goes after Zagon. Nico confronts Fox, but they are interrupted by Zagon's men. Fox is killed and Nico is captured.
Nico is held in the kitchen of a hotel during a Harrison campaign rally. Before Zagon can kill Harrison, Nico breaks free and kills Zagon and all of his remaining men. After, Nico meets Sen. Harrison, who has been informed of everything. Harrison promises justice for what they did and Nico says he is now willing to testify on his experiences with Zagon and covert operations in the CIA.

Review: Yuen Biao and Rothrock shine.
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..
Excellent showcase of Yuen Biao's talents.
Despite having a thin plot, silly dubbing, disturbing brutality, and unnecessary humour, this film stands as an excellent showcase of Yuen Biao's talents.
Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock are placed in some set pieces that are among HK's finest.
My favourite was Yuen Biao facing off against Melvin Wong.
It's the kind of fight that makes one wonder why he wasn't as popular as Jackie Chan..
Cynthia Rothrock turned down a part opposite Jackie Chan to play a larger role in this Yuen Biao action thriller.
Biao plays a lawyer who takes the law into his own hands when the bad guys shoot a good friend of his outside the courthouse (hence the UK title 'Above The Law').
Corey Yuen Kwai takes the action a step further than that in 'Yes, Madam', making Biao and Rothrock look better than ever in a number of impressive action sequences.Biao's acrobatic talents are showcased magnificently as he flips, kicks, abseils and uses all available weapons (vases, axes and dead bodies!) in an attempt to punish the crimes of others.This is the definitive Hong Kong action flick of the 80's, easily on a par with 'Police Story' and should take pride of place in any fan's collection.Also, if possible, get the 'Universe' DVD as this contains both versions of the film and the original language..
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.
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.
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.
Like the majority of Hong Kong flicks, the script is rushed and uneven, the acting is secondary, and the "plot" is occasionally laughable as it lurches awkwardly from set-piece to set-piece.
But none of this matters -- Yuen Biao is completely insane, and brings a vitality to his action scenes that a "big star" like Jet Li can't hope to match.
Cynthia Rothrock holds her own, for the most part, showing energy and interest that will fade rapidly in the coming years as she "graduates" to low-budget American fare.
I just got that new Dragon Dynasty version of the film, though I'd never seen it before last night.
I really liked Yuen Biao as well as the lead villain.
The film had some big laughs, perhaps occasionally unintentional, but also some great action.There were a lot of problems with the editing and stunt-work though.
Also, despite how talented all the stunt people and the leads are in the film's action scenes, there were way too many moments where I saw wires or could clearly see the faces of stunt-doubles.
I know you can never be perfect with such things, but it was just much more obvious than in many other films of the genre that I've seen.On sort of a side note, you ever notice the ramp effect with vehicles in action movies?
Here in Above the Law a.k.a. Righting Wrongs, you see it with a car chasing down Yuen Biao going off of a parked car.
And I don't know my models but it's probably a Mitsubishi since they made it into EVERY Hong Kong action movie in the 80s.
It was odd, but hysterical.If we're talking recommendations and I have to exclude anything with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, or Jet Li, I'd recommend any of the first four In the Line of Duty movies over this.
But it's still a decent action movie and any fan of Yuen Biao in particular really needs to see it..
Having first seen Righting Wrongs back in 1990 (released here in the UK as Above The Law) I was already a die hard fan of the amazing Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock (along with the rest)!
And my love for them was very quickly confirmed with the pure awesomeness of the incredible martial arts action epic!Directed by the equally talented Corey Yuen Kwai, Righting Wrongs has some of the greatest fight scenes on film, featuring Biao and Rothrock at the top of their game along with the fantastic Melvin Wong, Karen Shepard, Peter Cunningham and more.This film deserves a worthy place for any serious fan of Hong Kong (or action) in their DVD collection and never tires on repeated viewings!.
Famed martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen (THE TRANSPORTER 1 & 2, X-MEN and ROMEO MUST DIE) directed a Hong Kong film, loaded with bone-crushing stunts and masterful fight scenes with an assembled cast of martial arts masters from the East and West to cross paths.ABOVE THE LAW (aka RIGHTING WRONGS) obtained a vigilante story with dark toned aspects that relies on police corruption and the righteous bending the law to seek their own justice.
