Where to watch Top Dog
1 Star
With his cop companion shot and killed by terrorists, Reno The Dog pairs up with tough cop Jake in thwarting the criminal organization.
Chuck Norris teams with a canine in the redundant buddy-cop action picture Top Dog. Taking its cues from Turner & Hooch, K-9, and Beethoven, this wannabe, family-friendly action flick doesn’t work. The cheap-looking production resembles an episode of Norris’ long-running television series Walker, Texas Ranger. Directed by his brother, Arron Norris, Top Dog lacks well-staged action sequences, comedic beats, or any chemistry between actors and animals.
Jake Wilder (Chuck Norris) is a wild man, a one-man army cop. He’s gone rogue ever since a gangster murdered his partner in a shootout. Now, the police captain has assigned Wilder a new partner, a brainy, mischievous canine named Reno. Naturally, the two are at odds, but a bond develops, and before too long, the pair are fighting a radical white supremacist group. Yes, racism and terrorist activity are front and center in what had been advertised as a kid’s movie.
That’s the rub on Top Dog: it’s too childish for Norris’ fan base and too violent for younger audiences. Maybe this will play for the 12-year set; all others avoid this dog. Particularly of disappointment, as this was the last Norris film to achieve widespread theatrical distribution. It was an unmagnanimous ending to a solid big-screen career.
Directed by: Aaron Norris
Written by: Aaron Norris, Tim Grayem, Ron Swanson
Starring: Chuck Norris, Michele Lamar Richards, Erik von Detten