Top Dog (1995) is Chuck Norris’s attempt at a police dog buddy film.
This concept was nothing new. In fact, in 1989, there were two hugely popular films based on the same idea: K-9 starring Jim Belushi, and Turner & Hooch starring Tom Hanks. I’ve seen all of them, and by far the best is Turner & Hooch because Tom Hanks really sells his performance. The worst? Top Dog.
What should have set Top Dog apart from the others was Chuck Norris. Unlike Belushi or Hanks, he’s a bona fide martial arts master.
In terms of credibility, Norris is probably the most qualified action star ever. He has black belts in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Judo. There’s a reason why he was the main villain in Bruce Lee’s Way of the Dragon, which, by the way, featured one of the best and most memorable fight scenes of both their careers.
Adding to his credentials, Norris was a world champion at the 1969 International Karate Championship. So, while I don’t like Chuck Norris’s politics, he’s worlds apart from Steven Seagal in that Norris is the real deal.
But unfortunately, Top Dog doesn’t showcase Norris at his action star best. Sure, there are some action scenes, and Norris demonstrates he’s still capable, but he was 55 years old when this movie was released. This is far from peak Chuck Norris, and the action scenes are few and far between.
The plot is generic for this type of movie. A police dog witnesses his former partner getting killed by terrorists, and Norris becomes the dog’s new partner. Together, they try to stop the terrorists before time runs out. Most of the time, Norris is just mugging for the camera, trying to be comedic, going on and on about how he doesn’t want a dog for a partner.
The problem is that Chuck Norris isn’t nearly as funny as Jim Belushi or Tom Hanks, and the action scenes are too few and far between.
One interesting note: the antagonists in this film are white supremacists who want to commit an atrocity against racial minorities. It’s funny considering Chuck Norris’s current stint as a right-wing talking head. He’s gone full MAGA—drinking Trump’s Kool-Aid, happily chugged with a grin. It’s interesting that in the 90s, Norris made a film where Nazis are the bad guys, and everyone understood that Nazis are bad. At the time, this wasn’t even controversial.
Top Dog was directed by Aaron Norris, Chuck Norris’s brother, who has produced, directed, and even acted as his brother’s stunt double earlier in his career.
The film is not well-liked. On IMDb, it scores 4.2 out of 10. On Letterboxd, it averages 2.1 out of 5. Professional critics hated it even more—on Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 0% on the Tomatometer.
I don’t think this movie is unwatchable or bottom-of-the-barrel terrible, but it’s certainly not good. It squanders its potential. If you want a good buddy cop action comedy, just watch Turner & Hooch instead. I don’t recommend Top Dog.
As an aside, I’ll say this: When I was walking through the aisles of Blockbuster as a teenager, I really wanted to see this movie. I knew it wasn’t going to be good, but I wanted to see it anyway—because Chuck Norris.
Well, 30 years later, was it worth the wait? No, not at all. Que sera.
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