The stunning martial arts choreography by Cory Yuen kicks into high gear to help make this underrated cop-fu classic a fan favorite.Acrobatic kung-fu genius Yuen Biao (ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, SHANGHAI EXPRESS (aka MILLIONAIRE'S EXPRESS), THE PRODIGAL SON) plays a court prosecutor whose relentless determination to do away with an untouchable gangster (James Tien- Bruce Lee's THE BIG BOSS, FIST OF FURY) has led him to employ a series of unethical tactics.
His investigation becomes complicated by the arrival of a female inspector (played by 5-Time World Karate champion and weapons expert Cynthia Rothrock).Out of all the '80s era fight flicks I have seen Yuen Biao perform in, ABOVE THE LAW was one of his better efforts as an actor and screen fight performer.
He exchanges blows with undefeated kickboxing legend Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham in a (POLICE STORY-style) glass-shattering fight, he also battles Cynthia Rothrock in an engagement of traditional kung-fu, acrobatic fight moves and handcuffs.
He has a Jackie Chan stunt moment where he uses his speed and flexibility to dodge speeding cars.Cory Yuen staged these sequences wonderfully and the legendary fight between Cynthia and Biao shows their similarities in timing and skill, which makes their battle an all-time favorite.
Karen Shepard, who is another skilled fighter from America and an expert in the mixed art form of Wun Hop Kuen Do kung fu, faces off against Cynthia with the lethal chain whip.
Actor Melvin Wong (EASTERN CONDORS and DESCENDANT OF WING CHUN- the film referred in BULLETPROOF MONK-) also gets screen time to execute some martial arts against Yuen Biao.
The results of the screen fights earned the film a nomination for Best Action Choreography at the 1987 Hong Kong Film Awards.Of course, fans already know that Cynthia Rothrock is kung-fu's queen of action and a master in various forms of combat like Tae Kwon Do, Wushu, Northern Shaolin kung-fu and Tang Soo Do. Her skills made her a celebrated icon in the sport but unfortunately, she remains highly underrated and overshadowed by the mainstream success of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Her roles in countless American movies suffer from bad plots and choreography but her presence in Hong Kong films shine like Jackie Chan, and Jet Li does internationally.
Her capabilities give her the advantage over many of today's mainstream martial art stars and it is disappointing that her films in the East do not get the proper recognition.For a film made in the '80s, ABOVE THE LAW was a great actioner in martial arts cinema, and all the skilled experts did a great job with their performance.I hope the overshadowing of this classic in the West will end with the new Dragon Dynasty release and capture a wider audience to gain her the type of recognition she deserves as a star.This film was also one of Cynthia and Biao's best performances in screen combat during that era but the praise goes to Cory Yuen because of his skillful direction and casting of martial arts action figures from both worlds to pull the strings.
Essentially the whole industry in HK is more or less like the American B-movie action market, starring the likes of Dolph Lundgren, Van Damme and of course Cynthia Rothrock.
The main difference though is the high level of quality in the action of the HK movies.
They feature the inane plots and hokey acting of DTV American movies but my god can those guys do good action.This film is virtually plot free but of course that isn't important.
What it does have is action legend Yuen Biao (Best known as one of the three dragons, with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung).
Arguably Biao was also the better fighter than Chan, but of course Chan did the most amazing stunts of the three legends.
Also at the time perhaps the most popular female action star in HK was Cynthia Rothrock.
The high kicking carnage dished out by Cynthia, particularly in her HK movies is just hot, really darn hot!
Rothrock moved away from those movies in the early 90's and had a brief slew of theatrical films in the US before dropping into the DTV market where she remains a popular draw.
The problem is that American cinema doesn't spend the time and energy on the fight sequences like they do in HK.
Nowadays the average Rothrock fight scene looks very conventional, while of course still remaining sexy by the sheer fact she is kicking booty.
Righting Wrong of course is full to the brim of high octane and imaginative fights and the film never drags.
Rothrock is superb in the action department and has some great fights, amongst others a great fight with Biao, while Biao is also superb, showcasing some amazing moves and great stunts.
Yuen Biao, who attended Chinese Opera school with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, totally rules this movie!
