''Top Dog'' is a 1995

buddy cop Buddy cop is a film and television genre with plots involving two people of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process. ...

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

directed by

Aaron Norris Aaron Norris (born November 23, 1951) is an American stunt performer, director, occasional actor, and film and television producer. He is the younger brother of action film star Chuck Norris. Career 1974 to 1988: Stunt work to directing W ...

and starring

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts champions ...

. Written by Aaron Norris and Tim Grayem, it was Norris' last film to release theatrically before he shifted to

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

films for several years. In the film, Norris' character, Jake Wilder, is partnered with Reno, a police dog, whose handler was killed. Jake and Reno investigate a plot by domestic terrorists to attack a conference on unity. Jake and Reno survive assassination attempts and several hand-to-hand fights with the terrorists and eventually discover enough clues to foil the attack. The film is set in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

and was largely filmed there. The film received mainly negative reviews, and its box office was negatively impacted by the timing of its release, only 9 days after the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-federal go ...

Plot

The film opens as two

white nationalists White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

destroy an apartment complex in which most of the residents are minorities. Veteran

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, Sgt. Lou Swanson, and his police dog, Reno, investigate the crime and realize the explosives are military in style. Their investigation takes them to the harbor, where they find a ship loaded with weapons. They are discovered and shot. Lou dies, but Reno survives. Maverick cop Jake Wilder (Chuck Norris), is called by police captain Ken Callahan (

Clyde Kusatsu Clyde Kusatsu (born September 13, 1948) is an American actor and trade union leader of Japanese descent. Since 2013, he has served as the National Vice President of SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local. Life and career Clyde Kusatsu was born in Hawaii a ...

), who requests Jake to take over the case. Jake is angered that he has to work with Reno, despite Reno proving himself capable through a battle training scenario. Meanwhile,

Neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...

are trying to smuggle weapons across the border from Mexico. It is implied that they murdered their Mexican arms dealers. They are stopped by the

Border Patrol A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In dif ...

and try to escape, but their car is destroyed in the process. Jake and Reno survive an assassination attempt at Jake's home. Afterwards, Jake is visiting his mother, who reveals that Adolf Hitler's birthday will be the following day. Jake realizes this a clue, and takes off running. The police department works with the sheriff's office, as well as the FBI in determining where the Neo-Nazis are going to hit. One officer reveals that on Hitler's birthday (April 20), the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, and several other of his esteemed bishops will host the Coalition for Racial Unity. As the Neo-Nazis hitmen are practicing for their attack, the leaders are revealed not to be just one white supremacist group, but an alliance of several including the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, and the Church of the Creator. They plan to use their attack on the Coalition for Racial Unity as an opportunity to unite all the Neo-Nazi groups in the US, as well as the world. Jake discovers the location of the warehouse where the Neo-Nazis are located. He and Reno go undercover and manage to steal a piece of evidence that could be used to convict the Neo-Nazi leaders. They are discovered and Jake orders Reno to flee with the evidence. Wilder subdues several radicals during the following fight, however he is finally captured, after a dozen attackers confront him at all once, and he is then hit on the head with a blunt object. He wakes up to find that he is tied up and the Neo-Nazi plan is now under way. Reno finds Jake, and eats away his rope bindings, just before a Neo-Nazi has the chance to kill him. Jake is able to call the police chief and tells him that the plan is in motion. The police, FBI, CTU, and Sheriff's Department arrive as the Coalition for Racial Unity is attacked and in a gun battle many Neo-Nazis are killed. The Pope and his Bishops get in their bulletproof car, but it is rigged to explode. Wilder defuses the bomb, while Reno goes after the Neo-Nazi leader. Wilder chases after him as well, and after a vicious fight, manages to subdue him. Reno is set to attack the Neo-Nazi leader, who confesses to killing Reno's former veteran cop owner. Just before Reno can attack the leader, Lou's grandson, Matthew, arrives to stop him.

Cast

as Lt. Jake Wilder * Michele Lamar Richards as Det. Savannah Boyette *

Erik von Detten Erik Thomas von Detten (born October 3, 1982) is an American singer and former actor. He is known for his roles in ''Escape to Witch Mountain'', ''Toy Story'', ''Brink!'', ''Meego'', '' The Princess Diaries'', ''Complete Savages'', and ''So Weir ...

as Matthew Swanson *

Carmine Caridi Carmine Caridi (January 23, 1934 – May 28, 2019) was an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' The Godfather Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990). In 2004, Caridi became the ...

as Sgt. Lou Swanson *

as Capt. Ken Callahan *

Kai Wulff Kai Wulff (born December 18, 1949 in Germany) is an American actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Colonel Yuri Voskov in ''Firefox'' and 'The German' in ''Three Amigos''. He appeared in the films '' Twilight Zone: ...

as Otto Dietrich * Peter Savard Moore as Karl Koller *

Timothy Bottoms Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...

as Nelson Houseman *

Francesco Quinn Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American actor. The first son of Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn and Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role ...

as Mark Curtains *

Herta Ware Herta Ware (June 9, 1917 – August 15, 2005) was an American actress and activist. Early life Ware was born Herta Schwartz in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Helen Ware, a musician and violin teacher, and Laszlo Schwartz, an actor wh ...

as Mrs. Wilder * John Kerry as Cmdr. West * Hank Baumert as Border Patrol Officer * Linda Castro as Paramedic * John Sistrunk as Driver at border * Bob Bastanchury as Passenger

Production

Shooting took place in

. When the filmmakers wanted to shoot in a residential area of

Point Loma Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...

, they solicited support from residents by inviting them to the shoot.

Release and reception

''Top Dog'' was released only 9 days after the

. Because the film's plot deals with terrorism, the poor timing of the film's release was noted in multiple reviews and articles. The film debuted at number eight.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports that 0% of eight surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 1.8/10. The film was criticised for being too similar to '' K-9'' and ''

Turner & Hooch ''Turner & Hooch'' is a 1989 American buddy cop comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Beasley the Dog as the eponymous characters respectively. The film also co-stars Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson and Reginald VelJohnson. It was directed by ...

''.

References

External links