Top Dog (film)
Encyclopedia
Top Dog is a 1995
comedy
action film
, directed by Aaron Norris
and starring Chuck Norris
.
A veteran cop and his dog Reno go to investigate when they 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, however the dog survives.
Enter maverick cop Jake Wilder (Chuck Norris), who is suspended from duty. Police captain Ken Callahan (Clyde Kusatsu
) calls and requests his help in bringing down this Neo-Nazi plot. Jake is angered that he has to work with Reno, despite Reno proving himself capable through a battle training scenario. It is implied the police chief has a hidden agenda into running for mayor.
Meanwhile, members of the Neo-Nazis are trying to smuggle weapons across the border from Mexico. It is implied that they murdered their Mexican
arms dealers. They are stopped by Border Patrol and try to escape, but their car is destroyed in the process.
Jake and Reno go to the harbor where Jake forcibly takes a document that could give him a clue.
The harbormaster is shown to be working with the Neo-Nazi leader. The leader tells the harbormaster that they'll have to deal with Jake.
After this, the Neo-Nazi leader gathers his followers up, and they have a rally inside an abandoned warehouse. He makes a short speech about their plans to destroy minorities, Catholics, and Jews
. He gets them worked up into a frenzy and they all start to chant, "White Power! White Power!" One of his minions lowers a flap revealing the insignia of the swastika
.
Meanwhile, Jake and Reno return home after a busy day of investigating. Jake has bought some chicken for his dinner; however, while he's on the telephone, Reno steals the meat and gobbles it up. Jake asks the question, "You ate my chicken? Now what am I going to eat?" Reno responds by offering him a bowl of dog-food.
One of the cops who trained Reno arrives to see how the dog is doing. She is stunned by the large mess in Jake's house.
Suddenly, gunshots are heard. They duck and separate. She goes out the back, and Jake goes out the front. It is revealed the hitmen are dressed as clowns. Jake manages to subdue one while the woman cop kills one. Even Reno manages to capture one. A few of the hitmen escape, including one in a car, who is caught when Jake manages to shoot out the car's front left tire, blowing out its hubcap; this causes the car to swerve and hit a parked car and also causes both cars to explode on impact though the clown's car flips in the process. Jake eventually captures him by jokingly warning him, "You're under arrest...Bozo
."
The next morning, Jake goes to help his mother repair her TV set. She is thrilled to meet Reno.
Jake returns home briefly, but is met by the murdered veteran cop's grandson, who wants to spend the day with Reno.
Jake, happy for the break from dog sitting, sends the boy away with Reno where they end up spending the day at a dog show.
Jake returns to his mother's where he is talked into doing some gardening for her.
As they're talking, his mother 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, the Pope
, and several other of his esteemed bishops will host the Coalition for Racial Unity.
This must be the plot.
As the Neo-Nazis hitmen are getting in some target practice, 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 do indeed plan on hitting the Coalition for Racial Unity and decide to use this 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 lock away the Neo-Nazi leaders. They are discovered and Jake orders Reno to flee with the evidence.
Jake is attacked by a group of radicals, but, using his fighting skills, manages to subdue several of them.
Outside, his look outs are getting worried, and they are killed for their troubles.
Jake is finally captured after a dozen of them attack him at once and he's hit on the head with a blunt object.
He wakes up to find that the Neo-Nazi plan is under way. Reno finds Jake and secretly eats away his binds just before a Neo-Nazi kills him. Jake then proceeds to beat up his attacker.
Jake and Reno call the police chief and tells him the plan is in motion. Again, the Police Chief makes a reference to wanting to run for mayor.
The police, FBI, CTU, and Sheriff's Department arrive as the Coalition for Racial Unity is attacked. The Pope and his Bishops get in their bulletproof car, but it is rigged to explode.
Jake manages to defuse the bomb (having cut the blue wire after having to choose between the red one and the blue one), and Reno goes after the Neo-Nazi leader.
Jake chases after him as well, and after a vicious fight, manages to subdue him.
Reno is all set to attack the Neo-Nazi leader, and Jakes asks why.
The leader confesses to killing the veteran cop. Just before Reno can attack the leader, the dead cop's grandson arrives to stop him.