He has incredible martial arts skills and uses them to the max in this action-packed movie.
Yeah, sure the plot and acting leave a bit to be desired, but for us martial arts fans we've come to accept the sub-standard acting in lieu of the awesome action sequences.
Cynthia Rothrock adds an extra dimension to the film with her excellent fighting abilities.
She is certainly able to keep up with Yuen's antics and from what I've heard, she really enjoyed making this film, (one of her earliest).
Well done action movie....
1st watched 2/2/2010 – 7 out of 10 (Dir-Corey Yuen): Well done action movie with incredibly well crafted action sequences.
The story is about a prosecutor, played by Yuen Biao, who likes to take the law into his own hands whenever he gets the chance.
Cynthia Rothrock plays a cop who's after him for the murder of one of the guilty parties that was let go by the courts.
A bad cop ends up being the real guilty party and the two stars eventually team up to bring him down but not before many deaths.
The fighting sequences are extremely well choreographed and you also feel the passion within the main characters and I think that's what makes the difference in this movie.
There is a little humor thrown in as well coming from side characters but mostly the movie is about the action.
– you took a simple 80's action-revenge movie and made it special despite it's simplicity..
must see, yuen biao, cybthia rothrock at their best.
action, fights, stunts all are very good and there s plenty of high quality, the scenario (script) will really amaze any watcher, it s totally different from the usual good guys win and bad guy looses, it s really incredible.
yuen biao is as usual astonishing..
Cynthia Rothrock's best film, and so much more!.
Her American flicks have been lackluster or worse, but under the direction of a top-notch fight choreographer (if I'm not mistaken, Biao Yuen himself was in charge) and editors who knew what they were doing, she looks wonderful.
I'd nominate "RW" as having one of the two or three best chick fights that I've ever seen,And Biao is way, way over the edge.
The extended battles are fantastic (including one with a corpse used as a Jackie Chan-style prop), so I'll forgive him the dopey opening sequence.This is GREAT HK noir!
Cynthia Rothrock is a phenomenal martial-arts dynamo (although in some scenes she is stupidly replaced by a male stunt man), and Yuen Biao is....well, Yuen Biao, if you've seen him in even one Jackie Chan movie you already know what he can do.
The sheer action involving these two almost redeems the rest of the movie.
Yuen Biao Rocks.
This movie is perfect for Yuen.
"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.
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..
Classic slice of '80s Hong Kong action.
I'm a big fan of the kind of action film that came out of Hong Kong in the 1980s: this was the decade where Jackie Chan was at his very best, in terms of stunts, action and directing, and Sammo Hung made all of his best films as director.
Mention must also be made of Yuen Biao, though, who often joined up with both Chan and Hung to contribute some very good action to these kung fu flicks.
Occasionally, Biao got the chance to go it alone, as he does here playing a Charles Bronson-style prosecutor who, tired of seeing criminals getting away scot free time after time, decides to take the law into his own hands.
There's a huge sub-plot involving a cop named Bad Egg, who's played by choreographer Corey Yuen.
There's the usual mix of GREAT martial arts sequences, along with a nifty set-piece involving crashing cars in a multi-storey car park.Yuen Biao adopts the heroic mantle very well indeed, proving himself more than a match for the likes of Jackie and Sammo.
Cynthia Rothrock's on hand as a tough imported cop, kicking ass with the best of them.
I'm used to see him in straight, non-martial arts roles like his turn in BEWITCHED, but he gets to play a tough bad guy here and his fighting's excellent – he really convinces.
Great action is dotted throughout the movie.
Rothrock gets to tackle another female fighter in a great, extended fight, as well as tackling Biao himself in another good bit.
The best, though, is inevitably saved for the climax, an extended bout in a warehouse which doesn't disappoint, and then there's a James Bond-style bit on an aeroplane which makes for a nice change (I haven't seen anything like this in any other Hong Kong film of the 1980s).
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.
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.
Her partner is Bad Egg, a slovenly cop played by the director, Corey Yuen.
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.
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.
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.
I'm very soft when it comes to critiquing movies, but this film is so far placed number one in the list of worst movies I've have ever seen in my life.I will say that the story is fine, but what bothered me the most was that TOO MANY characters die in this movie.