famed martial art choreographer cory yuen ( the transporter 1 and 2 and x men and romeo must die ) direct a hong kong film and load with bone crush stunt and masterful fight scene with an assembled cast of martial art master from the east and west to cross path . above the law ( aka right wrong ) obtain a vigilante story with dark toned aspect that rely on police corruption and the righteous bend the law to seek their own justice . the stunning martial art choreography by cory yuen kick 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 and shanghai express ( aka millionaire express ) and the prodigal son ) play a court prosecutor whose relentless determination to do away with an untouchable gangster ( james tien bruce lee the big bos and fist of fury ) have lead him to employ a series of unethical tactic . his investigation becomes complicate by the arrival of a female inspector ( play by 5 time world karate champion and weapon expert cynthia rothrock ) . out of all the 80 era fight flick i have see yuen biao perform in and above the law be one of his good effort a an actor and screen fight performer . he exchange blow with undefeated kickboxing legend peter sugarfoot cunningham in a ( police story style ) glass shatter fight and he also battle cynthia rothrock in an engagement of traditional kung fu and acrobatic fight move and handcuff . he have a jackie chan stunt moment where he use his speed and flexibility to dodge speeding car . cory yuen stag these sequence wonderfully and the legendary fight between cynthia and biao show their similarity in timing and skill and which make their battle an all time favorite . karen shepard and who be another skilled fighter from america and an expert in the mixed art form of wun hop kuen do kung fu and face off against cynthia with the lethal chain whip . actor melvin wong ( eastern condor and descendant of wing chun the film refer in bulletproof monk ) also get screen time to execute some martial art against yuen biao . the result of the screen fight earn the film a nomination for best action choreography at the 1987 hong kong film award . of course and fan already know that cynthia rothrock be kung fu queen of action and a master in various form of combat like tae kwon do and wushu and northern shaolin kung fu and tang soo do . her skill make her a celebrated icon in the sport but unfortunately and she remain highly underrated and overshadow by the mainstream success of jackie chan and jet li . her role in countless american movie suffer from bad plot and choreography but her presence in hong kong film shine like jackie chan and and jet li do internationally . her capability give her the advantage over many of today mainstream martial art star and it be disappoint that her film in the east do not get the proper recognition . for a film make in the 80 and above the law be a great actioner in martial art cinema and and all the skilled expert do 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 wide audience to gain her the type of recognition she deserve a a star . this film be also one of cynthia and biao best performance in screen combat during that era but the praise go to cory yuen because of his skillful direction and casting of martial art action figure from both world to pull the string . this film will remain a classic in the cinema of martial art and an unforgettable clashing of two legend in martial art that deserve the proper recognition .