The Police Chief tells the media that this rescue would be used in his campaign for mayor.
When the Chief sees Jake, he runs to congratulate him telling him he did a great job.
As the Pope is saying that "God has saved us," Reno spots his red scarf and runs at it. He steals the scarf, nearly strangling the Pope, and takes off running.
and Turner & Hooch
.
1995 in film
-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
, directed by Aaron Norris
Aaron Norris
Aaron Norris is an American film producer, director, and actor.-Personal information:Norris, who is of Irish descent, is the younger brother of Chuck Norris. During the Vietnam war, both Aaron and his older brother Wieland Clyde Norris enlisted in the United States Army...
and starring Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
.
Plot
The film opens as two white nationalists destroy an apartment complex where most of the residents are minorities.A veteran cop and his dog Reno go to investigate when they 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, however the dog survives.
Enter maverick cop Jake Wilder (Chuck Norris), who is suspended from duty. Police captain Ken Callahan (Clyde Kusatsu
Clyde Kusatsu
Clyde Kusatsu is a U.S. actor.Kusatsu was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he attended ʻIolani School. Kusatsu began acting in Honolulu summer stock, and after studying theatre at Northwestern University, started to make his mark on the small screen in the mid-1970s...
) calls and requests his help in bringing down this Neo-Nazi plot. Jake is angered that he has to work with Reno, despite Reno proving himself capable through a battle training scenario. It is implied the police chief has a hidden agenda into running for mayor.
Meanwhile, members of the Neo-Nazis are trying to smuggle weapons across the border from Mexico. It is implied that they murdered their Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
arms dealers. They are stopped by Border Patrol and try to escape, but their car is destroyed in the process.
Jake and Reno go to the harbor where Jake forcibly takes a document that could give him a clue.
The harbormaster is shown to be working with the Neo-Nazi leader. The leader tells the harbormaster that they'll have to deal with Jake.
After this, the Neo-Nazi leader gathers his followers up, and they have a rally inside an abandoned warehouse. He makes a short speech about their plans to destroy minorities, Catholics, and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. He gets them worked up into a frenzy and they all start to chant, "White Power! White Power!" One of his minions lowers a flap revealing the insignia of the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
.
Meanwhile, Jake and Reno return home after a busy day of investigating. Jake has bought some chicken for his dinner; however, while he's on the telephone, Reno steals the meat and gobbles it up. Jake asks the question, "You ate my chicken? Now what am I going to eat?" Reno responds by offering him a bowl of dog-food.
One of the cops who trained Reno arrives to see how the dog is doing. She is stunned by the large mess in Jake's house.
Suddenly, gunshots are heard. They duck and separate. She goes out the back, and Jake goes out the front. It is revealed the hitmen are dressed as clowns. Jake manages to subdue one while the woman cop kills one. Even Reno manages to capture one. A few of the hitmen escape, including one in a car, who is caught when Jake manages to shoot out the car's front left tire, blowing out its hubcap; this causes the car to swerve and hit a parked car and also causes both cars to explode on impact though the clown's car flips in the process. Jake eventually captures him by jokingly warning him, "You're under arrest...Bozo
Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown is a clown character very popular in the United States, peaking in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.Originally created by Alan W...
."
The next morning, Jake goes to help his mother repair her TV set. She is thrilled to meet Reno.
Jake returns home briefly, but is met by the murdered veteran cop's grandson, who wants to spend the day with Reno.
Jake, happy for the break from dog sitting, sends the boy away with Reno where they end up spending the day at a dog show.
Jake returns to his mother's where he is talked into doing some gardening for her.
As they're talking, his mother 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, the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, and several other of his esteemed bishops will host the Coalition for Racial Unity.
This must be the plot.
As the Neo-Nazis hitmen are getting in some target practice, the leaders are revealed not to be just one white supremacist group, but an alliance of several including the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, the Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is a white supremacist religious organization originally based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group in the 1970s, as an arm of the Christian Identity organization Church of Jesus Christ–Christian...
, and the Church of the Creator
Creativity (religion)
Creativity is a nontheistic, ethnocentric religion founded in 1973 by Ben Klassen with the publication of the book Nature's Eternal Religion and was later expounded upon in the books The White Man's Bible, and Salubrious Living...
