Aaron Eckhart And A Mysterious Dog With Titanium Teeth Team Up In The Muzzle Trailer
If the "John Wick" films are any indication, action heroes could always use a little canine companionship. It just so happens that there's a long-standing aspect of law enforcement where the dog and human relationship is already built-in: The K-9 unit.
You've likely seen numerous buddy cop movies, and even a handful of K-9 films. However, those movies tend to lean heavily on the comedy aspects of man's best friend fighting bad guys. Witness the old Rin Tin Tin series, or the films "K-9" and "Turner & Hooch," for starters. Even last year's Channing Tatum vehicle with the world's most inspired title, "Dog," milked its military mutt more for melodrama than action.
That all changes with "Muzzle," a new film from director John Stalberg Jr. that stars Aaron Eckhart as K-9 cop Jake Rosser. When Jake loses his pup partner, Ace, after a deadly shootout with drug dealers, he finds himself waylaid by his superiors when it comes to the identity of the shooter, not to mention investigated by Internal Affairs due to his conduct. Choosing to go rogue, Jake has to find a new partner to take on. He finds that partner in the form of "Socks," a mysterious K-9 who has violent tendencies and special abilities, including a very unique pair of incisors: She has titanium teeth! Watch the new trailer for "Muzzle" below.
'Muzzle' trailer: Is it 'Dog Wick' or perhaps 'RoboPup?'
Distributor RLJE Films has been consistently putting out solid genre fare for the last several years, and while "Muzzle" looks to be a no-nonsense, hard-hitting cop thriller, there are several clues that there may be something going on here more than meets the eye. For one, co-writer Carlyle Eubank co-wrote the mysterious 2014 sci-fi flick "The Signal" (directed by his brother, William Eubank, who also made the great Kristen Stewart-led monster movie "Underwater"). For another, the film's official synopsis seems to hint at some shady business going on beneath the surface:
"Jake resolves to go rogue and partners with 'Socks,' a violent K-9 with titanium incisors and a mysterious past. Jake and Socks aim to uncover a vast conspiracy that has a chokehold on the city and take vengeance on those responsible."
Is "Muzzle" a "John Wick"-style revenge flick, where Jake and Socks find themselves entering a secret underworld that they need to expose and/or blow up? Or is it closer to "RoboCop," where perhaps Socks is somehow a technologically resurrected Ace or whatnot? Is this movie a secret "K-9000" remake?
Whatever the case may be, judging by the trailer, the film is gonna be a sweet 96 minutes of Jake and Socks unleashed, putting the bite on bad guys around L.A. with help from co-stars Diego Tinoco, Penelope Mitchell, and the always welcome (and always badass) Stephen Lang. My guess is that there will be a lot to chew on when "Muzzle" drops in theaters and VOD on September 29, 2023.