. They do indeed plan on hitting the Coalition for Racial Unity and decide to use this 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 lock away the Neo-Nazi leaders. They are discovered and Jake orders Reno to flee with the evidence.
Jake is attacked by a group of radicals, but, using his fighting skills, manages to subdue several of them.
Outside, his look outs are getting worried, and they are killed for their troubles.
Jake is finally captured after a dozen of them attack him at once and he's hit on the head with a blunt object.
He wakes up to find that the Neo-Nazi plan is under way. Reno finds Jake and secretly eats away his binds just before a Neo-Nazi kills him. Jake then proceeds to beat up his attacker.
Jake and Reno call the police chief and tells him the plan is in motion. Again, the Police Chief makes a reference to wanting to run for mayor.
The police, FBI, CTU, and Sheriff's Department arrive as the Coalition for Racial Unity is attacked. The Pope and his Bishops get in their bulletproof car, but it is rigged to explode.
Jake manages to defuse the bomb (having cut the blue wire after having to choose between the red one and the blue one), and Reno goes after the Neo-Nazi leader.
Jake chases after him as well, and after a vicious fight, manages to subdue him.
Reno is all set to attack the Neo-Nazi leader, and Jakes asks why.
The leader confesses to killing the veteran cop. Just before Reno can attack the leader, the dead cop's grandson arrives to stop him.
The Police Chief tells the media that this rescue would be used in his campaign for mayor.
When the Chief sees Jake, he runs to congratulate him telling him he did a great job.
As the Pope is saying that "God has saved us," Reno spots his red scarf and runs at it. He steals the scarf, nearly strangling the Pope, and takes off running.
Cast
- Chuck NorrisChuck NorrisCarlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
as Jake Wilder - Michele Lamar Richards as Savannah Boyette
- Erik von DettenErik von DettenErik Thomas von Detten is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Escape to Witch Mountain, Toy Story, Brink!, The Princess Diaries, and So Weird.-Personal life:Von Detten was born in San Diego, California...
as Matthew Swanson - Carmine CaridiCarmine CaridiCarmine Caridi is an American television and film actor. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles over the past 30 years. He lives in West Hollywood.- Career :...
as Sgt. Lou Swanson - Clyde KusatsuClyde KusatsuClyde Kusatsu is a U.S. actor.Kusatsu was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he attended ʻIolani School. Kusatsu began acting in Honolulu summer stock, and after studying theatre at Northwestern University, started to make his mark on the small screen in the mid-1970s...
as Capt. Callahan - Kai Wulff as Otto Dietrich
- Peter Savard Moore as Karl Koller
- Timothy BottomsTimothy Bottoms-Early life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest son of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, who is a sculptor and art teacher. He is the brother of actors Joseph Bottoms , Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms . In 1967, Bottoms toured Europe as part of the Santa Barbara Madrigal...
as Nelson Houseman - Francesco QuinnFrancesco QuinnFrancesco Daniele Quinn was an Italian-born actor. The third son of Oscar winner Anthony Quinn and Jolanda Addorlori , Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role as Rhah in Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning Platoon...
as Mark Curtains - Herta WareHerta WareHerta Ware was an American actress and political activist.Ware was born Herta Schwartz in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Helen Ware, a musician and violin teacher, and Lazlo Schwartz, an actor who was born in Budapest...
as Jake's mother - John KerryJohn KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
as Cmdr. West - Hank Baumert as Border Patrol Officer
- Linda Castro as Paramedic
- John Sistrunk as Driver at border
- Bob Bastanchury as Passenger
Reception
The movies's reception was negative and was criticised for being too similar to K-9K-9 (film)
K-9 is a 1989 American action comedy film starring James Belushi and Mel Harris. Directed by Rod Daniel and written by Steven Siegel and Scott Myers, it was produced by Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon, and released by Universal City Studios...
and Turner & Hooch
Turner & Hooch
Turner & Hooch is a 1989 comedy film starring Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson, and Reginald VelJohnson. It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode; the film was originally slated to be directed by Henry Winkler, but he was terminated due to "creative differences"...
.